Living in Princeton Meadows, 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 5.1 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 town2 public schools. No public high school in town: the nearest is West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North, about 2 miles away.
A hospital close byUniversity Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro in Plainsboro, about 3 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityPhiladelphia is about 38 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 Princeton Meadows 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

Princeton Meadows 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: $665,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 30%Middlesex County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $2,010 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $131,213U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 38%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $10,000 or more a yearNew Jersey: $9,590
Homes built before 1940: 2%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 2%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 30% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area, not Princeton Meadows 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: 15,561The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age: 34.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 8%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 25%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 80%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 13%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: Professional and business services (33%); schools, health care and social services (20%); finance, insurance and real estate (12%)
Unemployment rate: 5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 34 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 33%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 5%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro, Plainsboro, NJ, about 3 miles away. 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

2 public schools in Princeton Meadows, run by West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District. The nearest public high school is West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North, about 2 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: 93%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 99%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: 87°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 26 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 114 a year
Rain and melted snow: 47.5 inches a year
Snow: 24 inches a year
Elevation: 93 feet

Weather station: Hightstown 2 W (5 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

University Medical Center of Princeton at PlainsboroEmergency room3

New Brunswick, NJCity of 57,00012

Philadelphia, PAMetro of 6.3 million38

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: University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro, New Brunswick, Philadelphia.

Middlesex 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:

Gateway National Recreation Area26 miles
Morristown National Historical Park28 miles
Thomas Edison National Historical Park35 miles
Statue of Liberty National Monument37 miles
Castle Clinton National Monument38 miles

Read about Princeton Meadows's history on Wikipedia.

Know Princeton Meadows?

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

Plainsboro Center, NJ2,800 people, 1 miles
Monmouth Junction, NJ9,100 people, 3 miles
Heathcote, NJ7,700 people, 4 miles
Dayton, NJ8,000 people, 4 miles
Rossmoor, NJ3,400 people, 5 miles
Hightstown, NJ6,000 people, 5 miles

Smaller places

Cranbury, NJ (unincorporated)2,185 people, 3 miles
Princeton Junction, NJ (unincorporated)2,025 people, 3 miles
Kingston, NJ (unincorporated)1,670 people, 4 miles
Forsgate, NJ (unincorporated)2,102 people, 5 miles
Encore at Monroe, NJ (unincorporated)872 people, 5 miles
Deans, NJ (unincorporated)1,154 people, 5 miles
Clearbrook, NJ (unincorporated)2,375 people, 6 miles
Stonebridge, NJ (unincorporated)1,966 people, 6 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.