Berkeley Heights, NJ

Berkeley Heights is a township in Union County and as of the 2000 Census has a population of 13,407. In Money magazine's 2007 Best Places to Live rankings, Berkeley Heights ranked 45th of out of a potential 2,800 places in the United States with populations above 7,500 and under 50,000.

New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked Berkeley Heights as the 59th best place to live in New Jersey in its 2008 rankings of the "Best Places To Live" in New Jersey.

Downtown Berkeley Heights is located along Springfield Avenue, approximately between the Plainfield Ave. intersection and the Snyder Avenue intersection. In addition, a post office, the Municipal Building, police station, train station, and many other shops and services are located in this part of town. There is an abundance of pizzerias, delicatessens and other restaurants in downtown Berkeley Heights. There is also a variety of banks, including TD Bank, Bank of America, and Wachovia.

A brick walk with personalized bricks engraved with the names of many long-time Berkeley Heights residents runs from near the railroad station towards Kings grocery store. A memorial to the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks adjoins a wooded area alongside Park Avenue, just southwest of downtown.


Official Website for Berkeley Heights.

• Berkeley Heights to New York City Penn Station - 51 Minutes
• Berkeley Heights to Newark Airport - 21 minutes
• Berkeley Heights to Short Hills Mall - 13 minutes (and seconds from the Livingston Mall!)
• Berkeley Heights to Giant Stadium - 32 minutes

As of the 2000 census, there were 13,407 people, 4,479 households, and 3,717 families residing in the township. The population density was 2,140.7 people per square mile (826.9/km2). There were 4,562 housing units at an average density of 728.4/sq mi (281.4/km2). The racial makeup of the township was 89.65% White, 1.11% African American, 0.08% Native American, 7.87% Asian, 0.61% from other races, and 0.68% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.68% of the population.

There were 4,479 households out of which 41.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 74.1% were married couples living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.0% were non-families. 14.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.89 and the average family size was 3.21.

In the township the population was spread out with 26.8% under the age of 18, 4.2% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 16.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 91.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.4 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $107,716, and the median income for a family was $118,862. Males had a median income of $83,175 versus $50,022 for females. The per capita income for the township was $43,981.

The Berkeley Heights Public Schools serves over 2,815 students in six district schools. The Mary Kay McMillin Early Childhood Center houses pre-Kindergarten through first grade (437 students). This school opened in 1997 after the Berkeley Heights school district bought the former Westlake School property. The concept of a pre-kindergarten - grade one school came about as a result of proposals to address school space issues in a way that would enhance the educational program in the district.

There are three elementary schools in the district, each of which houses students of grades two through five. These schools are Thomas P. Hughes Elementary School (313), Mountain Park Elementary School (265) and William Woodruff Elementary School (226).

Columbia Middle School (589) is the single middle school in the district. It houses grades six through eight. It also houses the School Administration Offices in the town in the old school building.

Governor Livingston High School (1,004 students) is the single high school in the district. It houses approximately 1,000 students in grades nine through twelve. In addition to serving the public school students of Berkeley Heights Township, high school students from the neighboring Borough of Mountainside are educated at the high school as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Mountainside School District.[20] Governor Livingston also provides programs for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and Cognitively Impaired, of which students are enrolled from all over north-central New Jersey.

New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked Governor Livingston High School as the 15th best high school in New Jersey in its 2008 rankings of the "Top Public High Schools" in New Jersey.

There are three private pre-kindergarten schools in Berkeley Heights. The Westminster Nursery School is located at the corner of Plainfield Ave. and Mountain Avenue, the Union Village Nursery is located bordering Warren Township at the corner of Mountain Avenue and Hillcrest Road, and the Diamond Hill Montessori is located along Diamond Hill Road opposite McMane Avenue.


NJ Department of Education Narrative on Governor Livingston High School
NJ Department of Education Statistics on Governor Livingston High School