Small Town Guide
Menu

Towns / New Jersey

Bridgeton, New Jersey

Bridgeton is a small city of about 28,000 people in Cumberland County, New Jersey. It's the county seat. It has grown about 4% since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.6 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Philadelphia, is about 40 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
28,307
up 4.3% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$145,500
Cumberland County prices up 29% since 2022
Household income
$55,781
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Vineland area
96
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
9 miles
Vineland, NJ
To Philadelphia
40 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 4% below the U.S. average in the Vineland metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.6 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood204 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 7.3 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 27.2 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town13 public schools: 10 elementary, 2 high schools and 1 other.
  • A hospital close byInspira Medical Center Vineland in Vineland, about 9 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityPhiladelphia is about 40 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 Bridgeton 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.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$145,500U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 29%Cumberland County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,340 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$55,781U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
36%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$4,110 a yearNew Jersey: $9,590
Homes built before 1940
29%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
4%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
96U.S. average = 100 (the Vineland 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 29% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Vineland metro area, not Bridgeton 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, 2025 estimate
28,3072020: 27,140
Median age
29.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
6%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
31%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
7%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
5%U.S.: 6%

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
Retail (15%); schools, health care and social services (15%); manufacturing (13%)
Unemployment rate
6%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
29 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
4%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
27%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Inspira Medical Center Vineland, Vineland, NJ, about 9 miles away. 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

13 public schools in Bridgeton, run by Bridgeton City School District and Bridgeton Public Charter School.

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.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
74%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
88%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

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

Weather

January average low
25°F
July average high
86°F
Days 90°F or hotter
25 a year
Nights at or below freezing
87 a year
Rain and melted snow
47.7 inches a year
Snow
12 inches a year
Elevation
36 feet

Weather station: Seabrook Farms (4 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

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: Inspira Medical Center Vineland, Vineland, Philadelphia.

Cumberland County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

8 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Bridgeton Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • First State National Historical Park27 miles
  • Independence National Historical Park36 miles
  • Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial36 miles
  • Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site37 miles
  • Valley Forge National Historical Park46 miles

Read about Bridgeton's history on Wikipedia.

Know Bridgeton?

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

Smaller places

  • Sunset Lake, NJ (unincorporated)1,194 people, 2 miles
  • Laurel Heights, NJ (unincorporated)474 people, 2 miles
  • Lakeside-Beebe Run, NJ (unincorporated)222 people, 2 miles
  • West Park, NJ (unincorporated)1,079 people, 2 miles
  • Gouldtown, NJ (unincorporated)1,546 people, 2 miles
  • Silver Lake, NJ (unincorporated)2,011 people, 3 miles
  • Carlls Corner, NJ (unincorporated)868 people, 3 miles
  • Fairton, NJ (unincorporated)930 people, 4 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

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.