Best PlacesWest Portal, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Portal, 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.
West Portal ranks 5,644th 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 West Portal
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.
West Portal's strengths and weaknesses
Where West Portal ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 98% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 97% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than 96% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 96% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than 95% of towns
Where West Portal ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 1% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 3% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,458 a month, better than only 5% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 64 pleasant days a year, better than only 15% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in West Portal
A household needs to earn about $164,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Portal home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $131,938, 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 West Portal's effective rate of 2.28%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in West Portal
West Portal runs older than the country, though fewer residents are over 65 than the national share.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for West Portal.
Who works in West Portal, and how
Work in West Portal centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in West Portal
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across West Portal.
What the weather is like in West Portal, month by month
West Portal sees roughly 64 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 West Portal
The nearest airport, Lehigh Valley International, is about 21 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Newark Liberty International, about 46 miles away.
The best schools in and around West Portal
Schools across West Portal average a B, better than 66% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Thomas B. Conley Elementary SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Top middle schools
- Ethel Hoppock Middle SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Top high schools
- North Hunterdon High SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Portal school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Portal 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 West Portal against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in West Portal
Is West Portal a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Portal ranks 5,644th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on big-city access, civic engagement, and population health, 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 West Portal expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $520,845. The overall cost of living runs about 3% above the national average. Set against a $131,938 median income, cost of living beats 95% of towns.
Is West Portal safe?
Yes, West Portal is safer than 96% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $100 per resident a year.
Compare West Portal with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Portal. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Portal 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.
West Portal detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Portal: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Portal: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Portal: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Portal: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Portal 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.