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Pick two or three towns for taxes, schools, commute and monthly cost side by side. Every number is sourced and dated; a metric appears only where we have data.

Pick 2 or 3 towns

Comparing Berkeley Heights, Bernards Twp (Basking Ridge) and Bloomfield.

Monthly cost

Estimated monthly cost Estimate

  • Mortgage (principal and interest)
  • Property tax
  • NJ Transit pass
  • Berkeley Heights$7,028 / monthMortgage $5,179 · Property tax $1,441 · NJ Transit pass $408 · on a $950,000 median single-family home
  • Bernards Twp (Basking Ridge)$9,128 / monthMortgage $6,815 · Property tax $1,782 · NJ Transit pass $531 · on a $1,250,000 median single-family home
  • Bloomfield$4,889 / monthMortgage $3,417 · Property tax $1,249 · NJ Transit pass $223 · on a $626,750 median single-family home
More info

Each town uses its own headline median sale price, single-family unless the town's label says otherwise (GSMLS, 2025 closed sales), and its 2025 effective tax rate. Mortgage is the monthly mortgage in the data: Principal & interest only; excludes taxes and insurance. Calculated at a 7.24% 30-year fixed rate, 20% down, 30-year term. Excludes insurance, utilities, maintenance and HOA fees. Change the numbers in the calculator.

Not shown for Chatham Twp: The monthly cost estimate includes the NJ Transit rail pass to New York Penn Station, which does not apply to Chatham Twp (no NJ Transit rail station in town; residents typically use Chatham station in Chatham Borough), so no estimate is shown.

Not shown for Hoboken: The monthly cost estimate includes the NJ Transit rail pass to New York Penn Station, which does not apply to Hoboken (not on NJ Transit's rail-to-Penn fare chart; residents typically use PATH or the NY Waterway ferry (see fares)), so no estimate is shown.

Not shown for Jersey City: The monthly cost estimate includes the NJ Transit rail pass to New York Penn Station, which does not apply to Jersey City (not on NJ Transit's rail-to-Penn fare chart; residents typically use PATH or the NY Waterway ferry (see fares)), so no estimate is shown.

Not shown for Scotch Plains: The monthly cost estimate includes the NJ Transit rail pass to New York Penn Station, which does not apply to Scotch Plains (no NJ Transit rail station in town; residents typically use Fanwood station in Fanwood Borough), so no estimate is shown.

Sources: GSMLS (As of 2025) · Freddie Mac PMMS (Updated October 2026) · NJ Division of Taxation (Updated January 2026) · NJ Transit (Updated July 2026)

Home prices

Median sale price, single-family

Median sale price, condo / townhouse

Monthly mortgage

More info

Principal & interest only; excludes taxes and insurance. Based on the single-family median unless a town's row says otherwise.

Source: GSMLS, 2025 closed sales

Property taxes

Average residential tax bill, 2025

More info

Bills compare better than raw tax rates, because towns assess homes at different shares of market value.

Sources: NJ Division of Taxation (Updated February 2026)

Schools

Meeting ELA standards

Meeting math standards

4-year graduation rate

More info

Not shown for Denville: K-8 district; see high school

Chronic absenteeism

Student:teacher ratio

DistrictsBerkeley Heights: Berkeley Heights School DistrictBernards Twp (Basking Ridge): Bernards Township School DistrictBloomfield: Bloomfield Township School DistrictDistrict-wide results for all students. The NJ state line is the statewide figure.

Sources: NJDOE (2024-25 school year, published May 2026)

Commute

NJ Transit adult monthly pass to NY Penn

More info

Not shown for Chatham Twp: No NJ Transit rail station in town; residents typically use Chatham station in Chatham Borough

Not shown for Hoboken: Not on NJ Transit's rail-to-Penn fare chart; residents typically use PATH or the NY Waterway ferry (see fares)

Not shown for Jersey City: Not on NJ Transit's rail-to-Penn fare chart; residents typically use PATH or the NY Waterway ferry (see fares)

Not shown for Scotch Plains: No NJ Transit rail station in town; residents typically use Fanwood station in Fanwood Borough

Peak commute time

  • Berkeley Heights58 min
    More info

    Typical from Berkeley Heights: 63.5 min, median trip time of the scheduled trips arriving 7:00-9:00 AM on Wed 2026-11-18 (one itinerary per departure; dominated options excluded). Based on 6 trips.

  • Bernards Twp (Basking Ridge)75 min
    More info

    Typical from Basking Ridge: 80.5 min, median trip time of the scheduled trips arriving 7:00-9:00 AM on Wed 2026-11-18 (one itinerary per departure; dominated options excluded). Based on 6 trips.

  • Bloomfield27 min
    More info

    Typical from Watsessing Avenue: 29 min, median trip time of the scheduled trips arriving 7:00-9:00 AM on Wed 2026-11-18 (one itinerary per departure; dominated options excluded). Based on 3 trips.

PATH commute time

Ferry commute time

Sources: NJ Transit (Updated July 2026) · NJ Transit GTFS (via Mobility Database) (Scheduled service Nov 18, 2026) · Port Authority (PATH) (Effective Oct 13, 2026) · NY Waterway (Read Nov 1, 2026)

Ready-made comparisons

One page for each pair of towns, with a short written summary.

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