In addition, Scotch Plains 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, Scotch Plains 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, Scotch Plains really has some of the features that families look for when choosing a good community to raise children. Is Scotch Plains 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 Scotch Plains, however, the average commute to work is quite long. On average, people spend 33.72 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.
Although the majority of commuting trips in the township are by private automobile, Scotch Plains is somewhat unusual for a township 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 Scotch Plains 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 Scotch Plains. 67.48% 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 Scotch Plains in 2022 was $80,716, which is wealthy relative to New Jersey and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $322,864 for a family of four.
Scotch Plains is an extremely ethnically-diverse township. The people who call Scotch Plains home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Scotch Plains residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Scotch Plains also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 10.60% of the township’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Scotch Plains include Italian, Irish, Polish, German, and English.
Foreign born people are also an important part of Scotch Plains's cultural character, accounting for 16.70% of the township’s population.
The most common language spoken in Scotch Plains is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Langs. of India.
