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A+
Overall Niche Grade
How are grades calculated?
  1. Public Schools
    A+
  2. Crime & Safety
    B+
  3. Housing
    B
  4. Nightlife
    B
  5. Good for Families
    A+
  6. Diversity
    B
  7. Jobs
    B+
  8. Weather
    C+
  9. Cost of Living
    C-
  10. Health & Fitness
    A+
  11. Outdoor Activities
    A
  12. Commute
    B+
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Population
9,030

Real Estate

Median Home Value
$729,000
National
$184,700
Median Rent
$1,688
National
$949
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Area Feel
Suburban
Rent vs. Own
  • Rent
    20%
  • Own
    80%

Chatham Rankings

Niche ranks thousands of places to live based on key statistics from the U.S. Census and and expert insights.

Crime & Safety

Crime & Safety
B+
Based on violent and property crime rates.
Violent Crimes
  • Calculated annually per 100,000 residents
National
  • Assault
    22
    283
  • Murder
    0
    6
  • Rape
    0
    41
  • Robbery
    11
    136
Property Crimes
  • Calculated annually per 100,000 residents
National
  • Burglary
    67
    500
  • Theft
    369
    2,043
  • Motor Vehicle Theft
    45
    284

Residents

Diversity
B
Based on ethnic and economic diversity.
Median Household Income
$150,625
National
$55,322
Children
28%
Education Levels
National
  • Master's degree or higher
    36%
    12%
  • Bachelor's degree
    40%
    19%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    12%
    29%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    10%
    28%
  • Less than high school diploma
    3%
    13%
  • Public Schools
  • Private Schools
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Chatham Reviews

24 reviews
All Categories
I love Chatham! I've lived here almost my whole life and it's such a great town to grow up in. It's safe, has amazing schools, a cute downtown, and it close to NYC. What more could you want? The taxes are pretty high, but that's for our schools. I wouldn't live in Chatham just to live here, but I think it's a great town to raise your kids.
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Chatham combines the best of all possible worlds in one amazing package. It has public schools that are usually rated first in a state that takes education very seriously. Chatham is exceptionally safe and comprised of several neighborhoods where kids play together, neighbors have block parties, and there is a general feeling of friendliness that pervades.

Add to that exceptional town services, relatively low Morris county taxes, and proximity to NYC, Newark Airport, the seaside, and mountains. There is substantial industry and work opportunities all around Chatham.

Overall, there are many wealthy people here, but their wealth is more understated than some of the other towns in Essex county. It's not flashy wealth, but more classy and old world. The people here are friendly and welcoming of new transplants from other states.
Chatham is a lovely place but has changed in our time here. Its not a diversity-friendly town and everyone knows it. Old charming homes are knocked down at an alarming rate to build $1m+ homes. People are judged here by what kind of car they drive. Chatham is a commuter town but waitlist parking at the train station is 3 years and the NYC train is over $300/month. Our taxes have more than doubled and we don't get a lot. Athletic fields are average at best and school buildings are sub-par compared to many that we've seen; over-crowded and dated. The school system is ranked highly but most families have tutors for their children, even students in AP classes have tutors to keep them there, so the school achievement survey results are skewed. Crime is very low, location is great, residents are generally friendly (albeit snobby), and there is a downtown for kids to hang out. If you are thinking of a move to Chatham, do deep research-don't go by surveys and rankings alone.