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.

Safety

B+DoverSafer than 68% of U.S. towns –Bound BrookNot graded

Schools

CDoverBetter than 29% of districts in the state DBound BrookBetter than 10% of districts in the state

Health

B−DoverHealthier than 47% of U.S. towns BBound BrookHealthier than 64% of U.S. towns

10Dover

9Bound Brook

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

Most new homesHousing · 468 towns #309#39 Fastest growingGrowth · 469 towns #287#22 Lowest property taxCost of living · 469 towns #91#207 Closest to a top hospitalHealth · 469 towns #273#382 Highest graduation rateSchools · 385 towns #278#361 Shortest commuteGetting around · 469 towns #110#34 Highest incomeIncome · 469 towns #426#355 Most educatedPeople · 469 towns #452#389

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

Monthly cost

A typical home costs $190 more a month in Bound Brook

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%

Dover$3,550/mo

Typical home $518K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.92% · or rent about $1,825/mo · Housing →

Bound Brook$3,740/mo

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

The difference: $190 a month, about $2,300 a year, between Bound Brook and Dover.

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.

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

DoverBound Brook

Snow a year28″21″

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)80th 86th

Outdoors & history

DoverBound Brook

Trails2 mi 1 mi

Conserved land13%9%

Settled—1681

National Register places3 3

Archive photos—18

Community

DoverBound Brook

Library hours a week52 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.

Where they are

22 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

DoverBound Brook

Dover ↔ Bound Brook22 miles apart

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

DoverBound Brook

People

Population 18,563Highest 12,219Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +1.7%Lowest NJ: +5.7% +15.2%Highest NJ: +5.7%

Median age 39.8±2.8Highest about the NJ average 38±1.7Lowest 5% below NJ

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

Kids under 18 19.3%±3.1Lowest NJ: 21.8% 21.8%±3.3Highest NJ: 21.8%

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

Age 65+ 15.4%±2.5Highest NJ: 17.2% 14%±2.4Lowest NJ: 17.2%

Dover 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+ 17.3%Lowest NJ: 43.6% 27.1%Highest NJ: 43.6%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 4.6%±1.3Highest NJ: 6.4% 4.5%±1.5Lowest NJ: 6.4%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $73,737±$5kLowest 29% below NJ $90,571±$9kHighest 13% below NJ

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $366,700±$16kLowest 19% below NJ $397,100±$20kHighest 13% below NJ

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

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,825±$163Lowest 6% above NJ $1,973±$112Highest 15% above NJ

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

Property taxmedian, yearly $7,043Lowest 27% below NJ $9,303Highest about the NJ average

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 60.7%±12.7Lowest NJ: 51.6% 65.4%±10.4Highest NJ: 51.6%

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

Below poverty line 14.2%Highest NJ: 9.7% 11.1%Lowest NJ: 9.7%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 46%Highest NJ: 63.8% 44.8%Lowest NJ: 63.8%

Typical home builtmedian year 1954Lowest 16 yrs older than NJ 1957Highest 13 yrs older than NJ

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 26 minHighest 13% below NJ 24 minLowest 23% below NJ

Work from home 6.5%±1.9Lowest NJ: 16.8% 8.6%±2.6Highest NJ: 16.8%

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

Work in townworking residents 9.1%Highest 3.5%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 13.8 miHighest 13.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.82Highest 0.40Lowest

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

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in Bound BrookFew work in Dover

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 13%Highest 9%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 1.7 miHighest 0.8 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.6 miHighest 0.5 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 3Lowest 4Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 142Highest 125Lowest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #355 of 458 in NJ #409 of 458 in NJ

School district Dover Public School DistrictBound Brook School District

High school in town Dover High SchoolBound Brook High School

Students per teacherat that high school 12.7Highest 10.0Lowest

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.

Dover neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Dover’s Town Square.

Bound Brook neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Bound Brook’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Dover and Bound Brook

One tap adds it. Up to 4 towns at once.

Bordering Dover

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Wharton7,318 people · $381K homes

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Rockaway Township26,189 people · $467K homes

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Randolph Township26,604 people · $671K homes

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Mine Hill Township4,048 people · $434K homes

Towns like Dover

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Garfield32,783 people · $476K homes

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Roselle22,646 people · $380K 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.

Dover vs Bound Brook

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

Dover places higher on 10 of 20 NJ lists

A typical home costs $190 more a month in Bound Brook

What daily life feels like in each

22 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Dover and Bound Brook

Bordering Dover

Towns like Dover

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