Best PlacesParlin, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Parlin, 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.
Parlin ranks 6,630th 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 Parlin
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.
Parlin's strengths and weaknesses
Where Parlin ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 99% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than 98% of towns
- TransitBetter than 98% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than 95% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 95% of towns
Where Parlin ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,499 a month, better than only 3% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 6% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 17% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 22% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Parlin
A household needs to earn about $137,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Parlin home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $111,381, 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 Parlin's effective rate of 1.75%, 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 Parlin
Parlin'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 Parlin.
Who works in Parlin, and how
Work in Parlin centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in Parlin
Parlin has more restaurants and bars per resident than 68% of towns and more parkland per resident than 91% of towns. The coast is about 4 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Parlin and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Parlin, month by month
Parlin sees roughly 77 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 42, with lows near 29. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42° | 35° | 29° |
| April | 64° | 54° | 46° |
| July | 87° | 78° | 71° |
| October | 68° | 59° | 52° |
Flying in and out of Parlin
Newark Liberty International sits about 18 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 23.5 million passengers in 2025, with 242 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Parlin
Schools across Parlin average a C, better than 36% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Harry S. Truman Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Woodrow Wilson Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Emma Arleth Elementary SchoolC · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- Carl Sandburg Middle SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
- Jonas Salk Middle SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Sayreville Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Old Bridge High SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
- Sayreville War Memorial High SchoolC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Parlin school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Parlin 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 Parlin against the other 50,332 towns.
Who Parlin suits
Families
Schools land around the 36th percentile and crime safety beats 70%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 74% of towns, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 14% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Parlin
Is Parlin a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Parlin ranks 6,630th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on big-city access, cell coverage, and transit, and lowest on state finances and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Parlin expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $463,391. The overall cost of living runs about 12% above the national average. Set against a $111,381 median income, cost of living beats 74% of towns.
Is Parlin safe?
Yes, Parlin is safer than 70% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $175 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Parlin?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 42 with lows near 29. That works out to about 77 pleasant days a year, more than 42% of towns.
Is Parlin good for families?
Schools beat 36% of towns, crime safety beats 70%, and childcare runs $1,499 a month.
Compare Parlin with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Parlin. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Parlin 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.
Parlin detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Parlin: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Parlin: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Parlin: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Parlin: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Parlin 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.