SHORT HILLS, NJ Real Estate and Community Guide
Today Short Hills is one of the most expensive residential markets in New Jersey, with a median sale price north of $2 million, a school district that ranks in the state's top ten, and the highest average property tax bill of any municipality in Essex County. If you're weighing it against Millburn, Summit, Chatham or Livingston, this guide covers what the listing photos don't.
Short Hills is a 5.25-square-mile community inside Millburn Township, Essex County, roughly 20 miles west of Manhattan, with a population of about 14,400. It was built on purpose as a commuter suburb: soap manufacturer Stewart Hartshorn bought 1,552 acres in the 1870s and paid for the train station himself, and the community that grew around it has been organized around that one-seat ride to Manhattan ever since.
Short Hills covers 5.25 square miles of Millburn Township in Essex County, New Jersey, with a population of around 14,422 and a single ZIP code, 07078. The average Millburn homeowner paid $26,292 in property taxes in 2025 on a home assessed at $1,302,529, one of the highest average bills in the state. Manhattan is roughly 20 miles east, reachable in 30 to 45 minutes on a direct NJ Transit train, and Millburn Township Public Schools serves about 4,700 students across eight schools.
Colonials, Tudors, capes, ranches, split-levels, custom estates, new construction
HOME STYLES:
Overlook Medical Center, Summit
HOSPITAL:
Millburn Township Public Schools, 8 schools, approx. 4,700 students
school district:
Around $2.4M to $2.6M depending on source and period
Median sale price:
$26,292 on a home assessed at $1,302,529 (2025, NJ Dept. of Community Affairs)
AVERAGE PROPERTY TAX BILL:
30 to 45 minutes by train, one seat, no transfer
TYPICAL COMMUTE TO NYC:
Approximately 20 miles
Distance to Manhattan:
Planned as a commuter community by Stewart Hartshorn from the 1870s
FOUNDED:
07078
ZIP CODE:
5.25 square miles
SIZE:
14,422 (2020 Census), within a township of about 22,756
POPULATION:
Short Hills is a community within Millburn Township, Essex County, New Jersey
Municipality:
Short Hills at a Glance
The one-seat commute. Short Hills has its own NJ Transit station in the middle of the community, on the Morris and Essex Lines, with Midtown Direct service straight into New York Penn Station. No transfer, no bus, no park-and-ride. For a Midtown professional this is the shortest reliable commute you can buy in Essex County, and the price of housing reflects it precisely.
The school district. Millburn Township Public Schools ranked #10 of 243 New Jersey districts in Niche's 2026 list, having held the top spot as recently as 2022. Three of the district's five elementary schools sit inside Short Hills. For families relocating from the city, this single factor often decides the town before they've seen a house.
The housing stock. Short Hills was designed rather than developed, and it shows. Hartshorn's original plan preserved green space, curved the roads around the terrain and produced an unusual concentration of architecturally distinct homes on large, mature lots. There is very little here that looks like anywhere else.
What surprises people is not that the taxes here are high. Everyone knows that before they arrive. It's how far apart two homes at the same asking price can sit on the tax bill, which is the part nobody mentions until the closing statement. More on that below.
Almost everyone who buys here is solving for one of three things, and plenty of people are solving for all three at once.
Why do people move to SHORT HILLS?
Section matters more here than in almost any town I sell in. Average street tax bills across Short Hills range from roughly $17,600 to $45,200, which tells you how much variation sits underneath a single township-wide figure. If you're buying, get pre-approved and get specific about which section before you tour. If you're selling, price against your own street, not the town.
What you should take from this
Speed, not just price. Homes in 07078 have recently been selling in around 10 days, against 17 days the previous year, and well-positioned listings routinely draw multiple offers. Active inventory typically sits in the tens.
The other force is renovation and replacement. A large share of the housing stock is a century old, which means the market splits into three tiers that behave very differently: original homes priced for their land and their potential, extensively renovated properties, and new custom construction. The gap between them is wide, and buyers who don't understand which tier they're bidding in tend to overpay or lose out.
What's driving the market
Short Hills trades in the millions and has done for long enough that it isn't news. The useful question is not whether you can buy here for less, but where in the range your money actually lands. Where sources disagree is on exactly where in the millions. Zillow's average home value for Short Hills sits around $2.39 million, up 6.9% year on year. Redfin's median sale price for ZIP 07078 has run at $2.6 million over recent three-month windows. Trailing twelve-month data puts the median closer to $2.4 million. The spread is a methodology difference and a volume problem rather than a contradiction: with roughly a dozen closings a month, two estate sales or two smaller capes can swing a monthly median by six figures. Trailing measures are the honest read. The full range runs from around $775,000 for the smallest properties to just under $6 million at the top.
The Short Hills housing market
A note on catchments. Because the five elementary schools assign strictly by address, the K-4 map and the market map are effectively the same map in this township. Several sections organize around their namesake school. If a specific elementary matters to you, verify the current assignment against the exact address before you make an offer. I do this for every client as standard, and I've watched buyers get it wrong by one street.
Niche ranked Millburn Township #10 of 243 New Jersey districts for 2026. Math proficiency across the district runs in the low-to-mid 80s against a state average around 38%, with reading in the low 80s against roughly 49%. Millburn High School holds a 10 out of 10 rating and sits inside the national top 150 for college preparation. The district spends around $23,983 per student annually.
How the district performs
Plan around that fifth-grade year. Your child will attend four buildings between kindergarten and graduation, and the Washington School year is deliberately designed to mix the township's five elementary populations before middle school.
Millburn High School, 462 Millburn Avenue, approximately 1,319 students in grades 9-12.
One high school:
04.
Millburn Middle School, 25 Old Short Hills Road, approximately 1,197 students in grades 6-8.
ONE middle school:
03.
Washington School, 71 Spring Street, Millburn. The entire township converges here for a single year, around 398 students, before splitting again.
One fifth-grade school:
02.
Short Hills is served by Millburn Township Public Schools, which covers roughly 4,700 students across eight schools. The way it's organised is unlike almost any district in the state, and relocating families routinely misread it, so here it is in full.
SHORT HILLS
SCHOOLS
Deerfield (26 Troy Lane, Short Hills), Glenwood (325 Taylor Road South, Short Hills), Hartshorn (400 Hartshorn Drive, Short Hills), South Mountain and Wyoming (both in Millburn)
Five elementary schools (K-4), assigned by address:
01.
door to door, most Short Hills commuters plan for 45 to 65 minutes including the walk or drive to the platform. Those who live within walking distance of the station do it in closer to 45, and they pay for the privilege in the purchase price.
IN PRACTICE:
Boxcar runs private coach service from Short Hills and Millburn into Midtown and the Upper East Side. Drivers have Route 24, Route 124, I-78 and the Garden State Parkway, with Newark Liberty International about 20 minutes away.
BY BUS AND CAR:
Station parking is permit-only on weekdays and permits are restricted to Millburn Township residents, with a township commuter permit recently published at around $510 annually and a $10-per-day resident pay-station option at the Short Hills lot. Permits carry waiting lists. This is a real constraint, not a footnote, and it is why some buyers deliberately choose a home within walking distance of the platform. If you're going to drive to the station, ask about the current waitlist before you make an offer, not after.
THE PARKING PROBLEM:
Hoboken-bound trains from Short Hills take around 40 minutes at peak, with PATH adding another 5 to 10 minutes to the World Trade Center and Wall Street. If your office is in the Financial District, test both routings before you assume Penn Station is faster.
FOR DOWNTOWN OFFICES:
Short Hills station sits at 225 Chatham Road, built in 1879 and rebuilt in 1906-07, on NJ Transit's Morris and Essex Lines. Midtown Direct runs one-seat service to New York Penn Station with peak expresses typically in the 30 to 40 minute range and departures roughly every 20 minutes during the morning peak. Millburn station, at 35 Essex Street, offers the same line and additional capacity a few minutes away. Both sit in fare zone 7, recently around $10 one way and near $300 for a monthly pass.
By train:
What you have instead is a set of workable options, and which one suits you depends on where in Manhattan you're heading and where in Livingston you live.
Short Hills has its own station, which is the whole point of the town. The catch is parking, and most guides skip it.
Commuting from Short Hills to New York City
In most towns the question is which house. Here it's which section, because the section sets your elementary school assignment, your walk to the platform and a tax bill that can differ by tens of thousands a year between two homes carrying the same asking price. Those lines don't appear on any listing. After three decades selling in this market, I know where they fall.
Which Short Hill section is right for you?
Quiet streets, mature trees and a green, settled feel, with a natural setting that defines the section.
Best for:
Buyers who want the peaceful end of Short Hills.
The most secluded section. Elevated, private and characterized by larger properties, with views that no other part of Short Hills offers.
Best for:
Buyers who want privacy and are willing to trade walkability for it.
MOUNTAINTOP
Organized around Deerfield Elementary on Troy Lane, which is the section's practical and social center. Convenient for schools and transportation, and one of the most consistently in-demand parts of town for families with young children.
Best for:
Families buying for the elementary years.
Established homes in a convenient position, with recent sales running well into seven figures. Neighborhood character rather than showpiece architecture.
Best for:
Buyers who value the setting and the location over the statement.
MERRYWOOD
Larger homes on generous lots, near the Canoe Brook Country Club, with a prestigious residential setting and the space to match.
Best for:
Buyers who want the largest lots in town and are buying for the long term.
COUNTRY CLUB
An established residential section with a settled neighborhood atmosphere and a housing stock that has seen steady renovation.
Best for:
Buyers who want a settled street rather than one mid-renovation.
BROOKHAVEN
Centrally positioned between the Short Hills and Millburn stations, with spacious colonials and split-levels. The two-station optionality is the practical advantage.
Best for:
Buyers who want larger homes and flexibility on which platform they use.
KNOLLWOOD
Valued above all for its position relative to the Short Hills train station and downtown Millburn. Colonials and custom homes, and the section that most often suits people who want to walk to the platform. Glenwood Elementary is here.
Best for:
Commuters who want to solve the parking problem by not needing to park.
Named for its streets, which carry the names of poets. Coleridge, Tennyson and their neighbors. A distinctive grid of family homes with a strong neighborhood identity and convenient access to schools, parks and the station.
Best for:
Families who want a recognizable, walkable pocket of the town.
THE POETS SECTION
The original Hartshorn vision at its most intact. Established streets, mature landscaping, distinctive architecture and a strong sense of privacy. Old Short Hills Park and Greenwood Gardens sit within it.
Best for:
Buyers who want character, architecture and mature grounds over new build.
OLD SHORT HILLS ESTATES
Short Hills is organized into distinct sections rather than one uniform neighborhood, and they differ considerably in price, architecture and school assignment. Locals refer to them by name, and buyers who learn the names early make much better decisions.
SHORT HILLS
SECTIONS
the Millburn Municipal Golf Course, the Short Hills Club, the Racquets Club of Short Hills (housed in an old music hall, with swimming, tennis, platform tennis and squash), Canoe Brook Country Club, and the South Mountain Recreation Complex nearby with Turtle Back Zoo, Codey Arena, mini golf and paddle boats.
ALSO:
Gero Park, at 36 acres, holds the township pool, a recreation center, a par-3 golf course, baseball, tennis, basketball and roller hockey. Taylor Park, running along Main Street in Millburn, has a pond, ball fields, tennis and basketball courts, a walking path, playground and the Bauer Community Center.
GERO PARK & TAYLOR PARK
With its Stone House, runs trails, guided hikes, educational events and children's camps. It is a direct descendant of Hartshorn's original intention for the community and one of the reasons the town still feels wooded.
The Cora Hartshorn Arboretum and Bird Sanctuary
Greenwood Gardens is the unusual one. 28 acres of restored Italianate terraced garden at 274 Old Short Hills Road, originally the private grounds of a historic estate and now open to the public. It sits within Old Short Hills Park, which adds hiking trails of its own.
GREENWOOD GARDENS
South Mountain Reservation is the big one. 2,110 acres in the Essex County Park System, spanning parts of Millburn, Maplewood and West Orange along the Watchung ridges, with multi-use trails, woodland, picnic areas, scenic overlooks, Hemlock Falls and the much-loved fairy trail. It is on the doorstep, not a day trip.
South Mountain Reservation
Millburn Township holds over 90 acres of parkland, and Short Hills sits next to one of the largest reservations in the state.
Parks, recreation and things to do in SHORT HILLS
Most of the dining sits in downtown Millburn, a few minutes from anywhere in Short Hills, with the mall covering the destination end.
Millburn Deli is the institution. A local landmark known for its sandwiches, of which the Godfadda is the one people order by name.
Basilico is the neighborhood Italian, and the one most often suggested when someone asks where to have dinner.
Millburn Standard covers the lively downtown end, and La Strada and Martini Bar and Bistro the sit-down Italian.
EVOO & Lemon is the more intimate option for a smaller, quieter meal.
Liv Breads for bakery, Goldberg's and Springbone Kitchen for the fast, good lunch, and The Wine Library for anything you're taking home.
Eataly at The Mall at Short Hills has added a serious Italian food hall to the mix.
Dining in Short Hills and Millburn
The Mall at Short Hills, 1200 Morris Turnpike, is the reason people outside New Jersey have heard of the town. Over one million square feet, four full-line department anchors including Bloomingdale's, Macy's, Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus, and a luxury roster that runs to Hermès, Chanel and Dior. It is a genuine destination rather than a local convenience, and it complements Manhattan shopping rather than replacing it.
Downtown Millburn handles daily life, and it's where the character is. Independent shops sit alongside the restaurants, including Footnotes, a family-owned shoe store with roots back to 1946, k+co LIVING for home and gifts, and GATHER for antiques and interiors.
Short Hills' own small downtown sits along Chatham Road near the station: the post office, a pharmacy, small eateries and specialty shops. It is deliberately modest, which is a design decision rather than an oversight.
Nearby: downtown Summit, Chatham and Madison are all a short drive for more walkable retail and dining.
Shopping and everyday convenience
Summit Health maintains multiple locations in Short Hills, covering primary care, specialty services and urgent care for everyday needs.
Overlook Medical Center in neighboring Summit is the nearest full hospital, part of the Atlantic Health System, with a well-regarded neuroscience and stroke program.
Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, a 597-bed teaching hospital ranked #6 in New Jersey by US News, is around fifteen minutes away and is where a great many Millburn residents end up for anything significant.
Nobody tours a house thinking about hospitals. It tends to matter enormously later, particularly for anyone buying with aging parents in mind, and for a community of 14,000 people Short Hills is unusually well covered.
Short Hills does not have a hospital of its own, but it is surrounded by strong ones.
HEALTHCARE
I sell in all of them. If one of them suits you better than Short Hills, I would rather tell you that in the first conversation than the fifth.
Millburn shares the township, the schools and the taxes, with a livelier walkable downtown and its own station.
Summit has a bigger, busier downtown, its own Midtown Direct service and slightly different tax dynamics in Union County.
Chatham and Madison offer traditional downtowns and more house for the money, at the cost of a longer ride.
Livingston has more space, a lower entry price and no train station.
Maplewood and South Orange are the arts-led, architecturally varied, more urban alternative.
Towns near SHORT HILLS
That is the conversation I've been having with buyers for 31 years, across more than 450 transactions. I can tell you what a given street's tax bill actually looks like, whether a home is priced for its land or its finishes, and which of those four compromises you'll still be comfortable with in five years.
Short Hills asks you to make four decisions at once: which section, which elementary school, how far from the platform, and which tax bracket. They rarely line up neatly. The house you fall for is often the one that forces a compromise on at least one of them.
moving to SHORT HILLS
Frequently Asked Questions
Short Hills is a multi-million-dollar market. Zillow's average home value sits around $2.39 million, up 6.9% year on year, while median sale prices for ZIP 07078 have recently run at $2.6 million and trailing twelve-month medians closer to $2.4 million. The full range runs from around $775,000 to just under $6 million. With roughly a dozen sales a month, monthly medians swing on which homes happened to close, so trailing figures are the more honest read.
How much do homes cost in Short Hills?
In 2025 the average Millburn Township homeowner paid $26,292 in property taxes on a home assessed at $1,302,529, against a certified tax rate of $2.019 per $100 of assessed value. That is among the highest average bills of any municipality in New Jersey, and roughly two and a half times the state average of $10,570. Average street-level bills across Short Hills sections range from around $17,600 to $45,200, so the town-wide figure describes almost nobody. Ask for the actual bill on any home you're considering.
What are property taxes like in Short Hills?
Short Hills is approximately 20 miles west of Manhattan. Short Hills station, at 225 Chatham Road, offers Midtown Direct one-seat service to New York Penn Station on NJ Transit's Morris and Essex Lines, with peak expresses typically running 30 to 40 minutes and departures around every 20 minutes at peak. Door to door, allow 45 to 65 minutes depending on how far you live from the platform. Hoboken trains plus PATH serve downtown offices.
How far is Short Hills from NYC?
Only if you're a Millburn Township resident, and often only after a wait. Weekday station parking is permit-only, permits are restricted to residents, and there are waiting lists. The township commuter permit has recently been published at around $510 a year, with a $10-per-day resident pay-station option at the Short Hills lot. If you plan to drive to the station, check the current waitlist position before you commit to a house. Some buyers choose a home within walking distance specifically to sidestep this.
Can I park at the Short Hills train station?
Yes. Short Hills is an unincorporated community and census-designated place within Millburn Township, with no separate governing body. Millburn Township is the municipality: same council, same schools, same tax rate. In practice, downtown Millburn is the township's walkable commercial and civic center, while Short Hills is the larger residential area with the mall, the estates and most of the township's population.
Is Short Hills part of Millburn, what's the difference?
It depends heavily on where you are. Sections near the station and near downtown Millburn genuinely are walkable, and that's part of what they cost. Other sections, particularly Mountaintop and parts of Old Short Hills, are quiet, wooded and firmly car-dependent. This is one of the biggest variations within the town and it's worth being specific about it before you tour.
Is Short Hills walkable?
Conditions have favored sellers, with homes in 07078 recently selling in around 10 days against 17 the previous year, and competitive listings drawing multiple offers. That said, it varies sharply by tier: original homes needing work behave differently from renovated properties and new construction.
Is Short Hills a buyer's or seller's market?
Yes, though availability varies by section. Much of the housing stock is a century old, and a steady share of it is bought for the land, taken down and replaced with custom construction. That creates three distinct market tiers in the same town, and understanding which tier a home sits in is the single most useful thing a buyer can learn here.
Are there new construction homes in Short Hills?
I've spent 31 years in Northern New Jersey real estate, across 450+ transactions and over $250 million in closed volume. My listings average 19 days on market and a 107% sale-to-list ratio. For buyers, that experience shows up in section strategy, school verification and knowing what a house is actually worth. For sellers, it shows up in pricing and negotiation. Either way, you get straight answers. If I wouldn't let my own family buy a house, I won't let you buy it either.
