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 →

Preakness$4,070/mo

Typical home $618K (Census) · tax rate 1.62%+ · or rent about $1,918/mo · Housing →

The difference: $870 a month, about $10,400 a year, between Wayne Township and Preakness.

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.

Where they are

Wayne Township and Preakness share a border

And the people who already live in one and work in the other.

Wayne TownshipPreakness

Wayne Township ↔ Preakness1.2 miles apart · They share a border

Who commutes between them

1,076 Preakness residents work in Wayne Township (11.7% of its workers)

Work & commute in Preakness →

Report cards

Grades and rankings, side by side

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 –PreaknessNot graded

Schools

B+Wayne TownshipBetter than 72% of districts in the state –PreaknessNot graded

Health

A+Wayne TownshipHealthier than 95% of U.S. towns –PreaknessNot graded

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 TownshipPreakness

Snow a year24″24″

January low22°F 22°F

July high86°F 86°F

Growing season (days)189d 189d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)59th 43rd

Outdoors & history

Wayne TownshipPreakness

Trails38 mi 1 mi

Conserved land14.8%11.1%

National Register places4 —

Archive photos14 —

Famous people born here26 —

Community

Wayne TownshipPreakness

Library hours a week67 hrs 67 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.

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 TownshipPreakness

People

Population 53,756Highest 18,520Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +0.2% NJ: +5.7% —

Median age 41±0.9 about the NJ average 41±1.8 about the NJ average

Kids under 18 22%±1.6Lowest NJ: 21.8% 23.7%±3.1Highest NJ: 21.8%

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

Age 65+ 19.5%±1.3Lowest NJ: 17.2% 20.4%±2.3Highest NJ: 17.2%

Preakness and Wayne 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% 57.1%Highest NJ: 43.6%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 8.5%±1Highest NJ: 6.4% 6.8%±2.1Lowest NJ: 6.4%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $153,056±$8kHighest 48% above NJ $133,205±$17kLowest 29% above NJ

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $612,700±$13kLowest 35% above NJ $617,700±$26kHighest 36% above NJ

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

Rentmedian gross, monthly $2,164±$86Highest 26% above NJ $1,918±$187Lowest 12% above NJ

Wayne Township and Preakness 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% 51.4%±10.7Highest NJ: 51.6%

Preakness 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%Highest NJ: 9.7% 3.3%Lowest NJ: 9.7%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 78.6%Highest NJ: 63.8% 70.6%Lowest NJ: 63.8%

Typical home builtmedian year 1967 3 yrs older than NJ 1967 3 yrs older than NJ

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 29 minLowest 6% below NJ 30 minHighest about the NJ average

Work from home 20.7%±2.1Highest NJ: 16.8% 16.9%±2.7Lowest NJ: 16.8%

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

Work in townworking residents 11%Highest 7.3%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 12.3 miHighest 11.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.15Highest 0.94Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town New York (11%)Wayne Township (12%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in Preakness12% work in Wayne Township

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 14.8%Highest 11.1%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 37.5 miHighest 0.8 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 1.5 miHighest 0.1 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 44Highest 11Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 61.0Lowest 80.6Highest

Schools

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

School district Passaic County Technical-Vocational School District · Wayne Township Public School District—

High school in town Passaic County Technical Institute—

Students per teacherat that high school 11.1 —

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 · 4d

Wayne's Founding Story

1 neighbor in Wayne Township can answer.

Preakness neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Preakness’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Wayne Township and Preakness

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

Bordering Wayne Township

+ Compare

Lincoln Park10,957 people · $443K homes

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Pequannock Township15,641 people · $553K homes

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Totowa10,959 people · $559K homes

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Pompton Lakes11,047 people · $442K homes

Towns like Wayne Township

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East Brunswick Township49,945 people · $522K homes

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Teaneck Township41,876 people · $546K homes

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Hillsborough Township44,091 people · $548K homes

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Bridgewater Township46,268 people · $606K 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.

Wayne Township vs Preakness

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs $870 more a month in Wayne Township

Wayne Township and Preakness share a border

Grades and rankings, side by side

What daily life feels like in each

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Wayne's Founding Story

Set another town beside Wayne Township and Preakness

Bordering Wayne Township

Towns like Wayne Township

Post to Wayne Township

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