Best PlacesNorth Brunswick, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around North Brunswick, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
North Brunswick ranks 911th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in North Brunswick
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 Brunswick's strengths and weaknesses
Where North Brunswick ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 96% of cities
- Big-city accessBetter than 93% of cities
- Air qualityBetter than 86% of cities
- WalkabilityBetter than 83% of cities
- Internet speedBetter than 83% of cities
Where North Brunswick ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 2% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than only 4% of cities
- Nice weatherabout 58 pleasant days a year, better than only 5% of cities
- Cheap childcare$1,499 a month, better than only 15% of cities
- School gradeC−, better than only 16% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in North Brunswick
A household needs to earn about $140,000 a year to comfortably buy the median North Brunswick home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $125,230; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Brunswick's effective rate of 2.21%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in North Brunswick
North Brunswick's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for North Brunswick.
Who works in North Brunswick, and how
Work in North Brunswick centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 72%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in North Brunswick
North Brunswick has more restaurants and bars per resident than 80% of cities and more parkland per resident than 88% of cities. The coast is about 18 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of North Brunswick and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in North Brunswick, month by month
North Brunswick sees roughly 58 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 Brunswick
The nearest airport, Trenton Mercer, is about 21 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Newark Liberty International, about 24 miles away.
The best schools in and around North Brunswick
Schools across North Brunswick average a C−, better than 16% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Warnsdorfer Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Brooks Crossing Elementary SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Brunswick Acres Elementary SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hammarskjold Upper Elementary SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
- Crossroads North Middle SchoolB · 44% proficient
- Crossroads South Middle SchoolB− · 41% proficient
Top high schools
- South Brunswick High SchoolB · 47% proficient
- East Brunswick High SchoolC · 32% proficient
- North Brunswick Township High SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every North Brunswick school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
North Brunswick 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 Brunswick against the other 2,097 cities.
Who North Brunswick suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 17% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in North Brunswick
Is North Brunswick a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, North Brunswick ranks 911th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on few empty homes, big-city access, and clean air, and lowest on state finances and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is North Brunswick expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $447,507. The overall cost of living runs about 14% above the national average. Set against a $125,230 median income, cost of living beats 66% of cities.
Is North Brunswick safe?
North Brunswick is safer than 51% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $212 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in North Brunswick?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 22. That works out to about 58 pleasant days a year, more than 5% of cities.
Is North Brunswick good for families?
Schools beat 16% of cities, crime safety beats 51%, and childcare runs $1,499 a month.
Compare North Brunswick with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to North Brunswick. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in North Brunswick 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 Brunswick detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for North Brunswick: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in North Brunswick: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of North Brunswick: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in North Brunswick: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
North Brunswick 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.