Best PlacesWashington, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Washington, 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.
Washington ranks 7,971st of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on big-city access by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Washington
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.
Washington's strengths and weaknesses
Where Washington ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 98% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 98% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 93% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 91% of towns
- Household income$107,603 median, better than 89% of towns
Where Washington ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 1% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,354 a month, better than only 7% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 60 pleasant days a year, better than only 8% of towns
- Short commute36.4 minutes each way, better than only 11% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Washington
A household needs to earn about $108,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Washington home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $107,603; 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 Washington's effective rate of 2.58%, 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 Washington
Washington runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Washington.
Who works in Washington, and how
Work in Washington centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Washington
Washington has more restaurants and bars per resident than 78% of towns and more parkland per resident than 93% of towns. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Washington and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Washington, month by month
Washington sees roughly 60 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 Washington
The nearest airport, Lehigh Valley International, is about 25 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Newark Liberty International, about 43 miles away.
The best schools in and around Washington
Schools across Washington average a C, better than 34% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Valley View SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Brass Castle SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Port Colden SchoolC · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- Woodglen SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Warren Hills Regional Middle SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Top high schools
- Voorhees High SchoolB− · 44% proficient
- Warren Hills Regional High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- Warren County Vocational Technical SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Washington school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Washington 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 Washington against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Washington
Is Washington a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Washington ranks 7,971st of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on big-city access, walkability, and few empty homes, 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 Washington expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $330,971. The overall cost of living runs about 2% below the national average. Set against a $107,603 median income, cost of living beats 86% of towns.
Is Washington safe?
Yes, Washington is safer than 91% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $126 per resident a year.
Compare Washington with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Washington. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Washington 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.
Washington detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Washington: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Washington: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Washington: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Washington: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Washington 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.