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Bernardsville

Bernardsville, NJ

  • peapack gladstone bank
  • bernardsville centre

What We Love About Bernardsville

  • No compromise high-end country living!
  • Walkable/bikeable town with cafes and retail shops
  • Fine dining
  • New Jersey Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary
  • Train station in town with limited commuter parking
  • Bernardsville Mountain Colony, with large estates and mansions, is a lovely neighborhood to drive around
  • Well regarded regionalized public school district
  • Downtown revitalization project underway
  • Lower Taxes
  • Safe Schools

Bernardsville is located in Somerset County, New Jersey

From NYC it takes barely an hour to get here by car. Bernardsville is part of the Skylands region of NJ, which is made up largely of farms, fairs, rivers, mountains, parks, wineries and outdoor activities. Even though you have some rural living, as with most of NJ, you are not far from shopping, groceries, dining and work.

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Ratings and Reviews

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Quick Facts

Bernardsville is located in Somerset County, New Jersey – Skylands Region – an hour from NYC by car.

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Quick facts about Bernardsville:

COMMUTE TIME (Hour:Minutes) ⓘ

These times are based on info from New Jersey Transit and Google Maps. Shortest times are given. Use our map above to calculate more accurate commute times to any address.
0:50+

Car ride to NYC.

1:20+

Train service to NYC.

1:05+

Bus service to NYC.

SIZE ⓘ

People per square mile gives you an idea of how much breathing room a town has. NYC has around 27,000 while a well equipped walkable town might have around 5,000. Smaller towns with more single family homes and large yards usually have under 1,000. Click on more info below to see where we get our data. 
7,594

Population estimate, July 1, 2019

12.91

Square miles

597

People per square mile

HOUSING ⓘ

Median cost to rent or own is basically the average cost of renting or owning per month in any given town. It’s not exact. Median values include the most expensive dwellings and the cheapest dwellings all averaged together, but with some weight added to higher concentrations in the data set. Just gives you some basic basis of comparison between towns. Click on more info below to see where we get our data.

$1,848

Median gross rent, 2014-2018

$3,843

Median selected monthly owner costs – with a mortgage, 2014-2018

$743,600

Median value of owner-occupied housing units, 2014-2018

PROPERTY TAX ⓘ

Approximate tax on $100K of home value. Ex: If you pay $500K for a house, multiply the number in the left column by 5 to get an idea of what you will have to pay each year in property taxes.

$2,104

Property taxes per $100,000 in home value.

Compare tax rates in Bernardsville area.

EDUCATION ⓘ

Gives you the ability to quickly see how much of a town has graduated from high school or higher ed. Click on more info below to see where we get our data.
97.90%

High school graduate or higher, percent of persons age 25 years+, 2014-2018

73.40%

Bachelor’s degree or higher, percent of persons age 25 years+, 2014-2018

INCOME ⓘ

Gives you an idea of how much people make in this town compared to other towns you look at. Click on more info below to see where we get our data.

$159,909

Median household income (in 2018 dollars), 2014-2018

AGE DISTRIBUTION ⓘ

Gives you an idea of how old your neighbors might be. Click on more info below to see where we get our data.
25.60%

Persons under 18 years

12.60%

Persons 65 years and over

CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE STATS & INFO ON RACE, INCOME AND HOUSING

See more stats on race, income and housing
(Hint: Sort by using the “All Topics” pull down menu)

See more stats on property taxes in NJ (green is lower, red is higher)

Does it flood? (FEMA flood maps)

Local Events Calendar

There’s a lot going on in the area. Come to a local event and share in the fun with the whole family! Here’s what’s going on around Somerset County this month

Schools

Some of the schools in Somerville are good and some are below average.

See the school scores

Walk & Bike Score

NOTE: All scores over 50 are actually good! Scores under 50 mean you would have a more difficult time

See walking and biking scores

Rate Your Own Town

Coming soon! – Do you live here or in NJ? Let the world know what you love about your town.

Local Political Climate

Historically New Jersey has elected more Republicans to office; however, in recent elections conservatives are being edged out somewhat, in part because there are fewer registered Republicans than Democrats in most of the state. About 80% of the counties have more registered Democrats than Republicans, but elections are still tight. In general Republicans are better at getting out the vote on election night than Democrats.

Somerset County Voting Results by Town

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School Scores – click on schools please

Walking and Biking Score – any score over 50 is good​

The Full Story of Bernardsvillle, NJ

What is it like living in Bernardsville, NJ?

In the 18th century, Bernardsville was a section of Bernards Township known as Vealtown. In 1840, Vealtown became known as Bernardsville, and officially split from Bernards in 1924. During the revolutionary war, Washington’s troops came through Bernardsville on their way to camp at Jockey Hollow, a few miles north toward Morristown.

Part of one of the wealthiest areas in New Jersey—or indeed the nation—Bernardsville has plenty of old estates and mansions (both old money and recent vintage) that dot the surrounding hills, making for a pleasant drive through. But you’ll also find high-priced regular homes and even some smaller homes on small lots. The downtown business district covers several moderately hilly blocks with nice retail shops, cafes, and restaurants, presided over by a statue of Millicent Fenwick (1910-1992, famous fashion model and US Congresswoman raised in Bernardsville). The downtown is composed of two sections (both along Rte. 202). Lower downtown is fancier, with shops, restaurants, a small movie theater, and a train station—great for strolling, window shopping, and fine dining. Upper downtown offers convenient everyday shopping, with a Shoprite supermarket, CVS, a day spa, wine shop, and some casual eating places, as well as the library and medical office buildings (including a great dentist for often pain-free root canals!). Because the downtown, with its  mid-20th-century architecture, is starting to age, there has been much discussion of revitalization. The Quimby Village project (under current debate) calls for Euro-style villages with open space, restaurants, stores, and high quality residences of modern design within walking distance of the train station.

That’s Bernardsville in a nutshell!

Click to read more

Schools

Somerset Hills Regional School District serves Bernardsville, Peapack-Gladstone, Far Hills, and for high school it also serves Bedminster (plus Bernards High School). Bedwell Elementary School has 568 students in Pre-K-4, Bernardsville Middle School has 523 students in grades 5-8, Bernards High School has 852 students for 9-12. The district’s teacher/student ratio is 12.5:1. St. Elizabeth is a parochial school for pre-K-8 in Bernardsville. Although the school district is well regarded, many students are enrolled at private schools across the area.

 

Parks and Recreation 

Bernardsville sits in some of the last vestiges of the Great Eastern Forest. The Scherman Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary started in 1965 with the Schermans’ donation of 125 acres to the NJ Audubon Society. The Hoffman estate was added in 1981, bringing the park’s total to 276 acres of woodland, field, and floodplain habitat for 200 species of wildlife. The Hoffman Center for Conservation and Environmental Education also serves as NJ Audubon state headquarters (njaudubon.org). Well maintained trails are perfect for family walks, and summer day and overnight camps are run here.

Morristown National Historical Park comprises four parts. Three sites are in Morristown: Jockey Hollow camp grounds of Washington’s troops (just north of Bernardsville), Ford Mansion, and Fort Nonsense. The fourth section, NJ Brigade Encampment, is in Bernardsville, and it includes the beautiful Cross Estate and its gardens.

Behind the Bedwell Elementary School are the municipal pool, tennis courts, and the Polo Grounds, which has a baseball field, football field, multi-purpose field, and other fields now under construction. A mile south of the Polo Grounds complex is Claremont, with another Little League field, a toddler playground, and the Claremont Fieldhouse, a community center. South of Rte. 202 is Kiwanis Park, with two Little League fields and a playground. Right off Rte. 202 is Rosebowl, a lighted softball field. Somerset Hills Country club is just outside the southern side of downtown.

 

Restaurants/Bars/Clubs

In lower downtown, The Station is a great place to stop for a burger. Also here is the excellent Japanese restaurant Tsuki and The Bernards Inn, a small upscale hotel with a fine restaurant (pricey, and crowded on weekends). North of town in Basking Ridge, The Olde Mill Inn (with the Grain House restaurant) is a classy hotel that caters many wedding receptions.

 

Housing Stock 

While the town may be best known for the mansions and significant estates in Bernardsville Mountain Colony, there are a substantial number of 3- to 5-bedroom colonials along Claremont Road in the borough, and even some housing on small lots. Most (some ⅔) of the residents live outside the 5-acre zoning, and a modest number of townhouse/condo developments have gone up since the 1980s. Prices of all these normal-size homes tend to be inflated by the town’s reputation. A significant portion of the borough is zoned for lots of 5-20 acres, but smaller lots can go down to ⅛ of an acre.   

 

New condos for Sale

On Claremont Road (the road leading to the Mountain Colony) and within walking distance of downtown, the Heritage at Claremont, a set of 20 condos built in 2020/21 (some units still under construction) are on the market with prices ranging from about $700K (1500 sq. ft.) up to $1.7 million. At the high end: unit 101, 2-bdrm, 2.5-bath, 2463 sq. ft., priced at $1.35 million, est. tax  $30,915 per year, HOA fee $1775 per month. Underground parking garage.

 

Townhouses for Sale

A number of townhouses in Somerset Hills Village are now for sale. One example: 3-bdrm 2.5-bath, built 1982 on 0.14 acre with 2-car garage, at $425K (MLS3667729 by RealMart Realty).

 

Houses for Sale

Currently there are many homes for sale listed on Homes.com, with a wide price range. Examples of single family houses for sale in Dec. 2020:

5-bdrm, 3-bath  45 Wesley Ave. for $584.4K

6-bdrm, 3-bath on 21 Hull Rd. for $595K.

4-bdrm, 6-bath, 5,444 sq. ft. at 12 Spruce Rd for $1,125K

5-bdrm, 5-bath at 17 Stirling Rd. at $995K

 

The Commute

Bernardsville is home to many business owners and people who work in finance and at New Jersey’s pharmaceutical and telecommunications companies. Commuting to Wall Street and to Newark was common before the pandemic; now more residents are telecommuting, taking advantage of their large homes. 

Rte. 202 is a single-lane-in-each-direction road that runs through the center of town. Major highways Rte. 78 and Rte. 287 are close by. NJ Transit’s Gladstone branch of Morristown line train takes anywhere between one hour and 15 minutes to one hour and 39 minutes to NY Penn Station ($15 one-way, monthly pass $436), usually with a stop in Summit or Newark Broad Street. Or you can take NJ Transit to Hoboken (for the same price) in as little as one hour and 4 minutes, where you can change to PATH trains going into NYC. Private reserved rail car on some morning commuter train has been spotted along the Peapack-Gladstone branch of NJ Transit going through Bernardsville. 

Lakeland bus express service ($13.75 one-way) to Port Authority NYC is faster now with Rte. 78 highway. Drive time from Bernardsville to NYC is in the 1-hour range when traffic is light.

Neighborhoods

The hillside luxury estates and newer mansions of Bernardsville Mountain Colony are a defining feature of the borough. Some estates date back to the estate heyday here of the early 20th century, when wealthy NY businessmen built summer villas in the hills in order to enjoy their cool summer breezes. In the Depression some were sold to religious orders or for private schools. A perfect area for a scenic Sunday drive through the lovely hills. 

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The information provided on this site is for promotional purposes. Not all statements are verified before publishing. It is strongly suggested that always contact the school district and the local municipality directly to verify important information before deciding to move or buy in that location. LovableTowns does not discriminate against any state or federally protected class as it relates to Fair Housing Act and The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD).
Photos by: Casey Kittel, Google Street View, etc.