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%

Wayne Township$4,940/mo

Typical home $748K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.63%+ · or rent about $2,164/mo · Housing →

Bridgewater Township$4,960/mo

Typical home $749K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.65%+ · or rent about $2,176/mo · Housing →

Within $50 a month of each other.

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.

Report cards

Bridgewater Township places higher on 10 of 22 NJ lists

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

C+Wayne TownshipSafer than 41% of U.S. towns –Bridgewater TownshipNot graded

Schools

B+Wayne TownshipBetter than 72% of districts in the state A−Bridgewater TownshipBetter than 75% of districts in the state

Health

A+Wayne TownshipHealthier than 95% of U.S. towns A+Bridgewater TownshipHealthier than 97% of U.S. towns

9Wayne Township

10Bridgewater Township

Lists won, of 22 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Closest to a top hospitalHealth · 469 towns #122#405 Lowest depressionHealth · 469 towns #188#33 Fastest growingGrowth · 469 towns #324#227 Shortest commuteGetting around · 469 towns #175#268 Most remote workersWork · 460 towns #143#69 Fewest uninsuredHealth · 469 towns #176#109 Most walkableOutdoors · 469 towns #257#318 Most trailsOutdoors · 354 towns #72#110

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

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

Wayne TownshipBridgewater Township

Snow a year24″21″

January low22°F —

July high86°F —

Growing season (days)189d —

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)59th 54th

Outdoors & history

Wayne TownshipBridgewater Township

Trails38 mi 40 mi

Conserved land14.8%14.8%

Settled—1749

National Register places4 3

Archive photos20 18

Famous people born here26 17

Community

Wayne TownshipBridgewater Township

Library hours a week67 hrs 58 hrs

Colleges in town1 —

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined1 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

31 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

Wayne TownshipPassaic County Bridgewater TownshipSomerset County

Wayne Township ↔ Bridgewater Township31 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

Wayne TownshipBridgewater Township

People

Population 53,756Highest 46,268Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +0.2%Lowest NJ: +5.7% +3.4%Highest NJ: +5.7%

Median age 41±0.9Lowest about the NJ average 41.9±1Highest 4% above NJ

Bridgewater Township and Wayne Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 22%±1.6Lowest NJ: 21.8% 22.7%±1.5Highest NJ: 21.8%

Bridgewater Township and Wayne Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 19.5%±1.3Highest NJ: 17.2% 18.2%±1.3Lowest NJ: 17.2%

Wayne Township and Bridgewater Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 56.8%Lowest NJ: 43.6% 61.8%Highest NJ: 43.6%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 8.5%±1Highest NJ: 6.4% 4.3%±0.8Lowest NJ: 6.4%

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $153,056±$8kLowest 48% above NJ $172,851±$10kHighest 67% above NJ

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $612,700±$13kHighest 35% above NJ $605,500±$15kLowest 33% above NJ

Wayne Township and Bridgewater Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Rentmedian gross, monthly $2,164±$86Lowest 26% above NJ $2,176±$127Highest 27% above NJ

Bridgewater Township and Wayne Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Property taxmedian, yearly $10,000+ at least 4% above NJ $10,000+ at least 4% above NJ

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 47.9%±5Lowest NJ: 51.6% 49.3%±9.8Highest NJ: 51.6%

Bridgewater Township and Wayne Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 3.4%Lowest NJ: 9.7% 4.1%Highest NJ: 9.7%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 78.6%Lowest NJ: 63.8% 84.9%Highest NJ: 63.8%

Typical home builtmedian year 1967Lowest 3 yrs older than NJ 1981Highest 11 yrs newer than NJ

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 29 minLowest 6% below NJ 31 minHighest about the NJ average

Work from home 20.7%±2.1Lowest NJ: 16.8% 26.4%±2.3Highest NJ: 16.8%

Work in townworking residents 11%Highest 10.7%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 12.3 miLowest 15.3 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.15Lowest 1.54Highest

Top workplaceoutside town New York (11%)New York (6%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in Bridgewater TownshipFew work in Wayne Township

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 14.8% 14.8%

Trailsmapped miles 37.5 miLowest 39.6 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 1.5 miHighest 1.2 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 44Highest 12Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 61.0Highest 37.9Lowest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #90 of 458 in NJ #98 of 458 in NJ

School district Passaic County Technical-Vocational School District · Wayne Township Public School DistrictBridgewater-Raritan Regional School District · Somerset County Vocational and Technical School District

High school in town Passaic County Technical InstituteBridgewater-Raritan High School

Students per teacherat that high school 11.1Lowest 13.0Highest

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.

Wayne Township neighborsTown Square →

T Weaver · 5d

Wayne's Founding Story

1 neighbor in Wayne Township can answer.

Bridgewater Township neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Bridgewater Township’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Wayne Township and Bridgewater Township

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

Bordering Wayne Township

+ Compare

Lincoln Park10,957 people · $443K homes

+ Compare

Pequannock Township15,641 people · $553K homes

+ Compare

Totowa10,959 people · $559K homes

+ Compare

Pompton Lakes11,047 people · $442K homes

Towns like Wayne Township

+ Compare

East Brunswick Township49,945 people · $522K homes

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Teaneck Township41,876 people · $546K homes

+ Compare

Hillsborough Township44,091 people · $548K homes

+ Compare

Fair Lawn35,610 people · $565K homes

Not sure which town to add? Find your place ranks New Jersey towns on what matters to you.Find your place →

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.

Wayne Township vs Bridgewater Township

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs about the same each month

Bridgewater Township places higher on 10 of 22 NJ lists

What daily life feels like in each

31 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Wayne's Founding Story

Set another town beside Wayne Township and Bridgewater Township

Bordering Wayne Township

Towns like Wayne Township

Post to Wayne Township

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