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.South Orange is a decidedly white-collar town, with fully 91.85% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, South Orange is a town of professionals, managers, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in South Orange who work in management occupations (19.51%), business and financial occupations (11.38%), and teaching (8.73%). 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. One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 24.20% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. 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, South Orange is a college town. There are a lot of students in South Orange attending college, and as a result South Orange provides a number of services, amenities and opportunities geared to the needs and activities of students. One downside of living in South Orange is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In South Orange, the average commute to work is 36.77 minutes, which is quite a bit higher than the national average. On the other hand, local public transit is widely used in the town, so leaving the car at home and taking transit is often a viable alternative. In addition, it is also a pedestrian-friendly town. Many of South Orange’s neighborhoods are dense enough 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.
