Short Hills, New Jersey

Area Profile

14,923 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Short Hills, in Essex County.

Area Score unavailable

Missing required signal: opportunity. AreaProfile withholds a score rather than inferring the missing dimensions.

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
SchoolsTop 1% of 4,162 cities measured98
GrowthTop 12% of 4,224 cities measured72
Housing affordabilityTop 14% of 4,218 cities measured79
ClimateTop 48% of 4,225 cities measured71
Physical resilience2,404th of 4,226 cities measured50
AccessTop 16% of 4,226 cities measured99
Economic stabilityTop 11% of 4,226 cities measured76
The quick read

Public schools test above most of the state: 75% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 1% of published profiles for schools.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 4,911 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 22% on the prior year. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Essex County, NJ, which contains Short Hills, rather than for Short Hills alone.

Housing is more affordable relative to local incomes than in most cities measured, with rent taking 23% of renter income.

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
14,923
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$250,000+
Density
2,839/sq mi
5.3 sq mi of land
Median age
41.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
New Jersey
Nearest major airport
EWR
9 mi · Newark Liberty Intl
Median home value
$1,674,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Essex County, NJ, which contains Short Hills, is 5.6% — higher than in all but 11% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Essex County, NJ, which contains Short Hills, grew 1.8% over the past year, to 405,967 employed residents.

93% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 99% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsEssex County, NJ’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$96,31778th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftEssex County, NJ’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$92,11077th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income2024 ACS 5-Year$250,000+—2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$12,7992024 ACS 5-Year$164,794Top 1%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year2.0%Top 12%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±3.3 min2024 ACS 5-Year45.8 minBottom 4%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year92.6%Top 1%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year33.8%3rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentEssex County, NJ’s figureJuly 2026405,967Top 21%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Essex County, NJ’s figureJuly 2026+1.1%Top 28%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Essex County, NJ’s figureJuly 2026+1.8%Top 10%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceEssex County, NJ’s figureJuly 2026430,19279th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year80.1%Top 43%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 ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year21.0%99th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Essex County, NJ’s figureJuly 2026−1.6%Top 1%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateEssex County, NJ’s figureJuly 20265.6%Bottom 11%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year40.4%98th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

2021202220232024250k250k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $250,000+ 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 Essex County, NJ, which contains this city.

75% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 88% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 11.0 students for every full-time teacher across 8 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
8
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
11.0
across all schools here
Math proficiency
74.5%
Top 2% in New Jersey
Reading proficiency
87.7%
Top 1% in New Jersey
All 8 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Millburn High SchoolMillburn Township School District1,38010.547%89%
Millburn Middle SchoolMillburn Township School District1,10610.584%87%
Hartshorn SchoolMillburn Township School District39211.587%87%
Washington SchoolMillburn Township School District36310.787%92%
Deerfield SchoolMillburn Township School District35812.392%82%
Wyoming SchoolMillburn Township School District34613.387%92%
Glenwood SchoolMillburn Township School District31513.192%87%
South Mountain SchoolMillburn Township School District2789.982%82%

2.0% 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 Newark, NJ Metropolitan Division is up 54% over five years, and up 6.3% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $2,205, below the $3,126 tenants already here pay.

The typical renter household here spends 23% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $3,126 a month.

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
23.0%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
—
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$2,205
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$3,126
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$1,674,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Short Hills’s median household income, 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 Newark, NJ Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+6.3%93rd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Newark, NJ Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+53.7%88th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Newark, NJ Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+90.1%46th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year86.5%72nd percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±2662024 ACS 5-Year4,71888th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,822Bottom 26%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,761Bottom 27%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$2,205Bottom 24%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$5032024 ACS 5-Year$3,126Bottom 1%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$68,9042024 ACS 5-Year$1,674,10099th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes2024 ACS 5-Year$10,000+—2024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income2024 ACS 5-Year$250,000+—2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±9%2024 ACS 5-Year23.0%Top 24%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±222024 ACS 5-Year01st percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year1.1%18th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±612024 ACS 5-Year5352nd 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

72/ 100
Top 12% 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.

80% of the 4,911 units permitted over the past twelve months are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses. The multifamily share is published for Essex County, NJ, which contains Short Hills, rather than for Short Hills alone.

Federal tax returns show Essex County, which contains Short Hills, lost about 1.0% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $96,317, close to the $92,110 of households that moved out.

At 5.7 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities. The permit rate is published for Essex County, NJ, which contains Short Hills, rather than for Short Hills alone.

Units permitted
4,911
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
5.7
Top 25% nationally
Year over year
+22%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
79.6%
units in 5+ unit buildings

People moving in and out

Net migration
−1.0%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
49%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$96,317
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$92,110
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Hudson County, NJ 4,661 people · 14% of arrivals
  2. Union County, NJ 3,317 people · 10% of arrivals
  3. Kings County, NY 2,965 people · 9.1% of arrivals
  4. Passaic County, NJ 2,234 people · 6.9% of arrivals
  5. Bergen County, NJ 1,980 people · 6.1% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Union County, NJ 5,043 people · 13% of departures
  2. Hudson County, NJ 2,673 people · 6.8% of departures
  3. Morris County, NJ 2,640 people · 6.7% of departures
  4. Middlesex County, NJ 2,008 people · 5.1% of departures
  5. Bergen County, NJ 1,989 people · 5.1% 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 Essex 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 Short Hills, NJ is not one. This is the figure for Essex County, NJ, which contains this city.

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 87°F and January a low of 26°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 46.6 inches, including 31.5 inches of snow.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station NEWARK INTL AP, 9.2 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.7"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals46.6"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals31.5"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals26°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals87°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 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

50 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, heat wave and earthquake, with inland flooding alone responsible for 70% of it. Heat wave is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

Inland floodingModerate
EarthquakeElevated
HurricaneModerate
DroughtModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, strong wind, winter weather, cold wave, tornado, lightning, hail, ice storm, coastal flooding, landslide, wildfire, 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.

Essex County records 3.8 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 5.3 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 24.6 per 100,000 residents in Essex County.

Homicide
3.8
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
5.3
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
24.6
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
6.2
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 Short Hills (Essex County) rather than Short Hills 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. This profile has no Area Score, and that is because of a missing input above rather than anything on this list; the rule 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 9 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access2024 ACS 5-Year100.0%Top 10%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle9 miTop 23%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle5Top 45%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%Top 1%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Newark Liberty IntlEWR9 mi9,999 ft
John F Kennedy IntlJFK30 mi14,511 ft
New York Stewart IntlSWF54 mi11,817 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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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 Short Hills
NewarkEssex County310,17853Newark vs Short Hills
Jersey CityHudson County294,07863Jersey City vs Short Hills
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 Short Hills side by side with a similar place.

Short Hills vs TenaflyShort Hills vs South Plainfield

Moving to Short Hills 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 Short Hills

2 ZIP areas

Every ZIP area in Short Hills with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Short Hills closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
0707814,613$250,000+$1,679,200—
070417,532$202,750$961,70066