Hillsborough, New Jersey

Area Profile

22,585 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Hillsborough, in Somerset County.

71out of 100
Area Score
Top 13% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
OpportunityTop 11% of 4,199 cities measured78
SchoolsTop 4% of 4,162 cities measured89
Growth2,192nd of 4,224 cities measured49
Housing affordabilityTop 21% of 4,218 cities measured76
Climate2,941st of 4,225 cities measured63
Physical resilience2,204th of 4,226 cities measured55
Access2,833rd of 4,226 cities measured87
Economic stabilityTop 1% of 4,226 cities measured88
The quick read

Hillsborough ranks in the top 11% of cities measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 4.0% and median household income of $144,112. The unemployment rate is published for Somerset County, NJ, which contains Hillsborough, rather than for Hillsborough alone.

Public schools test above most of the state: 68% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 4% of published profiles for schools.

Residential permitting has slowed: 765 units authorized over the past twelve months, 17% below the prior year. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Somerset County, NJ, which contains Hillsborough, rather than for Hillsborough alone.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
22,585
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$144,112
Top 5% nationally
Density
2,822/sq mi
8 sq mi of land
Median age
41.3
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
New Jersey
Nearest major airport
EWR
28 mi · Newark Liberty Intl
Median home value
$435,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Somerset County, NJ, which contains Hillsborough, is 4.0%, lower than in 61% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Somerset County, NJ, which contains Hillsborough, grew 1.1% over the past year, to 189,821 employed residents.

61% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 93% of measured US cities.

Median household income of $144,112 is higher than in 95% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsSomerset County, NJ’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$114,03790th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftSomerset County, NJ’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$126,30495th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$6,0952024 ACS 5-Year$144,112Top 5%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$5,0732024 ACS 5-Year$69,767Top 6%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year2.3%Top 13%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.8 min2024 ACS 5-Year33.6 minBottom 20%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year60.6%Top 7%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year67.9%23rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentSomerset County, NJ’s figureJuly 2026189,821Top 34%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Somerset County, NJ’s figureJuly 2026+0.8%Top 34%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Somerset County, NJ’s figureJuly 2026+1.1%Top 15%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceSomerset County, NJ’s figureJuly 2026197,77166th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year91.5%Top 8%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageNew York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$86,310Top 17%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageNew York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$61,430Top 19%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year1.4%87th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Somerset County, NJ’s figureJuly 2026−1.1%Top 11%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateSomerset County, NJ’s figureJuly 20264.0%Top 39%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year25.5%92nd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

2021202220232024144k130k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $144,112 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides644,700$39,680
Retail Salespersons202,080$38,280
Registered Nurses197,740$119,720
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners183,030$42,840
General and Operations Managers177,850$157,000
Cashiers173,830$35,950

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Somerset County, NJ, which contains this city.

68% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 75% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 11.5 students for every full-time teacher across 9 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
9
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
11.5
across all schools here
Math proficiency
67.8%
Top 10% in New Jersey
Reading proficiency
75.4%
Top 15% in New Jersey
All 9 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Hillsborough High SchoolHillsborough Township Public School District2,37713.658%76%
Hillsborough Township Middle SchoolHillsborough Township Public School District1,24611.270%78%
Auten Road Intermediate SchoolHillsborough Township Public School District1,11210.072%76%
Sunnymead Elementary SchoolHillsborough Township Public School District53013.676%79%
Hillsborough Township Elementary SchoolHillsborough Township Public School District46710.975%74%
Woods Road Elementary SchoolHillsborough Township Public School District41010.572%72%
Amsterdam Elementary SchoolHillsborough Township Public School District37610.282%74%
Triangle Elementary SchoolHillsborough Township Public School District3629.167%62%
Woodfern Elementary SchoolHillsborough Township Public School District3119.472%77%

16.3% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against New Jersey’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 13% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 112.6, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Lakewood-New Brunswick, NJ Metropolitan Division is up 59% over five years, and up 4.8% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $8,736 a year in real estate taxes, about 2.01% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $2,486, some 25% above the $1,986 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $2,486 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $99,400 a year, about 69% of the median household income here of $144,112.

The typical renter household here spends 28% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,986 a month.

A median home at $435,700 costs 2.8 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $155,716, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
112.6

Prices here run about 13% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
28.3%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.8×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$2,486
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,986
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$435,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Hillsborough’s median household income of $144,112, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ Metro Area’s figure2023112.6Bottom 16%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Lakewood-New Brunswick, NJ Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+4.8%76th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Lakewood-New Brunswick, NJ Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+58.5%94th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Lakewood-New Brunswick, NJ Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+101.9%66th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year2.8Bottom 40%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year79.9%58th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4882024 ACS 5-Year9,20693rd percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,978Bottom 20%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,981Bottom 20%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$2,486Bottom 16%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1442024 ACS 5-Year$1,986Bottom 8%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$29,3932024 ACS 5-Year$435,70085th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$5422024 ACS 5-Year$8,73699th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$11,2332024 ACS 5-Year$155,716Top 6%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.18%2024 ACS 5-Year2.01%92nd percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year28.3%Top 50%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±122024 ACS 5-Year861st percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%52nd percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year0.6%17th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±592024 ACS 5-Year6155th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

49/ 100
Ranks 2,192 of 4,224 published city profiles

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Federal tax returns show that people moving in from elsewhere in the US and people moving out roughly balanced across Somerset County, which contains Hillsborough, in the most recent year. Households that moved in reported an average income of $114,037, below the $126,304 of households that moved out.

At 2.2 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities. The permit rate is published for Somerset County, NJ, which contains Hillsborough, rather than for Hillsborough alone.

Units permitted
765
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.2
Bottom 44% nationally
Year over year
−17%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
55.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

People moving in and out

Net migration
0.0%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
30%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$114,037
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$126,304
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Middlesex County, NJ 4,830 people · 26% of arrivals
  2. Union County, NJ 2,251 people · 12% of arrivals
  3. Morris County, NJ 1,121 people · 6.1% of arrivals
  4. Hudson County, NJ 916 people · 5.0% of arrivals
  5. Essex County, NJ 854 people · 4.7% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Middlesex County, NJ 3,200 people · 17% of departures
  2. Union County, NJ 1,223 people · 6.6% of departures
  3. Hunterdon County, NJ 1,202 people · 6.5% of departures
  4. Morris County, NJ 919 people · 5.0% of departures
  5. Mercer County, NJ 765 people · 4.1% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Somerset County, NJ. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

The Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey lists only jurisdictions that issue their own permits, and Hillsborough, NJ is not one. This is the figure for Somerset County, NJ, which contains this city.

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 86°F and January a low of 21°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 45.5 inches.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station SOMERVILLE SOMERSET AP, 8.0 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals45.5"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals21°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals86°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals45°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

55 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, earthquake and hurricane, with inland flooding alone responsible for 78% of it.

Inland floodingElevated
Strong windModerate
Ice stormModerate
EarthquakeElevated
Heat waveModerate
HurricaneModerate
DroughtModerate

Low or minimal exposure: winter weather, lightning, cold wave, tornado, wildfire, coastal flooding, landslide, hail, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Somerset County has a modeled homicide rate of about 1.8 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 3.4 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 8.9 per 100,000 residents in Somerset County.

Homicide
1.8
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
3.4
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
8.9
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
8.0
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Hillsborough (Somerset County) rather than Hillsborough itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. Either no municipal department reports for this place — many smaller communities are policed by the county — or its department did not report every month of the year. Either way there is no figure to show. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

5 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Newark Liberty Intl at 28 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year93.4%Top 33%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle28 miBottom 30%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle5Top 45%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year4.8%Top 35%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Newark Liberty IntlEWR28 mi9,999 ft
John F Kennedy IntlJFK47 mi14,511 ft
Philadelphia IntlPHL54 mi12,000 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
71
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Other cities in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
New YorkNew York County8,483,84461New York vs Hillsborough
NewarkEssex County310,17853Newark vs Hillsborough
Jersey CityHudson County294,07863Jersey City vs Hillsborough
YonkersWestchester County209,97861
PatersonPassaic County158,73545
ElizabethUnion County137,30255
Toms RiverOcean County94,95658
CliftonPassaic County89,37958
New RochelleWestchester County82,76968
Mount VernonWestchester County72,42756
BayonneHudson County71,55355
East OrangeEssex County70,09052

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Hillsborough side by side with a similar place.

Hillsborough vs RobertsvilleHillsborough vs Lincoln Park

Moving to Hillsborough from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Hillsborough

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Hillsborough with census figures of its own, largest first.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
0884444,463$153,556$547,70070