Are you thinking of living in Basking Ridge? Why are people moving to Basking Ridge, New Jersey, you ask? Contrary to the typical stereotypes, New Jersey has a lot to offer. Those who look at Basking Ridge, known formally as Bernards Township, also typically look at Princeton, Madison, and Westfield. So, for those out-of-towners and out-of-stateers considering these towns, this article is for you.
Situated about 35 miles west of New York City and 50 miles northeast of Philadelphia, PA, there are several reasons why Basking Ridge (Bernards Township) has matched or surpassed comparative towns like Madison, Princeton, and Westfield. Basking Ridge has become top-ranked for many reasons, notably by keeping taxes lower than Union and Morris County rates yet providing one of the best public school systems in New Jersey (and nationally). The number one reason to live in Basking Ridge is quality of Life, the combination of low taxes, less traffic, fewer people on top of you, and a good sense of community – you get the point.
Nestled in the middle of New Jersey’s pharma and telecom areas, residents are privileged to be supported by area companies such as United Healthcare, Optum, Verizon, AT&T, Merck, Pfizer, Sanofi, Daiichi Sankyo, Memorial Sloan Kettering, Affinity Credit Union, J&J, EMC/Dell, UBS, Morgan Stanley, Fiserv, Fedway Associates Distributors (liquor) to name a few.
Basking Ridge is Part of Bernards Township
Only Town in Somerset County, New Jersey
Basking Ridge, New Jersey, is part of Bernards Township in Somerset County, New Jersey. Bernards Township has various living options ranging from condo communities to sprawling 4-5 acre properties surrounded by orchards and working farms. The vast options in quality of life living separate Basking Ridge from the others. For those who don’t know, traffic isn’t an issue. Westfield has Route 22 madness, Mendham the Route 24 gridlock, and Princeton has the Route 206 nightmares. Comparatively speaking, Basking Ridge is a few clicks down on the aggression scale. It’s just a calmer area to live in. Lower-cost housing alternatives are more prevalent in Basking Ridge and Princeton. If you want older homes, go to Princeton. McMansions with land – more in Basking Ridge. McMansions without land – more Westfield and Madison.
What Realtors Can’t Tell You
With everyone fearful of litigation, Realtors have gone silent regarding giving you the lowdown on a particular community or neighborhood. Since Realtors are so bound by confidentiality agreements and threats of lawsuits, they often can’t tell you what you want to know. Questions ranging from “How many square feet is this house?” to What’s this community like? e.g., kids, crime, pedophiles, etc” – they can’t tell you those things. The Internet can only tell you so much. So let’s see, give it a try and give you some non-politically correct insight. Princeton is a very liberal town, followed probably by Chatham and Mendham. Westfield and Bernards Township rate about the same – conservative. Westfield is heavily catholic, but there’s an extensive Jewish community there as well. Basking Ridge – Protestant, yet has a very large Asian (including Indian) community with its heaviest concentration in “The Hills” section of the township. –
Township Identity
Each town has its unique identity. Westfield’s a great town to walk around and eat. So’s Madison. Shops are more mall-like in Princeton and Westfield. Princeton is a great town to walk/shop in, but it’s pricey. Madison is pricey. Basking Ridge – modest shopping areas. Food shopping – don’t expect much in all towns. Westfield goes to Shop Rite in nearby Garwood. Basking Ridge residents go mostly to Kings in nearby Bedminster, Kings/Shop Rite in Bernardsville, or Wegmans in Bridgewater. Madison – hit the Trader Joe’s in Chatham or the Kings. Mall shoppers don’t fret. Short Hills and Livingston support Westfield / Madison. Bridgewater Mall supports Basking Ridge. Quaker Bridge supports Princeton – all the same distances from town centers (5 or so miles).
Every town has its identity. When you talk to the locals and understand a township, you can understand why people from out of town choose to live there. Princeton is great if you want a University town (Madison slightly with FDU & Drew). Westfield’s best attribute is its downtown. Mendham is good if you like to live near Springsteen’s #1 fan (Gov. Christie). Chatham is a solid town but still in Morris County and subject to higher taxes, but still not as high as the tax rates in Union and Mercer Counties. Somerset County has the lowest tax rate of Morris, Union, and Mercer County.
Basking Ridge’s #1 quality is its overall Quality of Life.
- Niche Magazine 2024
- Princeton – 1st
- Summit – 13th
- Basking Ridge – 16th
- Madison – 17th
- Bedminster – 25th
- Chatham – Not Rated
- 2019 New Jersey Monthly Magazine:
- Madison – 1st
- Basking Ridge (Bernards Twp) 4th
- Chatham – 5th
- Westfield – 49th
- Princeton- 86th
- US News & World Reports 2024 ranks
- Chatham- 21 in New Jersey and 424 nationally
- Ridge High School 25th in New Jersey Rankings, 454 in National Rankings
- Princeton -33rd in New Jersey and 617th nationally
- Westfield – Not Rated
- Madison – Not Rated
- New Jersey Monthly (2017) ranked New Jersey as one of the Top 20 Best Places to Live in New Jersey.
- Chatham – 2nd
- Basking Ridge (Bernards Twp) 5th
- Westfield – 34th
- Madison- 40th
- Princeton- 42nd
- Taxes:
- Bernards Township (Basking Ridge) – 2024 Total Tax Rate: $1.779 per $100 of assessed value.
- Mendham – 2024 General Tax Rate: $1.942 per $100 of assessed value.
- Chatham – 2023 General Tax Rate: $1.956 per $100 of assessed value
- Princeton – 2022 General Tax Rate: $2.365 per $100 of assessed value.
- Westfield – 2022 General Tax Rate: $2.160 per $100 of assessed value.
Why Basking Ridge Ranks as Best Choice
Top 10 Reasons to Live in Basking Ridge, New Jersey
- School System Rankings:
- 2024 – Niche.com, Bernards Township School District is ranked number one in Somerset County – Best School Districts in New Jersey. 14 of 243.
- 2019 – Ridge High School ranked 25th in New Jersey Rankings, 454 in National Rankings
- 2024 – National Recognition in Forensics (Debate) – As of 2024, the team has secured the New Jersey State Championship title for 22 consecutive years, a streak that began in 2001.
- Best School Districts for Athletes in New Jersey. 9 of 243.
- Districts with the Best Teachers in New Jersey. 73 of 352
- Part of the Skylands Conference in Sport – competitive in Lacrosse, Ice Hockey, Football, Cross Country
- Lower Taxes (Township & County)
- Somerset County’s tax rate is lower than that of Union, Morris, and Mercer counties.
- Volunteer Fire and Rescue keep costs down
- 2024 – In Bernards Township, New Jersey, the total property tax rate for 2024 is $1.779 per $100 of assessed property value. Therefore, the total annual property tax for a $500,000 home in Bernards Township would be approximately $8,895.
- Community – There is a great sense of volunteerism and community spirit. The community has a spirit that gives this town its greatest quality.
- Business / Employment – US Healthcare, Optum, Verizon Wireless, Daiichi Sankyo, and Affinity Credit Union all call Basking Ridge their home.
- Space: Highest percentage of 4-5 acre properties throughout the township (vs. other towns).
- Bernards Twp is also about 25 square miles, so it has room for farms, orchards, businesses, condos, and “The Hills.” The others are about 6 square miles.
- Space (Parks/Sprawl)
- Downtown: Four separate villages support Bernards Twp:
- Basking Ridge (Northern)
- Liberty Corner (Southern)
- Lyons (Central)
- Dewy Meadow (Southern)
- Transportation:
- Rail-town – Railway to NYC and Hoboken
- Route 78 and Route 287 nearby
- Situated between Phila and NYC
- Peapack -Gladstone Rail line—direct service to Hoboken (PATH to WTC)—monthly rail cost: $15 each way,$436 monthly (almost double since our original post—$230) for Basking Ridge to NYC (Penn Station, NYC), $133/weekly.
- Bus Service is also available. (Lakeland Bus Company)
- Low Crime – that’s a given – all the towns have relatively low crime.
- 2025 – Bernards Township was ranked #9 among the 100 safest cities in New Jersey on the National Council For Home Safety And Security’s list of the 2025 Safest Cities in New Jersey on alarms.org.
- 2024 – Basking Ridge – The 2024 violent crime rate in Basking Ridge is 0 incidents per 1,000 people, which is lower than the national rate of 4.0. Property crime rate is 18 incidents per 1,000 people, which is very low.
Demographics
Want to know every known demographic known to man? Each link below will give you just about everything you need to perform a statistical analysis.
- Basking Ridge (Bernards Twp) – Click Here
- Madison – Click Here
- Princeton – Click Here
- Westfield – Click Here
Interestingly, each town has relatively similar demographics (see individual links for high-level overviews), which is probably why people compare each area when considering moving.
Statistically speaking, Bernards Twp betters the rest with higher-rated schools, lower taxes, and open space. But your particular demographic might need something else. From a race perspective, all towns lead, with whites at the top at 80-90%, except Princeton at 66%. Asians / Hispanics are second/third in all areas. Basking Ridge and Princeton range 15-20% for Asians.
Population Growth
Regarding crowding, many people who grew up in Basking Ridge before AT&T chose the town for its headquarters have seen the largest population growth since 1950. But as you can see, it’s still the least densely populated township out of the four.
- Bernards Township, NJ Population: 1950 / 7,487 – 2018 / 27,205 (1,113.6 per square mile)
- Princeton, NJ Population: 1950 / – 2018 / 31,386 (1,893.0 per square mile)
- Madison, NJ Population: 1950 / 10,417 – 2018 / 16,522 ( 3,767.9 per square mile)
- Westfield, NJ Population: 1950 / 21,243 – 2018 / 29,881 ( 4,512.2 per square mile)
Religion
Based on demographics, while each town has worship of just about every denomination, below is the ranking of religion in each town (by faith):
- Basking Ridge – Protestant/Catholic/Methodist
- Westfield – Protestant/Jewish/Catholic
- Madison – Catholic/Protestant
- Princeton – Catholic/Muslim
Additional Information
- If You’re Thinking of Living in Basking Ridge, New Jersey – 2005 – New York Times – Click Here
- NJ Monthly – Top 20 Towns in New Jersey – Aug. 15, 2011 – Basking Ridge Ranks 3rd in New Jersey – Click Here
- Bernards Township was voted among the best places to live in Somerset County and New Jersey, according to Niche’s 2018 “Best Places to Live” in New Jersey rankings. For at least the second consecutive year, the consumer rankings service assigned a grade on an A+-to-D+ scale to almost every town in the state.
- School ratings in New Jersey – NJ Monthly
The Besties – All the Best in the Jersey’s Somerset Hills
For anyone moving to the area, check out our post about the best places to get about anything in the Somerset Hills area of northern Somerset County.
Demographics
| Bernards Two – Demographic | Town | National |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 27,205 | 272,334,966 |
| Median Age | 37.13 years | 33.93 years |
| Median Household Income | $93,946 | $40,985 |
| % of Single Households | 37.39% | 30.22% |
| % of Married Households | 62.61% | 69.78% |
| % Families | 70.72% | 69.40% |
| Avg. Household Size | 2.42 people | 2.58 people |
| % College or Higher | 59.76% | 26.46% |
| % White Collar | 82.53% | 55.54% |
| Homes Owner Occupied | 79.84% | 57.72% |
| Avg. Dwelling Size | 6 rooms | 4.5 rooms |
Local History
How many areas have their coloring book? Basking Ridge now does. It’s called Somerset Hills History Coloring book. It’s great for the kids to learn about the area’s history. Learn More
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Original Post – May 2017
Updated – January 2025
