Small Town Guide
Menu

Towns / New Jersey

Newton, New Jersey

Newton is a small town of about 8,500 people in Sussex County, New Jersey. It's the county seat. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 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, New York, is about 50 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
8,486
up 1.9% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$302,700
Sussex County prices up 29% since 2022
Household income
$76,221
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, New York area
112.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Newton Medical Center
To New York
50 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 4 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood10 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1.2 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 9 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town9 public schools: 5 elementary, 2 middle and 2 high schools.
  • A hospital close byNewton Medical Center is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityNew York is about 50 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 Newton 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
$302,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 29%Sussex County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,442 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$76,221U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
59%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$9,187 a yearNew Jersey: $9,590
Homes built before 1940
37%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
5%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%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 29% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area, not Newton 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
8,4862020: 8,326
Median age
42.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
20%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
18%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
4%U.S.: 6%
College students
6%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 (28%); retail (15%); professional and business services (12%)
Unemployment rate
10%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
26 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
7%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
15%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Newton Medical Center, Newton, NJ, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 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

9 public schools in Newton, run by Newton Public School District and Andover Regional School District.

Colleges in or next to town: Sussex County Community College (1,000 to 4,999 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.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
77%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
17°F
July average high
84°F
Days 90°F or hotter
12 a year
Nights at or below freezing
142 a year
Rain and melted snow
48.7 inches a year
Snow
39 inches a year
Elevation
623 feet

Weather stations: Newton (less than a mile away) and Sussex 3 WNW (13 miles away, rain and snow). 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: Paterson, New York.

Sussex 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

4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Newton Town Plot Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail8 miles
  • Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area8 miles
  • Middle Delaware National Scenic River11 miles
  • Morristown National Historical Park22 miles
  • Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River24 miles

Read about Newton's history on Wikipedia.

Know Newton?

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

  • Andover, NJ614 people, 5 miles
  • Branchville, NJ809 people, 7 miles
  • Crandon Lakes, NJ (unincorporated)1,293 people, 7 miles
  • Byram Center, NJ (unincorporated)2,188 people, 9 miles
  • Johnsonburg, NJ (unincorporated)406 people, 9 miles
  • Marksboro, NJ (unincorporated)193 people, 9 miles
  • Port Morris, NJ (unincorporated)858 people, 11 miles
  • Blairstown, NJ (unincorporated)344 people, 11 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.