New Jersey city guide
Moving From California to Princeton, NJ
A university town in central New Jersey with the state's strongest reputation for public schools and an economy centered on Princeton University.
Housing comparison
California versus Princeton, side by side
- Median home value
- $725,800
- $1,050,000
- Median annual property tax
- $5,114
- not available
- Median monthly cost, owners with a mortgage
- $2,844
- not available
- Population
- 39.0 million (state)
- 30,756
Figures are US Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020 to 2024 5-Year Estimates for the city place. Property tax and monthly cost rows cover owner-occupied units with a mortgage, so they describe what current owners pay, not what a new buyer would pay at today's prices. California column is the statewide baseline used across this site.
Why Californians look at Princeton
Princeton is a consolidated municipality in Mercer County, roughly halfway between New York and Philadelphia and reachable from both by train. It is best known for Princeton University, which shapes the town's population, its economy, and its unusually young median age relative to the rest of New Jersey.
The town center is walkable, with Nassau Street's shops and restaurants running along the edge of campus, and residential neighborhoods radiating out from there through a mix of historic homes, mid-century construction, and newer development. Public schools in the Princeton Regional district have a strong regional reputation and are a major draw for families relocating from California.
Princeton is expensive even by New Jersey standards. Data USA reports a 2024 median property value near $1.05 million for the town, among the highest of any municipality on this list, so buyers should expect the entry cost to reflect the schools, the university, and the location rather than represent a discount relative to California in the way some other New Jersey towns do.
Princeton fits you if
- You want a public school district with a strong regional academic reputation.
- You want university-town amenities, including lectures, athletics, arts programming, and a walkable center.
- You want reasonable rail access to both New York and Philadelphia rather than committing to one metro.
- You are comfortable paying a premium for schools and location rather than searching for the cheapest entry point in the state.
Look elsewhere if
- You are trying to minimize your housing budget. Princeton is one of the most expensive towns in this group.
- You need a fast, direct commute into Manhattan. Princeton requires a transfer, typically at Princeton Junction onto NJ Transit's Northeast Corridor Line.
- You want a large, diverse private-sector local job market. The town's economy is dominated by the university and related institutions.
- You want low property taxes. Mercer County and Princeton's municipal and school taxes are substantial.
Housing in Princeton
Historic homes near the university and along the older streets close to Nassau Street command the highest prices, while neighborhoods further from campus, including areas toward West Windsor and Cranbury, offer somewhat more moderate entry points while still feeding into Princeton-area schools in some cases.
Data USA's 2024 estimate puts the median property value near $1.05 million, and the town's population is 30,756. Princeton's combined municipal, county, and school property tax rate is a genuine annual cost that buyers coming from California's property tax structure need to model before they commit.
Because demand is driven heavily by the university, by Princeton-area employers, and by families targeting the school district, inventory turns quickly and well-located homes rarely sit on the market long.
Work and the local economy
Princeton University is the dominant local employer and shapes the town's demographics, with a large share of residents connected to the university as faculty, staff, or affiliated researchers. The town also anchors a cluster of pharmaceutical, biotech, and corporate research offices along the Route 1 corridor just outside town proper.
Beyond the university and Route 1 corridor employers, the local economy runs on the school district, professional services catering to the university community, and retail and restaurants supporting both residents and visitors.
This is a strong market for households bringing remote income or a job in the Route 1 corridor's pharmaceutical and tech cluster. It is a narrower market if your field has no presence in higher education, research, or that corridor.
Climate and setting
Princeton has a humid continental to humid subtropical transition climate with warm, humid summers, typically in the mid 80s, and cold winters that regularly bring snow and freezing temperatures.
Spring and fall are generally mild and are considered the most pleasant seasons locally, with the flat to gently rolling terrain of central New Jersey offering little in the way of dramatic weather shifts tied to elevation.
As in the rest of central and northern New Jersey, humidity in summer and the need for real winter preparation, including snow removal and heating, are the biggest year-round adjustments for a California household.
Getting around, care, and schools
- Commercial air
- Newark Liberty International Airport and Philadelphia International Airport are both roughly 45 minutes to an hour away by car.
- Rail
- The Princeton Branch shuttle connects to NJ Transit's Northeast Corridor Line at Princeton Junction, reaching both New York Penn Station and Philadelphia.
- Highways
- US Route 1 runs through the area, with the New Jersey Turnpike and I-295 both accessible.
- Hospital
- Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center in nearby Plainsboro.
- Public schools
- Princeton Public Schools, widely regarded as one of New Jersey's strongest districts.
- Higher education
- Princeton University, an Ivy League research university, is based in town.
The trade-offs
- Housing cost is at the top of the range for this list, driven by school quality and the university's presence.
- Commuting into Manhattan requires a transfer at Princeton Junction, adding time compared with a direct line.
- Property taxes across municipal, county, and school levies are a real and substantial annual cost.
- The local job market outside the university and the Route 1 research corridor is comparatively narrow.
Other New Jersey towns people compare
Montclair
An arts-oriented Essex County township with three separate NJ Transit lines into Manhattan and home prices that track the access it offers.
Morristown
A walkable Morris County county-seat town with Midtown Direct rail service and a corporate employment base that gives it a real local job market.
Collingswood
A South Jersey borough with a walkable downtown and PATCO high-speed rail into Philadelphia, priced well below the state's northern suburbs.
Asbury Park
A reinvented Jersey Shore city with a year-round music and boardwalk economy, priced with the shore premium that comes with it.
Cherry Hill
An established Philadelphia-suburb township in Camden County with large postwar lots and the lowest entry cost of the towns on this list.
Statewide figures, tax detail, and the full New Jersey picture are on the New Jersey page. Compare property, income, and sales tax across all 49 destination states on Taxes, and see where Californians are actually moving on Stats.
Sources
- US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020 to 2024 5-Year Estimates, table B25077 (median home value), retrieved via Census Reporter, September 3, 2026.
- US Census Bureau, ACS 2020 to 2024 5-Year Estimates, table B25103 (median real estate taxes paid, owner-occupied units with a mortgage), retrieved September 3, 2026.
- US Census Bureau, ACS 2020 to 2024 5-Year Estimates, table B25088 (median selected monthly owner costs, owner-occupied units with a mortgage), retrieved September 3, 2026.
- US Census Bureau, ACS 2020 to 2024 5-Year Estimates, table B01003 (total population), retrieved September 3, 2026.
- Data USA, Princeton, NJ profile, datausa.io.
- NJ Transit Northeast Corridor Line and Princeton Branch schedules, njtransit.com.
- Princeton Public Schools district site, princetonk12.org.
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