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Glen Gardner, New Jersey

Glen Gardner is a small town of about 1,700 people in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.2 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 49 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,690
up 1.2% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$330,900
Hunterdon County prices up 26% since 2022
Household income
$101,974
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, New York area
112.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
13 miles
Phillipsburg, NJ
To Philadelphia
49 mi
straight line

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 3.2 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Glen Gardner itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close bySt. Luke's Warren Hospital in Phillipsburg, about 13 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityPhiladelphia is about 49 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 Glen Gardner 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
$330,900U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 26%Hunterdon County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,890 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$101,974U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
76%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$7,206 a yearNew Jersey: $9,590
Homes built before 1940
26%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
1%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 26% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area, not Glen Gardner 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
1,6902020: 1,670
Median age
41 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
10%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
17%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
43%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
13%U.S.: 6%
College students
8%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%); government (13%); transportation, warehousing and utilities (13%)
Unemployment rate
5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
40 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
14%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
6%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: St. Luke's Warren Hospital, Phillipsburg, NJ, about 13 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 5 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 Glen Gardner, run by Hampton Borough School District and North Hunterdon-Voorhees Regional High School District.

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
86%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
96%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
21°F
July average high
86°F
Days 90°F or hotter
21 a year
Nights at or below freezing
124 a year
Rain and melted snow
50.9 inches a year
Snow
27 inches a year
Elevation
532 feet

Weather station: Flemington 5 NNW (9 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: St. Luke's Warren Hospital, Bethlehem, Philadelphia.

Hunterdon 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:

  • Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area18 miles
  • Middle Delaware National Scenic River19 miles
  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail20 miles
  • Morristown National Historical Park20 miles
  • Thomas Edison National Historical Park37 miles

Read about Glen Gardner's history on Wikipedia.

Know Glen Gardner?

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

  • Asbury, NJ (unincorporated)241 people, 4 miles
  • Anderson, NJ (unincorporated)607 people, 4 miles
  • Annandale, NJ (unincorporated)1,568 people, 5 miles
  • Port Colden, NJ (unincorporated)332 people, 5 miles
  • Broadway, NJ (unincorporated)115 people, 6 miles
  • Brass Castle, NJ (unincorporated)1,936 people, 6 miles
  • Port Murray, NJ (unincorporated)138 people, 6 miles
  • New Village, NJ (unincorporated)335 people, 7 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.