Best PlacesWarren County, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Warren County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Warren County ranks 482nd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $104,410, everyday costs sit below the national average, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are property taxes, state finances, and childcare costs.
The best neighborhoods in Warren County
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.
The best areas in Warren County
The parts of Warren County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Hackettstown & Blairstown
Tree cover is thicker, incomes run higher, and local pay stretches further.
Columbia
Biking is worse and streets are more car-dependent.
Washington, Belvidere & Oxford
It is quieter, though fewer households have young kids.
Phillipsburg
Crime runs higher and fewer residents vote.
Scores across Warren County run from about the 15th to the 91st percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Warren County's strengths and weaknesses
Warren County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. Few empty homes is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. Big-city access and low crime follow.
The one real hole is property taxes, near the bottom of the country. State finances and childcare costs also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Warren County ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 99% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 99% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 98% of counties
- Household income$104,410 median, better than 94% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 92% of counties
Where Warren County ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 1% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,353 a month, better than only 5% of counties
- Short commute34.0 minutes each way, better than only 5% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 64 pleasant days a year, better than only 11% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Warren County
A household needs to earn about $109,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Warren County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $104,410; 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 Warren County's effective rate of 2.33%, 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 Warren County
Warren County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Warren County.
Who works in Warren County, and how
Work in Warren County 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 82%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Warren County
Warren County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 96% of counties and more parkland per resident than 83% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Warren County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Warren County growing, and who is moving in?
Warren County has grown about 5% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from New York, NY.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Warren County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Warren County, month by month
Warren County sees roughly 64 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 30° | 21° |
| April | 64° | 51° | 39° |
| July | 88° | 75° | 64° |
| October | 68° | 55° | 43° |
Flying in and out of Warren County
The nearest airport, Lehigh Valley International, is about 24 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Newark Liberty International, about 45 miles away.
The best schools in and around Warren County
Schools across Warren County average a C, better than 33% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Durham-nockamixon El SchA+ · 90% proficient
- Frelinghuysen Township Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Willow Grove Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Top middle schools
- Palisades MsB+ · 50% proficient
- Long Valley Middle SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Ethel Hoppock Middle SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Top high schools
- Palisades HsA+ · 90% proficient
- Wilson Area HsA · 75% proficient
- West Morris Central High SchoolB+ · 54% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Warren County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Warren County 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 Warren County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Warren County suits
Families
Schools land around the 33rd percentile and crime safety beats 98%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 92% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 13% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Warren County
Is Warren County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Warren County ranks 482nd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on few empty homes, big-city access, and low crime, and lowest on property taxes and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Warren County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $343,858. The overall cost of living runs about 2% below the national average. Set against a $104,410 median income, cost of living beats 92% of counties.
Is Warren County safe?
Yes, Warren County is safer than 98% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $143 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Warren County?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 40 with lows near 21. That works out to about 64 pleasant days a year, more than 11% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Warren County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Hackettstown & Blairstown, Columbia, and Washington, Belvidere & Oxford. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Warren County good for families?
Schools beat 33% of counties, crime safety beats 98%, and childcare runs $1,353 a month.
Is Warren County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 92% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 72% of counties. About 13% of workers already work from home.
Compare Warren County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Warren County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Warren County 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.
Warren County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Warren County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Warren County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Warren County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Warren County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Warren County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.