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Place dossier plate
SheetNJ-DUNELLEN-NJ · Dunellen, NJ 7,711 pop · income 66th pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Dunellen
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Dunellen on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Ripley · lowest
39,047
Ripley · lowest
39,047 median HH income
15.7% of the leader · rank #1
Roland · near
84,779
Roland · near
84,779 median HH income
34.2% of the leader · rank #2
Dunellen · this city
84,789
Dunellen · this city
84,789 median HH income
34.2% of the leader · rank #3
Mellott · near
84,792
Mellott · near
84,792 median HH income
34.2% of the leader · rank #4
Ingalls · near
84,792
Ingalls · near
84,792 median HH income
34.2% of the leader · rank #5
La Puente · near
84,811
La Puente · near
84,811 median HH income
34.2% of the leader · rank #6
Glen Ridge · highest
248,016
Glen Ridge · highest
248,016 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Dunellen on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 7,711.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Dunellen - the verdict
Nationally, Dunellen sits in the 66th percentile for household income and the 67th percentile for safety among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
66th
percentile, household income
75th
percentile, home value
94th
percentile, median rent
67th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Dunellen, NJ
Dunellen is a small town in New Jersey, home to 7,711 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $84,789 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 24.5%. Dunellen's housing stock carries a median value of $380,200, and the median resident age is 41.7 years. Educational attainment runs 29.9% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 60.5% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 56 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Growing), up 14% from five years earlier. Dunellen reports a comparatively low crime rate: FBI UCR figures show 922.8 crimes per 100,000 residents, below the national average (reporting is voluntary across agencies, so treat this as reporting activity rather than a definitive danger score).
New Jersey carries a cost-of-living premium: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, New Jersey scores 108.8 (Well Above Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $2,132 per month statewide. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts New Jersey's average monthly utility costs around $275 (state average). Natural-hazard exposure scores 90.8 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Very High).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Dunellen's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from schools and households to work and mobility to comparison shortlist to reported crime to housing and income to population change; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Dunellen, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, commute-mode shares, FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count, local building permits.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
What does the education layer cover for Dunellen?
The NCES join finds 3 public schools within the city match. 29.9% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
What does the journey to work look like in Dunellen?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 69.3%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Which cities make useful reference points for Dunellen?
Within New Jersey, the closest population matches are Fanwood (7,714 residents, $176,667 income); Brigantine (7,702 residents, $88,906 income); Bloomingdale (7,686 residents, $126,221 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Hudsonville, MI (7,711 residents); St. Johns, MI (7,712 residents); Earlimart, CA (7,716 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Dunellen?
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 922.8 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 60% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Dunellen?
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 4.5 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 24.5%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.
Household income
$84,789
Home value
$380,200
Value / income
4.5×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Is Dunellen growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +721 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +9.5% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 56 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Period change
+9.5%
2025 estimate
8,337
2020 estimate
7,616
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
Above median income · poverty 24.5% (Highest-decile poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
108.8 (US=100)
High cost · BEA RPP 2024, New Jersey average
D
City profile score · Dunellen, NJ
43/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Violent crime B
93 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Household income C+
$84,789
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share C
29.9%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Cost of living F
108.8 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Poverty rate F
24.5%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Dunellen profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Violent crime: 72/100 (B) · 93 /100k
Household income: 64/100 (C+) · $84,789
Bachelor's+ share: 58/100 (C) · 29.9%
Cost of living: 10/100 (F) · 108.8 index
Poverty rate: 7/100 (F) · 24.5%
Where Dunellen sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Dunellen's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Dunellen highlighted among 9 peers.Read the chart values
Dunellen, NJ (this city): home $380,200, crime 923/100k
St. Johns, MI : home $175,300, crime 688/100k
Ripley, TN : home $152,200, crime 3,894/100k
Mount Horeb, WI : home $359,500, crime 284/100k
Fanwood, NJ : home $610,600, crime 745/100k
Brigantine, NJ : home $485,000, crime 859/100k
Bloomingdale, NJ : home $398,000, crime 506/100k
Glen Ridge, NJ : home $730,600, crime 1,220/100k
Bernardsville, NJ : home $737,600, crime 636/100k
How does Dunellen compare to other US cities?
Dunellen measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income66% higher than other cities
Home value75% pricier than other cities
Median rent94% pricier than other cities
Safety67% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
National percentiles can mask local variation. Looking only at New Jersey, Dunellen ranks #111 of 238 New Jersey cities by lowest crime rate - a narrower, more locally useful cut than the national comparison above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Dunellen against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to New Jersey only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
New Jersey-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Dunellen near the bottom of New Jersey's cities
Among the 686 New Jersey cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Dunellen ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Dunellen only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#480 of 659
27th percentile in New Jersey
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 686
0th percentile in New Jersey
Median Home Value
#360 of 672
46th percentile in New Jersey
Poverty Rate
#21 of 680
97th percentile in New Jersey
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#477 of 686
30th percentile in New Jersey
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within New Jersey only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
66th percentile nationally for median household income · 67th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Dunellen's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Dunellen's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Dunellen's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$380,20025th percentilemore affordable than 25% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Dunellen's home-value-to-income ratio: 4.5×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#11,936 of 15,516
More affordable than 23% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#9,155 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 4.5×, Dunellen sits in the moderate band:
national rank #11,936 of 15,516 and #9,155 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$84,789Dunellen, NJ median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Dunellen, NJ median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Dunellen, NJ.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)29.9%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)24.5%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)60.5%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
7,711
Median Income
$84,789
Median Home Value
$380,200
Median Age
41.7
Poverty Rate
24.5%
Labor force participation
60.5%
Bachelor's Degree+
29.9%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
922.8
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
93.4
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
829.3
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Schools
Total Schools
3
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Dunellen's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
7,616 residents
2021
7,588 residents
2022
7,587 residents
2023
8,266 residents
2024
8,325 residents
2025
8,337 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Growing
Total Permits (2024)
56
housing units authorized
Single-Family
38
detached homes
Multifamily
18
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
7.3
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
49
19
30
$5.2M
2020
35
20
15
$3.9M
2021
291
24
267
$41.8M
2022
70
0
70
$7.6M
2023
43
43
0
$20.0M
2024
56
38
18
$19.6M
Permit volume increased 14% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
69.3%
Carpool
10.1%
Public Transit
6.4%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
7.5%
Other
6.7%
Based on 3,716 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
New Jersey statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $275
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across New Jersey at $275 (electricity about $120 , water and sewer about $60 ).
These are New Jersey statewide averages, not a meter reading for Dunellen. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
New Jersey's BEA cost-of-living index is 108.8 (Well Above Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Dunellen is $2,132/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to New Jersey statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 90.8 / 100 (Very High).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a New Jersey statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Dunellen sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Dunellen compares to similar-size New Jersey cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.