Westfield, New Jersey

Area Profile

31,111 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Westfield, in Union County.

71out of 100
Area Score
Top 12% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
OpportunityTop 1% of 4,199 cities measured90
SchoolsTop 5% of 4,162 cities measured87
Growth2,604th of 4,224 cities measured45
Housing affordability2,430th of 4,218 cities measured63
ClimateTop 48% of 4,225 cities measured71
Physical resilience2,488th of 4,226 cities measured49
AccessTop 16% of 4,226 cities measured99
Economic stabilityTop 5% of 4,226 cities measured80
The quick read

Westfield ranks in the top 1% of cities measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.4% and median household income of $232,629.

Public schools test above most of the state: 65% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 5% of published profiles for schools.

Rent takes 27% of renter income here, below the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened.

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
31,111
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$232,629
Top 1% nationally
Density
4,627/sq mi
6.7 sq mi of land
Median age
40.7
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
New Jersey
Nearest major airport
EWR
10 mi · Newark Liberty Intl
Median home value
$953,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.4%, lower than in 84% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment grew 1.8% over the past year, to 14,892 employed residents.

78% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 98% of measured US cities.

Median household income of $232,629 is higher than in 99% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsUnion County, NJ’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$96,52378th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftUnion County, NJ’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$89,52675th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$17,7202024 ACS 5-Year$232,629Top 1%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$7,3232024 ACS 5-Year$107,640Top 2%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year1.6%Top 11%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±2.4 min2024 ACS 5-Year39.9 minBottom 8%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year78.1%Top 2%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year49.7%6th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202614,892Bottom 13%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+2.3%Top 17%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+1.8%Top 10%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202615,41913th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year83.9%Top 28%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 ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year11.8%99th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−1.1%Top 10%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.4%Top 16%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year34.3%96th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.12.3
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.4% in July 2026. It has been falling, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

2021202220232024233k185k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $232,629 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.

65% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 75% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 11.6 students for every full-time teacher across 18 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
19
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
11.6
across 18 of them
Math proficiency
64.9%
Top 14% in New Jersey
Reading proficiency
75.5%
Top 14% in New Jersey
The 12 largest of 19 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Westfield Senior High SchoolWestfield Public School District1,77611.562%84%
Thomas Edison Intermediate SchoolWestfield Public School District80010.873%75%
Arthur L. Johnson High SchoolClark Township Public School District78512.722%55%
Roosevelt Intermediate SchoolWestfield Public School District63810.376%83%
Frank K. HehnlyClark Township Public School District54315.163%64%
Carl H. Kumpf SchoolClark Township Public School District52811.555%76%
Franklin Elementary SchoolWestfield Public School District50913.183%85%
Jefferson Elementary SchoolWestfield Public School District46713.777%77%
Tamaques Elementary SchoolWestfield Public School District42712.973%72%
Valley Road SchoolClark Township Public School District39011.568%75%
Wilson Elementary SchoolWestfield Public School District36212.570%73%
Washington Elementary SchoolWestfield Public School District30013.087%87%

4.7% 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, close to the $2,357 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $2,205 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $88,200 a year, about 38% of the median household income here of $232,629.

The typical renter household here spends 27% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $2,357 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
26.8%
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
$2,357
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$953,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Westfield’s median household income of $232,629, 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 ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year81.1%61st percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4002024 ACS 5-Year11,19295th 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 ±$2092024 ACS 5-Year$2,357Bottom 3%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$30,0372024 ACS 5-Year$953,40098th 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 ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year26.8%Top 41%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±302024 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-Year2.6%24th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1612024 ACS 5-Year29283rd 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

45/ 100
Ranks 2,604 of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been falling for the last 2 years of a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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.

Population has grown 4% since 2020, reaching 32,050 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 7 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Union County, which contains Westfield, lost about 0.5% 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 $96,523, above the $89,526 of households that moved out.

At 0.2 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
7
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.2
Bottom 10% nationally
Year over year
+40%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202432k31k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 2 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.5%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
40%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$96,523
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$89,526
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Essex County, NJ 5,043 people · 20% of arrivals
  2. Hudson County, NJ 3,078 people · 12% of arrivals
  3. Middlesex County, NJ 2,764 people · 11% of arrivals
  4. Kings County, NY 2,061 people · 8.0% of arrivals
  5. Somerset County, NJ 1,223 people · 4.8% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Middlesex County, NJ 4,376 people · 15% of departures
  2. Essex County, NJ 3,317 people · 12% of departures
  3. Somerset County, NJ 2,251 people · 8.0% of departures
  4. Hudson County, NJ 1,248 people · 4.4% of departures
  5. Morris County, NJ 1,154 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 Union County, NJ. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2020202120222023202420251384.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−90%).

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.

Air quality measures a median index of 43, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

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, 9.4 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.7"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year612024 calendar year
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
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year432024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals45°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
43
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
61
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

49 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, earthquake and heat wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 72% 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: strong wind, winter weather, lightning, heat wave, ice storm, tornado, cold wave, coastal flooding, landslide, hail, wildfire, avalanche, tsunami, volcanic activity.

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.

Violent crime
0
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
539
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Westfield's police department reported 0 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, lower than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 539.

Union County records 1.7 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 3.3 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 16.1 per 100,000 residents in Union County.

Homicide
1.7
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
3.3
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
16.1
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
5.8
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.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Westfield’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. 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 Westfield (Union County) rather than Westfield itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and 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.

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 10 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year97.6%Top 14%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle10 miTop 25%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle5Top 45%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year1.7%Top 18%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Newark Liberty IntlEWR10 mi9,999 ft
John F Kennedy IntlJFK30 mi14,511 ft
New York Stewart IntlSWF60 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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Area Score
71
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—

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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 Westfield
NewarkEssex County310,17853Newark vs Westfield
Jersey CityHudson County294,07863Jersey City vs Westfield
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 Westfield side by side with a similar place.

Westfield vs RidgewoodWestfield vs Ramsey

Moving to Westfield 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
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
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
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
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
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
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 Westfield

2 ZIP areas

Every ZIP area in Westfield 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 Westfield 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
0709031,111$232,629$953,400—
0706615,622$133,504$609,60069