Moving to
Brookdale.

All Brookdale data Compare Brookdale

9,960people live here $161,779median household income▲ 100% above US $1,791median rent per month▲ 27% above US $573,500median home value▲ 72% above US

Brookdale is an unincorporated community in Essex County, NJ. It has no city government: the county runs it, and the Census counts it as its own place.

What it's like to live in Brookdale

Brookdale is an unincorporated community in New Jersey with household incomes running above the national average, a highly educated workforce, schools with smaller class sizes than the national average, and public transit that many commuters actually use. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.

The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Brookdale deals with rent well above the national average, home prices well above the national average, county unemployment above the national average, and long average commutes.

The good

Higher-than-average incomes
Highly educated workforce
Low student-teacher ratio
Public transit that many commuters use

The not so good

Rent well above the national average
High home prices
Above-average unemployment in the county
Long commutes
High rent burden for renters
Cold winters

How Brookdale compares

Median household income

Brookdale$161,779

New Jersey avg$103,556

US$80,734

Median rent (per month)

Brookdale$1,791

New Jersey avg$1,720

US$1,413

Median home value

Brookdale$573,500

New Jersey avg$454,400

US$332,700

What it takes to move to Brookdale

Based on Brookdale's median rent, home value and household income

To rent

$3,582

up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit

Income to keep rent under 30%: $71,640 a year
51% of Brookdale renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent

To buy

$114,700

a 20% down payment on the median home

With 10% down: $57,350
Homes cost 3.5× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)

Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.

The details

Cost of living▲ 27% above US

$1,791/mo median rent

Rent runs on the higher side, at $1,791 a month median. Whether that premium makes sense usually comes down to the local job market and what it pays. Home prices are steep, with a median around $573,500. Renting first to get a feel for the city before buying is often the more practical route.

Median home value $573,500 · 51% of renters cost-burdened

Job market

6.3% county unemployment

Unemployment in Essex County is 6.3%, well above the national average of 4.3%. Moving with a job already lined up matters more here. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.

Essex County (county-wide)

Safety

82 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction

Brookdale doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the Bloomfield Police Department jurisdiction as a whole, which runs below the national average for violent crime and covers many communities. Individual neighborhoods can differ a lot from that overall rate.

Property crime 1337/100k · Policed by Bloomfield Police Department (township-wide rate) · 2025 data

Getting around▲ 36% above US

35 min average commute

Traffic is a real factor here. The 35.3 minute average means plenty of commuters are pushing 45 to 60 minutes on a bad day. Proximity to work matters more here than it might elsewhere. 6 in 10 workers drive to work; 15% take public transit; 24% work from home.

How workers get to work

Drive alone

50%

Work from home

24%

Public transit

15%

Carpool

10%

Walk

1.4%

Other

0.5%

Climate

Summers are warm, with highs around 83°F, and winters are cold, with lows around 24°F and snow a regular occurrence. Rainfall is regular throughout the year.

Average month

High °FLow °FPrecip (in)

30-year averages, 1991–2020

Education & workforce▲ 74% above US

63% bachelor's degree or higher

This is a highly educated city, with over half the adult population holding a college degree. That tends to shape the job market and the broader culture, and it's a solid indicator of a strong professional scene.

Schools

3 public schools inside the boundary

There are 3 public schools inside the boundary and 3 private schools. The student-to-teacher ratio is 11:1, well below the national average of 16:1. Smaller class sizes are generally a positive sign for a district.

Parks & recreation

The nearest national park or historic site is Thomas Edison National Historical Park (4 miles away). There are 8 national parks and sites within a day's drive.

Bottom line

Brookdale's strongest points are household incomes running above the national average and a highly educated workforce; the main tradeoffs are rent well above the national average and home prices well above the national average. A year of median rent ($1,791/mo) equals 13% of the median household income here, less than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit remote workers (24% of workers here already work from home), people who would rather not drive, and college-educated professionals. It may be a harder fit for renters on a tight budget, anyone moving without a job lined up, and people who dread long commutes.

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