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Place dossier plate
SheetNJ-METUCHEN-NJ · Metuchen, NJ 14,982 pop · income 95th 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 Metuchen
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Metuchen on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Susanville · lowest
57,607
Susanville · lowest
57,607 median HH income
35.7% of the leader · rank #1
Wildwood · near
157,750
Wildwood · near
157,750 median HH income
97.7% of the leader · rank #2
Fort Valley · near
157,778
Fort Valley · near
157,778 median HH income
97.7% of the leader · rank #3
Metuchen · this city
157,779
Metuchen · this city
157,779 median HH income
97.7% of the leader · rank #4
West Springfi… · near
157,800
West Springfi… · near
157,800 median HH income
97.7% of the leader · rank #5
La Madera CDP… · near
157,813
La Madera CDP… · near
157,813 median HH income
97.8% of the leader · rank #6
Greenlawn · highest
161,442
Greenlawn · highest
161,442 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 Metuchen 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: 14,982.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Metuchen - the verdict
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Metuchen places in the 95th percentile for household income and the 62nd percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
95th
percentile, household income
88th
percentile, home value
94th
percentile, median rent
62nd
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: Metuchen, NJ
14,982 people live in Metuchen, New Jersey - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Metuchen households earn a median of $157,779 annually, placing it in the top quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 2.4%. Typical homes in Metuchen are valued around $565,400, and the median resident age is 39.4 years. About 66.8% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 67.9% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 294 residential building permits were authorized in Metuchen (Building Boom), up 1860% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data. Metuchen reports a comparatively low crime rate: the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program logs 1034.1 total incidents per 100,000 residents here, below the national average (agency reporting is voluntary, so this measures reporting activity, not 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. HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $2,132 per month. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in New Jersey run around $275, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 90.8 out of 100 (Very High).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Metuchen'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 reported crime to housing and income to schools and households to comparison shortlist to population change to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Metuchen, city-specific coverage includes FBI reported-crime rates, commute-mode shares, matched public-school count, local building permits, annual population history.
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.
1. Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in Metuchen?
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 1034.1 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 55% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
How far does income reach against housing in Metuchen?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.6 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 2.4%, 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. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
The NCES join finds 5 public schools within the city match. 66.8% 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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Metuchen?
Within New Jersey, the closest population matches are Highland Park (14,981 residents, $101,991 income); Fairview (14,920 residents, $64,152 income); Williamstown (14,855 residents, $87,021 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are St. Augustine, FL (14,979 residents); Greenlawn, NY (14,986 residents); Arlington, TN (14,989 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.
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.
Population change
Is Metuchen 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 +311 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +2.1% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 294 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
+2.1%
2025 estimate
15,363
2020 estimate
15,052
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
What does the journey to work look like in Metuchen?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 51.6%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Public transit
17.6%
Work from home
23.3%
Drive alone
51.6%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 7,530 workers age 16+.
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.
Household income A+
$157,779
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share A+
66.8%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime A
46 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Poverty rate A-
2.4%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
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.
Metuchen profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Household income: 98/100 (A+) · $157,779
Bachelor's+ share: 96/100 (A+) · 66.8%
Violent crime: 85/100 (A) · 46 /100k
Poverty rate: 83/100 (A-) · 2.4%
Cost of living: 10/100 (F) · 108.8 index
Where Metuchen sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Metuchen'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 - Metuchen highlighted among 26 peers.Read the chart values
Metuchen, NJ (this city): home $565,400, crime 1,034/100k
Susanville, CA : home $234,000, crime 1,838/100k
Pacific Grove, CA : home $1,129,400, crime 1,051/100k
Highland Park, NJ : home $463,600, crime 1,370/100k
Fairview, NJ : home $512,100, crime 1,103/100k
Hammonton, NJ : home $324,200, crime 1,315/100k
New York, NY : home $751,700, crime 3,039/100k
Los Angeles, CA : home $879,500, crime 2,212/100k
Chicago, IL : home $315,200, crime 4,012/100k
Houston, TX : home $253,400, crime 5,442/100k
Phoenix, AZ : home $381,900, crime 3,125/100k
Philadelphia, PA : home $232,400, crime 5,457/100k
San Antonio, TX : home $219,700, crime 5,218/100k
San Diego, CA : home $848,500, crime 2,082/100k
Dallas, TX : home $295,300, crime 4,010/100k
San Jose, CA : home $1,187,800, crime 3,195/100k
Austin, TX : home $512,700, crime 3,709/100k
Fort Worth, TX : home $277,300, crime 3,158/100k
Columbus, OH : home $234,500, crime 3,088/100k
Indianapolis, IN : home $207,000, crime 4,214/100k
San Francisco, CA : home $1,380,500, crime 4,526/100k
Seattle, WA : home $912,100, crime 5,783/100k
Denver, CO : home $586,700, crime 5,755/100k
Oklahoma City, OK : home $215,100, crime 3,570/100k
El Paso, TX : home $171,700, crime 1,772/100k
Washington, DC : home $724,600, crime 4,514/100k
How does Metuchen compare to other US cities?
Here's how Metuchen stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income95% higher than other cities
Home value88% pricier than other cities
Median rent94% pricier than other cities
Safety62% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
A national percentile can hide a lot of local variation: narrowed to New Jersey alone, Metuchen ranks #121 of 238 New Jersey cities by lowest crime rate - a different, more locally useful comparison than stacking it against the entire country.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Metuchen 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 Metuchen near the bottom of New Jersey's cities
Among the 686 New Jersey cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Metuchen ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Metuchen only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#109 of 659
83rd percentile in New Jersey
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 686
0th percentile in New Jersey
Median Home Value
#173 of 672
74th percentile in New Jersey
Poverty Rate
#387 of 680
42nd percentile in New Jersey
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#98 of 686
86th 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
95th percentile nationally for median household income · 62nd percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Metuchen's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Metuchen'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 Metuchen's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$565,40012th percentilemore affordable than 12% 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
Metuchen's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.6×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#9,299 of 15,516
More affordable than 40% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1,570 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 3.6×, Metuchen sits in the moderate band:
national rank #9,299 of 15,516 and #1,570 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
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
$157,779Metuchen, NJ median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Metuchen, 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 Metuchen, NJ.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)66.8%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)2.4%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)67.9%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
14,982
Median Income
$157,779
Median Home Value
$565,400
Median Age
39.4
Poverty Rate
2.4%
Labor force participation
67.9%
Bachelor's Degree+
66.8%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
1034.1
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
45.8
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
988.3
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
5
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Metuchen's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
15,052 residents
2021
15,006 residents
2022
15,011 residents
2023
15,148 residents
2024
15,314 residents
2025
15,363 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
294
housing units authorized
Single-Family
2
detached homes
Multifamily
292
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
19.6
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
15
15
0
$4.4M
2020
26
14
12
$3.8M
2021
28
13
15
$4.4M
2022
8
8
0
$3.2M
2023
5
5
0
$1.0M
2024
294
2
292
$38.4M
Permit volume increased 1860% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
51.6%
Carpool
5.2%
Public Transit
17.6%
Walk
1.5%
Work from Home
23.3%
Other
0.8%
Based on 7,530 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 Metuchen. 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 Metuchen 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 Metuchen sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Metuchen 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.