South Orange is a somewhat small town located in the state of New Jersey. With a population of 16,964 people and four constituent neighborhoods, South Orange is the 124th largest community in New Jersey. South Orange has an unusually large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic towns in the country.

South Orange is a decidedly white-collar town, with fully 92.33% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, South Orange is a town of professionals, sales and office workers, and managers. There are especially a lot of people living in South Orange who work in office and administrative support jobs (13.67%), sales jobs (13.03%), and management occupations (12.40%).

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.

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.

South Orange, while not large, also appears to be attractive to some younger, educated professionals, who help shape the character of the town.

In addition to being popular with young singles, South Orange is also home to many people who can be described as "urban sophisticates." While both of these categories describe educated professionals, urban sophisticates are quite a different demographic. 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.

South Orange is a good choice for families with children because of several factors. Many other families with children live here, making it a place where both parents and children are more likely to develop social ties with other families. The town's good public school district and large population of college-educated adults provide an environment conducive to academic success. Many people own their own single-family homes, providing areas for children to play and stability in the community. Finally, South Orange's overall crime rate is lower than average for the country.

One downside of living in South Orange, however, is that residents on average have to contend with a long commute, spending on average 30.29 minutes every day commuting to work. It is, however, a pedestrian-friendly town. Many of its neighborhoods are dense enough and have amenities close enough together that people find it feasible to get around on foot.

As is often the case in a small town, South Orange doesn't have a public transportation system that people use for their commute.

South Orange Information and Demographics

If knowledge is power, South Orange is a pretty powerful place. 57.37% of the adults in South Orange have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 14.96% for all cities and towns.

The per capita income in South Orange in 2000 was $41,035, which is upper middle income relative to New Jersey, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $164,140 for a family of four. However, South Orange contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

South Orange is an extremely ethnically-diverse town. The people who call South Orange home come from a variety of different races and ancestries. The most prevalent race in South Orange is White, followed by African-American. Important ancestries of people in South Orange include Italian, Irish, German, Polish, Russian, Haitian, English, and Jamaican.

In addition, South Orange has a lot of people living here who were born outside of the US (16.91%).

The most common language spoken in South Orange is English. Some people also speak Spanish.