Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every New Jersey ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Schools

DBound BrookBetter than 10% of districts in the state B−MiddlesexBetter than 50% of districts in the state

Health

BBound BrookHealthier than 64% of U.S. towns B+MiddlesexHealthier than 72% of U.S. towns

7Bound Brook

10Middlesex

Lists won, of 20 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Highest graduation rateSchools · 385 towns #361#51 Most new homesHousing · 468 towns #39#288 Cheapest rentCost of living · 464 towns #311#80 Most conserved landOutdoors · 467 towns #252#454 Lowest property taxCost of living · 469 towns #207#346 Most educatedPeople · 469 towns #389#300 Fewest uninsuredHealth · 469 towns #441#360 Fastest growingGrowth · 469 towns #22#102

Left end = #1 in New Jersey. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Bound Brook’s rankings →

Where they are

Bound Brook and Middlesex share a border

Straight-line miles between town centers.

Bound BrookMiddlesex

Bound Brook ↔ Middlesex2.1 miles apart · They share a border

Monthly cost

A typical home costs $180 more a month in Middlesex

A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Bound Brook$3,740/mo

Typical home $519K (Zillow) · tax rate 2.34% · or rent about $1,973/mo · Housing →

Middlesex$3,920/mo

Typical home $551K (Zillow) · tax rate 2.24%+ · or rent about $1,416/mo · Housing →

The difference: $180 a month, about $2,200 a year, between Middlesex and Bound Brook.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value; “+” means the Census top-codes that town’s bill at $10,000, so its real rate is higher.

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

Bound BrookMiddlesex

Snow a year21″21″

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)86th 86th

Outdoors & history

Bound BrookMiddlesex

Trails1 mi 1 mi

Conserved land9%0.9%

Settled1681 1913

National Register places3 —

Archive photos18 12

Famous people born here—3

Community

Bound BrookMiddlesex

Library hours a week—49 hrs

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs New Jersey average

Bound BrookMiddlesex

People

Population 12,219Lowest 14,645Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +15.2%Highest NJ: +5.7% +7.3%Lowest NJ: +5.7%

Median age 38±1.7Lowest 5% below NJ 44.3±3.7Highest 10% above NJ

Kids under 18 21.8%±3.3Highest NJ: 21.8% 20.9%±4.2Lowest NJ: 21.8%

Bound Brook and Middlesex are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 14%±2.4Lowest NJ: 17.2% 19.6%±3.4Highest NJ: 17.2%

Middlesex and Bound Brook are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 27.1%Lowest NJ: 43.6% 36.9%Highest NJ: 43.6%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 4.5%±1.5Highest NJ: 6.4% 4.2%±1.6Lowest NJ: 6.4%

Bound Brook and Middlesex are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $90,571±$9kLowest 13% below NJ $105,000±$13kHighest about the NJ average

Middlesex and Bound Brook are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $397,100±$20kLowest 13% below NJ $446,400±$12kHighest about the NJ average

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,973±$112Highest 15% above NJ $1,416±$58Lowest 18% below NJ

Property taxmedian, yearly $9,303Lowest about the NJ average $10,000+Highest at least 4% above NJ

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 65.4%±10.4Highest NJ: 51.6% 44.3%±12.6Lowest NJ: 51.6%

Bound Brook and Middlesex are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 11.1%Lowest NJ: 9.7% 11.3%Highest NJ: 9.7%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 44.8%Lowest NJ: 63.8% 73.9%Highest NJ: 63.8%

Typical home builtmedian year 1957Lowest 13 yrs older than NJ 1965Highest 5 yrs older than NJ

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 24 minLowest 23% below NJ 26 minHighest 14% below NJ

Work from home 8.6%±2.6Lowest NJ: 16.8% 9.4%±2.7Highest NJ: 16.8%

Middlesex and Bound Brook are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 3.5%Lowest 7.2%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 13.3 miHighest 9.8 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.40Lowest 0.72Highest

Top workplaceoutside town New York (6%)Bridgewater Township (5%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in MiddlesexFew work in Bound Brook

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 9%Highest 0.9%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 0.8 miHighest 0.7 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.5 miHighest 0.2 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 4Highest 1Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 125Highest 112Lowest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #409 of 458 in NJ #385 of 458 in NJ

School district Bound Brook School DistrictMiddlesex Borough School District

High school in town Bound Brook High SchoolMiddlesex High School

Students per teacherat that high school 10.0Lowest 10.9Highest

New Jersey average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Bound Brook neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Bound Brook’s Town Square.

Middlesex neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Middlesex’s Town Square.

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Bordering Bound Brook

+ Compare

Bridgewater Township46,268 people · $606K homes

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Martinsville11,559 people · $720K homes

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Finderne6,489 people · $413K homes

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South Bound Brook4,867 people · $359K homes

Towns like Bound Brook

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Haledon8,980 people · $396K homes

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Keansburg9,719 people · $312K homes

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Freehold12,507 people · $417K homes

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Dover18,563 people · $367K homes

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Bound Brook vs Middlesex

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

Middlesex places higher on 10 of 20 NJ lists

Bound Brook and Middlesex share a border

A typical home costs $180 more a month in Middlesex

What daily life feels like in each

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Bound Brook and Middlesex

Bordering Bound Brook

Towns like Bound Brook

Post to Bound Brook

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