Best PlacesNorth Branch Depot, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around North Branch Depot, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
North Branch Depot ranks 2,166th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on big-city access by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in North Branch Depot
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
North Branch Depot's strengths and weaknesses
Where North Branch Depot ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 99% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of towns
- Household income$162,969 median, better than 98% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 98% of towns
Where North Branch Depot ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 54 pleasant days a year, better than only 2% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,549 a month, better than only 2% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 6% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 20% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in North Branch Depot
A household needs to earn about $220,000 a year to comfortably buy the median North Branch Depot home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $162,969, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses North Branch Depot's effective rate of 1.71%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in North Branch Depot
North Branch Depot runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for North Branch Depot.
Who works in North Branch Depot, and how
Work in North Branch Depot centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 63%
- Work from home 28%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in North Branch Depot
The coast is about 29 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across North Branch Depot, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in North Branch Depot, month by month
North Branch Depot sees roughly 54 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 32° | 22° |
| April | 67° | 52° | 39° |
| July | 90° | 76° | 64° |
| October | 71° | 56° | 43° |
Flying in and out of North Branch Depot
The nearest airport, Trenton Mercer, is about 24 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Newark Liberty International, about 27 miles away.
The best schools in and around North Branch Depot
Schools across North Branch Depot average a B+, better than 72% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Van Holten Primary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Whiton Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Stony Brook SchoolB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Eisenhower Intermediate SchoolB · 47% proficient
Top high schools
- Bridgewater-raritan High SchoolB− · 44% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every North Branch Depot school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
North Branch Depot measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare North Branch Depot against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in North Branch Depot
Is North Branch Depot a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, North Branch Depot ranks 2,166th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on big-city access, population health, and high incomes, and lowest on state finances and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is North Branch Depot expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $749,200. The overall cost of living runs about 16% above the national average. Set against a $162,969 median income, cost of living beats 98% of towns.
Is North Branch Depot safe?
Yes, North Branch Depot is safer than 82% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $145 per resident a year.
Compare North Branch Depot with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to North Branch Depot. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in North Branch Depot represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
North Branch Depot detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for North Branch Depot: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in North Branch Depot: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of North Branch Depot: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in North Branch Depot: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
North Branch Depot detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.