Metuchen is a medium-sized borough located in the state of New Jersey. With a population of 15,470 people and five associated neighborhoods, Metuchen is the 129th largest community in New Jersey.
Housing costs in Metuchen are among some of the highest in the nation, although real estate prices here don't compare to real estate prices in the most expensive communities in New Jersey.
Also of interest is that Metuchen has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.
Of important note, Metuchen is also a borough of artists. Metuchen has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Metuchen’s character.
A relatively large number of people in Metuchen telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 26.93% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. 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.
In addition, Metuchen is home to many people who could be described as "urban sophisticates", which are people who are not only wealthy and employed in professional occupations, but highly educated to boot. Urban sophisticates have urbane tastes - whether they reside in a big or small city, a suburb, or a little town. Urban sophisticates support bookstores, quality clothing stores, enjoy luxury travel, and in big cities, they are truly the patrons of the arts, attending and supporting institutions such as opera, symphony, ballet, and theatre.
Because of many things, Metuchen is a very good place for families to consider. With an enviable combination of good schools, low crime, college-educated neighbors who tend to support education because of their own experiences, and a high rate of home ownership in predominantly single-family properties, Metuchen really has some of the features that families look for when choosing a good community to raise children. Is Metuchen perfect? Of course not, and if you like frenetic nightlife, it will be far from your cup of tea. But overall this is a solid community, with many things to recommend it as a family-friendly place to live.
In Metuchen, however, the average commute to work is quite long. On average, people spend 34.76 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 Metuchen, a lot of people use the train to get to work every day though Metuchen is a relatively small borough. Those that ride the train are primarily traveling out of town to good jobs in other cities.
Do you have a 4-year college degree or graduate degree? If so, you may feel right at home in Metuchen. 67.13% of adults here have a 4-year degree or graduate degree, whereas the national average for all cities and towns is just 21.84%.
The per capita income in Metuchen in 2022 was $71,224, which is upper middle income relative to New Jersey, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $284,896 for a family of four.
Metuchen is an extremely ethnically-diverse borough. The people who call Metuchen home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Metuchen residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Metuchen include Italian, Irish, German, Polish, and English.
Foreign born people are also an important part of Metuchen's cultural character, accounting for 17.22% of the borough’s population.
The most common language spoken in Metuchen is English. Other important languages spoken here include Langs. of India and Spanish.