Best PlacesPrinceton, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Princeton, 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.
Princeton ranks 113th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on population health by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Princeton
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.
Princeton's strengths and weaknesses
Where Princeton ranks high
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of cities
- Educational attainmentBetter than 98% of cities
- Household income$176,915 median, better than 97% of cities
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 94% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than 92% of cities
Where Princeton ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 2% of cities
- Nice weatherabout 59 pleasant days a year, better than only 7% of cities
- Cell coverageBetter than only 8% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than only 10% of cities
- Internet speedBetter than only 21% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Princeton
A household needs to earn about $272,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Princeton home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $176,915, 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 Princeton's effective rate of 1.88%, 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 Princeton
Princeton's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Princeton.
Who works in Princeton, and how
Work in Princeton centers on education and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 42%
- Work from home 34%
- Transit, walk, or bike 24%
Life in Princeton
Princeton has more restaurants and bars per resident than 81% of cities and more parkland per resident than 83% of cities. The coast is about 32 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Princeton and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Princeton, month by month
Princeton sees roughly 59 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 34° | 24° |
| April | 66° | 53° | 41° |
| July | 89° | 77° | 67° |
| October | 70° | 58° | 47° |
Flying in and out of Princeton
The nearest airport, Trenton Mercer, is about 10 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Newark Liberty International, about 34 miles away.
The best schools in and around Princeton
Schools across Princeton average a B+, better than 75% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Princeton Charter SchoolA+ · 76% proficient
- Dutch Neck Elementary SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Littlebrook SchoolA · 67% proficient
Top middle schools
- Community Middle SchoolA · 61% proficient
- Montgomery Upper Middle SchoolA · 59% proficient
- Montgomery Lower Middle SchoolA− · 58% proficient
Top high schools
- West Windsor-plainsboro High School NorthA · 70% proficient
- West Windsor-plainsboro High School SouthA · 68% proficient
- Princeton High SchoolA− · 60% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Princeton school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Princeton 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 Princeton against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Princeton suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 94% of cities and 34% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Princeton
Is Princeton a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Princeton ranks 113th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on population health, an educated workforce, 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 Princeton expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $907,138. The overall cost of living runs about 24% above the national average. Set against a $176,915 median income, cost of living beats 94% of cities.
Is Princeton safe?
Yes, Princeton is safer than 64% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $207 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Princeton?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 24. That works out to about 59 pleasant days a year, more than 7% of cities.
Is Princeton good for families?
Schools beat 75% of cities, crime safety beats 64%, and childcare runs $1,426 a month.
Compare Princeton with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Princeton. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Princeton 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.
Princeton detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Princeton: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Princeton: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Princeton: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Princeton: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Princeton 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.