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

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

Health

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

10Middlesex

7Bound Brook

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

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

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

Where they are

Middlesex and Bound Brook share a border

Straight-line miles between town centers.

MiddlesexBound Brook

Middlesex ↔ Bound Brook2.1 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%

Middlesex$3,920/mo

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

Bound Brook$3,740/mo

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

MiddlesexBound Brook

Snow a year21″21″

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

Outdoors & history

MiddlesexBound Brook

Trails1 mi 1 mi

Conserved land0.9%9%

Settled1913 1681

National Register places—3

Archive photos12 18

Famous people born here3 —

Community

MiddlesexBound Brook

Library hours a week49 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

MiddlesexBound Brook

People

Population 14,645Highest 12,219Lowest

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

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

Kids under 18 20.9%±4.2Lowest NJ: 21.8% 21.8%±3.3Highest 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+ 19.6%±3.4Highest NJ: 17.2% 14%±2.4Lowest 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+ 36.9%Highest NJ: 43.6% 27.1%Lowest NJ: 43.6%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 4.2%±1.6Lowest NJ: 6.4% 4.5%±1.5Highest 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 $105,000±$13kHighest about the NJ average $90,571±$9kLowest 13% below NJ

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 $446,400±$12kHighest about the NJ average $397,100±$20kLowest 13% below NJ

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

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

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 44.3%±12.6Lowest NJ: 51.6% 65.4%±10.4Highest 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 11.3%Highest NJ: 9.7% 11.1%Lowest NJ: 9.7%

Housing

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

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

Getting to work

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

Work from home 9.4%±2.7Highest NJ: 16.8% 8.6%±2.6Lowest 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 7.2%Highest 3.5%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 9.8 miLowest 13.3 miHighest

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

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

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

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 0.9%Lowest 9%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 0.7 miLowest 0.8 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.2 miLowest 0.5 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 1Lowest 4Highest

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

Schools

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

School district Middlesex Borough School DistrictBound Brook School District

High school in town Middlesex High SchoolBound Brook High School

Students per teacherat that high school 10.9Highest 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.

Middlesex neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Middlesex’s Town Square.

Bound Brook neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Bound Brook’s Town Square.

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Bordering Middlesex

+ Compare

Green Brook Township7,028 people · $539K homes

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Martinsville11,559 people · $720K homes

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Bridgewater Township46,268 people · $606K homes

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Piscataway Township61,297 people · $450K homes

Towns like Middlesex

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Saddle Brook Township14,419 people · $503K homes

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Totowa10,959 people · $559K homes

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Burlington Township24,127 people · $361K homes

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Hammonton14,840 people · $350K 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.

Middlesex vs Bound Brook

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

Middlesex places higher on 10 of 20 NJ lists

Middlesex and Bound Brook 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 Middlesex and Bound Brook

Bordering Middlesex

Towns like Middlesex

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