Living in Ampere North, New Jersey: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 12.6% above the U.S. average in the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 5.5 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
Schools in town17 public schools: 12 elementary, 3 middle and 2 high schools.
A hospital close byClara Maass Medical Center is in town and has an emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityNew York is about 15 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Ampere North meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Ampere North runs into the built-up area around New York (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $365,600U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 28%Essex County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,744 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $66,714U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill: $10,000 or more a yearNew Jersey: $9,590
Homes built since 2010: 0%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 112.6U.S. average = 100 (the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 28% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area, not Ampere North alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2020-2024 Census survey: 5,029The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age: 34 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 16%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 23%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 30%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 10%U.S.: 6%
College students: 7%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Schools, health care and social services (23%); transportation, warehousing and utilities (15%); government (13%)
Unemployment rate: 4%U.S.: 5%
Work from home: 3%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 21%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Clara Maass Medical Center, Belleville, NJ, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

17 public schools in Ampere North, run by East Orange School District and Newark Public School District.

Colleges in or next to town: Bloomfield College of Montclair State University (under 1,000 students).

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on New Jersey's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Weather

January average low: 25°F
July average high: 87°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 31 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 82 a year
Rain and melted snow: 50.4 inches a year
Snow: 28 inches a year
Elevation: 119 feet

Weather station: Harrison (3 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

East Orange, NJCity of 72,0001

New York, NYMetro of 20.1 million15

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: East Orange, New York.

Essex County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Thomas Edison National Historical Park2 miles
Statue of Liberty National Monument9 miles
Castle Clinton National Monument10 miles
Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park10 miles
Stonewall National Monument10 miles

Campus life. Check Bloomfield College of Montclair State University's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Ampere North's history on Wikipedia.

Know Ampere North?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Silver Lake, NJ3,900 people, 1 miles
Watsessing, NJ8,200 people, 1 miles
Glen Ridge, NJ8,300 people, 2 miles
East Newark, NJ2,600 people, 2 miles
North Arlington, NJ16,600 people, 4 miles
Brookdale, NJ10,000 people, 4 miles

Smaller places

Llewellyn Park, NJ (unincorporated)560 people, 3 miles
Pleasantdale, NJ (unincorporated)2,145 people, 5 miles
Connecticut Farms, NJ (unincorporated)516 people, 7 miles
Kean University, NJ (unincorporated)1,362 people, 7 miles
Springfield, NJ (unincorporated)1,304 people, 8 miles
Cranford, NJ (unincorporated)1,937 people, 10 miles
William Paterson University of New Jersey, NJ (unincorporated)1,133 people, 12 miles
Green Village, NJ (unincorporated)1,130 people, 14 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.