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Place dossier plate
SheetNJ-WEST-BERLIN-NJ · West Berlin, NJ 2,533 pop · income 56th 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 West Berlin
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest West Berlin on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
South Taft · lowest
41,875
South Taft · lowest
41,875 median HH income
22.7% of the leader · rank #1
West Berlin · this city
75,000
West Berlin · this city
75,000 median HH income
40.7% of the leader · rank #2
Scranton · near
75,000
Scranton · near
75,000 median HH income
40.7% of the leader · rank #3
Auberry · near
75,000
Auberry · near
75,000 median HH income
40.7% of the leader · rank #4
University of… · near
75,000
University of… · near
75,000 median HH income
40.7% of the leader · rank #5
Southern Ute · near
75,000
Southern Ute · near
75,000 median HH income
40.7% of the leader · rank #6
Peapack and G… · highest
184,231
Peapack and G… · highest
184,231 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
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for West Berlin on ACS population and median household income
. 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: 2,533.
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, West Berlin places in the 56th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
56th
percentile, household income
49th
percentile, home value
94th
percentile, median rent
📝 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: West Berlin, NJ
West Berlin is a small town in New Jersey, home to 2,533 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. The typical household in West Berlin brings in $75,000 a year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 0.0%. Home values in West Berlin run a median of $224,800, and the median resident age is 51.3 years. 23.4% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 71.3% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The city is served by 2 public schools according to NCES Common Core of Data.
New Jersey carries a cost-of-living premium: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts New Jersey at 108.8 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Well Above Average). A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $2,132 per month statewide. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in New Jersey run around $275, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 90.8 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Very High).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of West Berlin'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 comparison shortlist to schools and households to housing and income to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For West Berlin, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, matched public-school count.
No matched row is reported here for local building permits, within-city Census tract profiles, FBI reported-crime rates, annual population history; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Comparison shortlist
Which cities make useful reference points for West Berlin?
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.
Within New Jersey, the closest population matches are East Newark (2,529 residents, $65,272 income); Belvidere (2,526 residents, $100,334 income); Peapack and Gladstone (2,547 residents, $184,231 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Trinity, AL (2,533 residents); Bayview CDP (Contra Costa County), CA (2,533 residents); Skaneateles, NY (2,533 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.
What does the education layer cover for West Berlin?
The matched institution count is small, so district boundaries and schools outside the city line may matter more than the municipal count suggests. Use the number as a coverage cue, then verify attendance zones with the district before making a household decision.
The NCES join finds 2 public schools within the city match. 23.4% 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.
How far does income reach against housing in West Berlin?
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 home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.0 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 0.0%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
What does the journey to work look like in West Berlin?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 87.9%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. The profile is strongly car-oriented, so a relocation comparison should put trip distance, vehicle access, and household fuel costs ahead of a citywide commute average. The same-state peer links offer a more relevant benchmark than a national label.
Above median income · poverty 0.0% (Very low poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
108.8 (US=100)
High cost · BEA RPP 2024, New Jersey average
C-
City profile score · West Berlin, NJ
53/100
4 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.
Poverty rate A+
0.0%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income C-
$75,000
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share D
23.4%
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.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
West Berlin profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Poverty rate: 100/100 (A+) · 0.0%
Household income: 54/100 (C-) · $75,000
Bachelor's+ share: 44/100 (D) · 23.4%
Cost of living: 10/100 (F) · 108.8 index
How does West Berlin compare to other US cities?
West Berlin measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income56% higher than other cities
Home value49% pricier than other cities
Median rent94% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares West Berlin 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 West Berlin near the bottom of New Jersey's cities
Among the 686 New Jersey cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, West Berlin ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares West Berlin only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#548 of 659
17th percentile in New Jersey
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 686
0th percentile in New Jersey
Median Home Value
#587 of 672
13th percentile in New Jersey
Poverty Rate
#540 of 680
0th percentile in New Jersey
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#560 of 686
18th 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
56th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How West Berlin's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$224,800Among the most affordablemore affordable than 51% 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
West Berlin's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.0×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#6,678 of 15,516
More affordable than 57% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#5,656 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 3.0×, West Berlin sits in the affordable band:
national rank #6,678 of 15,516 and #5,656 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
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
$75,000West Berlin, NJ median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context West Berlin, 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 West Berlin, NJ.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)23.4%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)0.0%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)71.3%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
2,533
Median Income
$75,000
Median Home Value
$224,800
Median Age
51.3
Poverty Rate
0.0%
Labor force participation
71.3%
Bachelor's Degree+
23.4%
Schools
Total Schools
2
Public schools in this city
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
87.9%
Carpool
4.3%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
3.3%
Work from Home
4.5%
Based on 1,382 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 West Berlin. 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 West Berlin 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 West Berlin sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How West Berlin 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, NCES CCD, 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.