Westfield is a medium-sized town located in the state of New Jersey. With a population of 30,539 people and five associated neighborhoods, Westfield is the 56th largest community in New Jersey. Westfield has a large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic towns in the country.
Westfield home prices are not only among the most expensive in New Jersey, but Westfield real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.
Also of interest is that Westfield 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 Westfield telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 29.29% 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.
In addition, Westfield is home to many people who could be described as "urban sophisticates". Urban sophisticates are people who are both educated and wealthy, and thus tend to be older, richer, and more established than young professionals. "Urban sophisticates" is not just about being educated and well-off financially: it is a point of view and state of mind, one that you might call 'urbaneness'. But such people can and do regularly live in small towns, suburbs and rural areas, as well as in big cities. They read, support the arts and high-end shops, and love travel.
Because of many things, Westfield is a very good place for families to consider. With an enviable combination of good schools, low crime, college-educated neighbors who tend to support education because of their own experiences, and a high rate of home ownership in predominantly single-family properties, Westfield really has some of the features that families look for when choosing a good community to raise children. Is Westfield perfect? Of course not, and if you like frenetic nightlife, it will be far from your cup of tea. But overall this is a solid community, with many things to recommend it as a family-friendly place to live.
In Westfield, however, the average commute to work is quite long. On average, people spend 33.77 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.
Although the majority of commuting trips in the town are by private automobile, Westfield is somewhat unusual for a town of its size for having a substantial number of people who use public transportation. For a lot of people, the train helps to get to and from their jobs every morning, which benefits everyone in the Westfield area by reducing both traffic and air pollution.
Do you have a 4-year college degree or graduate degree? If so, you may feel right at home in Westfield. 77.28% 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 Westfield in 2022 was $96,656, which is wealthy relative to New Jersey and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $386,624 for a family of four.
Westfield is a very ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Westfield home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Westfield residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Westfield include Irish, Italian, German, English, and Polish.
The most common language spoken in Westfield is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Chinese.