Living in Essex County, NJ: A Guide for Home Buyers

Thinking about living in Essex County, NJ? Here is the short answer. Essex is a county of 22 municipalities with Newark, New Jersey's most populous city, as its county seat. It runs from sea level at Newark Bay west over the Watchung Mountains to the Passaic River. It has NJ TRANSIT trains to both Hoboken and Penn Station New York, round-the-clock PATH service from Newark Penn Station, and the first county park system in the United States.

I'm Angela Becerra, a Rahway-based advisor serving Essex, Union, Middlesex, Bergen and Hudson counties. Every fact below links to its source.

Living in Essex County, NJ: where it is and what it's like

Essex is one of New Jersey's oldest counties. The Rutgers NJ Data Book names it one of the first four counties, with Bergen, Monmouth and Middlesex, and gives 1682; Wikipedia dates its formation within East Jersey to March 7, 1683. County government is based at 465 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard in Newark (County of Essex).

The U.S. Census Bureau's 2020 Gazetteer puts the county at 126.085 square miles of land and 3.335 square miles of water. The 2020 Census counted 863,728 residents in the county and 311,549 in Newark. That total made Essex New Jersey's second-most populous county in 2020.

The landscape changes as you head west. The east is generally flat. The land rises to the twin ridges of the Watchung Mountains in the western half, then drops into the Passaic River valley. The county's highest points, about 660 feet above sea level, lie between Verona, North Caldwell and Cedar Grove; its lowest point is sea level at Newark Bay (Wikipedia). The two main ridges, First and Second Watchung Mountain, are basalt uplifts that stretch for more than 40 miles. On the west side, the Passaic River forms the boundary with Morris County as it passes Livingston and Fairfield.

Getting around: trains, PATH, light rail and the airport

How you reach New York depends on which line serves your town:

Sources: Morris & Essex Lines, Morristown Line, Montclair-Boonton Line, Newark Penn Station, Newark-World Trade Center and Newark Light Rail (Wikipedia); About PATH (Port Authority of New York and New Jersey).

A few milestones help explain today's options:

• Midtown Direct: NJ TRANSIT launched weekday Midtown Direct service on the Morris & Essex Lines on June 10, 1996, and added weekend service on September 8, 1996. A rail link in the Kearny Meadowlands, the Kearny Connection, lets these trains merge onto the Northeast Corridor and run directly to Penn Station New York.
• Montclair Connection: opened September 30, 2002, creating today's Montclair-Boonton Line (Wikipedia).
• Newark Broad Street: built in 1903 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, it is served by the Montclair-Boonton Line and both Morris & Essex branches (Wikipedia).
• Light rail link: a one-mile extension between Newark Penn and Newark Broad Street opened July 17, 2006, with stations serving NJPAC and The Newark Museum.

For travel, Newark Liberty International Airport lies in both Newark and Elizabeth, straddling the Essex/Union county line. It opened in 1928, and AirTrain Newark links its terminals to the airport's rail station.

Parks, culture and things to do

The Essex County Park Commission was created on March 5, 1895, as the first county park system in the United States. The Olmsted Brothers took over park design in 1898, and the system now covers more than 6,000 acres.

• Branch Brook Park (Newark and Belleville): 360 acres, on the National Register since 1981 (Wikipedia). The Branch Brook Park Alliance says its 5,300 cherry trees in 18 varieties are the largest and most varied collection in the U.S., and the 2026 Cherry Blossom Festival celebrated 50 years of the tradition.
• South Mountain Reservation (Maplewood, Millburn, West Orange): more than 2,000 acres, with Hemlock Falls, Washington Rock and the Richard J. Codey Arena (Wikipedia).
• Turtle Back Zoo (West Orange): opened June 3, 1963 and was accredited by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association in September 2006. It is operated by the county parks department.
• Eagle Rock Reservation (West Orange, Montclair, Verona): 408 acres on First Watchung Mountain, with a September 11 memorial overlooking the Manhattan skyline (Wikipedia).

For culture, the National Park Service runs Thomas Edison National Historical Park in West Orange, including Edison's laboratory complex and his home, Glenmont. The Montclair Art Museum holds more than 12,000 objects. Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn was proclaimed the Official State Theater of New Jersey in 1972. Downtown Newark has NJPAC, home to the New Jersey Symphony, and Prudential Center, home of the New Jersey Devils.

Schools and colleges: the facts

Here are the public school districts for several Essex towns, per Wikipedia. Note that some towns share a district:

• Millburn and Short Hills: Millburn Township Public Schools
• South Orange and Maplewood: South Orange-Maplewood School District, with Columbia High School in Maplewood
• Glen Ridge: Glen Ridge Public Schools
• Montclair: Montclair Public Schools
• West Orange: West Orange Public Schools
• Livingston: Livingston Public Schools

Essex County Schools of Technology, a countywide vocational district for grades 9-12, lists three high schools: two in Newark and West Caldwell Tech.

Higher education includes Rutgers University-Newark, NJIT in Newark (founded 1881), Seton Hall University in South Orange (founded 1856) and Montclair State University in Montclair (founded 1908). Essex County College has its main campus in Newark and its West Essex Campus in West Caldwell.

Essex County towns at a glance

The county's official site lists 22 municipalities: Belleville, Bloomfield, Caldwell, Cedar Grove, East Orange, Essex Fells, Fairfield, Glen Ridge, Irvington, Livingston, Millburn, Maplewood, Montclair, Newark, Nutley, North Caldwell, Orange, Roseland, South Orange, Verona, West Caldwell and West Orange. A few snapshots:

• Newark: the county seat, with two major rail stations, NJPAC and Branch Brook Park.
• Montclair: a township on the east side of First Watchung Mountain (Wikipedia), home to the Montclair Art Museum.
• Glen Ridge: one of a few New Jersey towns that still use gas lamps for street lighting, with a historic district listed on the National Register in 1982 (Wikipedia).
• South Orange and Maplewood: South Orange has Seton Hall and SOPAC, a 415-seat theater with a five-screen cinema next to the South Orange station. Maplewood's station is served by the Morristown Line and Gladstone Branch.
• Millburn and Short Hills: Short Hills is part of Millburn Township, which has two train stations, The Mall at Short Hills and Paper Mill Playhouse (Wikipedia).
• West Orange: where the low-lying Newark Bay basin meets the Watchung Mountains, with Edison's lab and Turtle Back Zoo (Wikipedia).
• Livingston: bordered on the west by the Passaic River, with I-280 and Route 10 and Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center (Wikipedia).

Buying Essex County, NJ real estate: what to know

With 22 municipalities and several rail lines, details matter. Before you make an offer:

• Check the train, not just the line. Morris & Essex and Montclair-Boonton trains go to either Hoboken or Penn Station New York, so read the timetable for the hour you'd travel.
• Confirm the school district for the exact address with the district itself, since some towns share a district.
• Review the property tax bill for the specific home and town.
• Visit at different times, on a weekday rush hour and a weekend.

If this is your first purchase, our first-time buyer resources walk through the basics.

How I help Essex County buyers

I work with buyers from the first search through closing, and I can compare Essex towns with options in Union, Middlesex, Bergen and Hudson counties. Browse our homes for sale in Union and Middlesex County and community guides, or read how I work with buyers.

Ready to explore Essex County? I'd be glad to help you narrow down towns and tour homes, in English or Spanish. Contact me to start the conversation.

This article is for general educational purposes only and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Facts come from the linked sources as of September 2026 and may change; please verify independently, including school assignments and train schedules. Angela Becerra is a New Jersey real estate licensee (License #1970190) affiliated with Prominent Properties Sotheby's International Realty. Equal Housing Opportunity.

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