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. Much of the housing stock in South Orange was built prior to World War II, 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.

A relatively large number of people in South Orange telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 24.20% 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.

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.

Despite being a small town, South Orange has a lot of people using the train to get to and from work every day. Most of these people on the train are using it to get 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 South Orange. 76.14% 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 South Orange in 2022 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.