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Data on this report is based on areas within the legal city boundary, outlined in black on the map. Any additional neighborhoods shown on the map are associated with the city by name and are included for reference only.

South Orange, NJ
Real Estate & Demographic Data






South Orange profile


Living in South Orange



South Orange is a medium-sized town located in the state of New Jersey. With a population of 18,220 people and four associated neighborhoods, South Orange is the 109th largest community in New Jersey. South Orange has a large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic towns in the country.

South Orange home prices are not only among the most expensive in New Jersey, but South Orange real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.

Of important note, South Orange is also a town of artists. South Orange has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape South Orange’s character.

Also of interest is that South Orange has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 24.20% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

South Orange is also a college town, where lots of students live while attending area colleges. Because of the high percentage of people living in South Orange enrolled in college, South Orange has a number of services, amenities and opportunities geared towards the needs and activities of students.

South Orange, while not large, also appears to be attractive to some younger, educated professionals, who help shape the character of the town.

In South Orange, however, the average commute to work is quite long. On average, people spend 36.77 minutes each day getting to work, which is significantly higher than the national average. One bright side is that local public transit is widely used, so it may be an option to avoid the headache of driving in the heavy traffic by leaving the car at home and taking transit. In addition, the town is also quite pedestrian-friendly, because many neighborhoods are very dense and have amenities close enough together that people find it feasible to get around on foot.

Even though South Orange is a smaller town, it has many people who hop on public transportation – mostly the train for their daily commute to work. Typically, these people are commuting to good jobs in the surrounding cities.

Do you like to read, write and learn? If you move to South Orange, you'll likely find that many of your neighbors like to as well. South Orange is one of the more educated communities in America, with a full 76.14% of its adults having a college degree or even advanced degree, compared to a national average across all communities of 21.84%.

The per capita income in South Orange in 2018 was $78,985, which is wealthy relative to New Jersey and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $315,940 for a family of four.

South Orange is an extremely ethnically-diverse town. The people who call South Orange home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of South Orange residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in South Orange include Irish, Italian, German, English, and Polish.

The most common language spoken in South Orange is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and French.