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Towns / New Jersey

Elmer, New Jersey

Elmer is a small town of about 1,400 people in Salem County, New Jersey. It has grown about 3% since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.4 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 29 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,376
up 3.1% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$227,300
Salem County prices up 26% since 2022
Household income
$95,357
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Philadelphia area
102.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Inspira Medical Center Mullica Hill
To Philadelphia
29 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 2.6% above the U.S. average in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.4 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood0 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 1.4 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 middle. No public high school in town: the nearest is Arthur P. Schalick High School, about 4 miles away.
  • A hospital close byInspira Medical Center Mullica Hill is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityPhiladelphia is about 29 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 Elmer 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
$227,300U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 26%Salem County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,741 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$95,357U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
68%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$6,687 a yearNew Jersey: $9,590
Homes built before 1940
55%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
2%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
102.6U.S. average = 100 (the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington 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 26% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metro area, not Elmer 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
1,3762020: 1,335
Median age
38.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
15%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
22%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
31%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
3%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 (32%); retail (10%); finance, insurance and real estate (10%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
26 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
7%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
10%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Inspira Medical Center Mullica Hill, Elmer, 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

2 public schools in Elmer, run by Pittsgrove Township School District and Creativity CoLaboratory Charter School. The nearest public high school is Arthur P. Schalick High School, about 4 miles away.

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
75%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
95%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
89°F
Days 90°F or hotter
35 a year
Nights at or below freezing
104 a year
Rain and melted snow
46.6 inches a year
Snow
13 inches a year
Elevation
113 feet

Weather station: Woodstown Pittsgrov 4E (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

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: Vineland, Philadelphia.

Salem 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

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • First State National Historical Park22 miles
  • Independence National Historical Park24 miles
  • Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial24 miles
  • Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site26 miles
  • Valley Forge National Historical Park37 miles

Read about Elmer's history on Wikipedia.

Know Elmer?

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

  • Olivet, NJ (unincorporated)1,573 people, 4 miles
  • Franklinville, NJ (unincorporated)1,904 people, 6 miles
  • Malaga, NJ (unincorporated)1,693 people, 6 miles
  • Deerfield Street, NJ (unincorporated)322 people, 6 miles
  • Seabrook Farms, NJ (unincorporated)1,448 people, 7 miles
  • Rosenhayn, NJ (unincorporated)1,308 people, 8 miles
  • Harrisonville, NJ (unincorporated)227 people, 8 miles
  • Carlls Corner, NJ (unincorporated)868 people, 9 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.