Livingston

The History

Named for William Livingston, the first post-colonial governor of New Jersey, the township was supported by the lumber, dairy and shoe industries until after World War II, when the population exploded. From 1950 through 1970, Livingston tripled in population to 31,653 from 9,932.

According to the 2000 census, 80 percent of Livingston's homes were built between 1940 and 1980. The township's 9,000 or so single-family houses range from small 750-square-foot Cape Cods, ranches and prewar colonials near the center of town to multimillion-dollar mansions. The largest of these is a 40-room fieldstone house that once belonged to the late Robert W. Kean, a United States congressman who was father of Thomas Kean, the former New Jersey governor. The mansion, which was built a century ago and which stretches across Windermere Court, along the West Orange line, is now owned by a physician and is worth more than $7 million.

What You’ll Find

Most of the houses are split-levels or colonials on lots of a quarter to a half acre that sell for $500,000 to $700,000. Thirty-year-old houses on flat, one-acre lots are fetching more than $900,000 and large new homes often sell for over $2 million. Recently, a small three-bedroom 1950's ranch on Fellswood Drive in the center of town was listed at $349,000. It drew multiple offers and sold within a week for more than $369,000. At the beginning of April, 65 single-family houses were on the Multiple Listing Service, with 10 of them already under contract. The homes ranged from a small three-bedroom Cape Cod on Collins Terrace near the center of town, listed for $299,900, to a 6,975-square-foot, 14-room-custom colonial with a three-car garage on Trafalgar Drive in the eastern section near the West Orange line, listed for $2.599 million

Livingston also has three condominium complexes, all built within the last six years: the 300-unit Pointe on Eisenhower Parkway, the 214-unit Fairways on State Highway 10 and the 283-unit Regency on South Orange Avenue. At the beginning of April, 15 condominiums were listed for sale, ranging in price from $341,900 for a two-bedroom, two-bath, one-story unit with a garage in The Pointe up to $799,000 for a three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath town house with an exercise room and a two-car garage on Winged Foot Drive in The Fairways.

Average Sales Price 2022: $878,400

Average 2021 Tax Bill: $16,005

Township of Livingston

Livingston Public Schools

The Schools

The highly rated 5,159-student, K-12 Livingston Public School District. It is divided into six K-5 elementary schools, Mount Pleasant Middle School for sixth graders, Heritage Middle School for grades 7 and 8 and the 1,540-student Livingston High School. Nearly 70 percent of the teachers systemwide have advanced degrees and four of the six elementary schools scored in the top 10 percent in the state on last year's fourth-grade achievement tests. The system provides gifted and talented programs from grade two and a broad range of courses in the high school, including forensic science, jewelry making and, from next year, Russian language. Livingston High School, where 75 percent of the teachers hold advanced degrees, regularly sends about 95 percent of its graduates to two- or four-year colleges. All classrooms and the media center have computers with Internet access. The school offers 17 advanced placement courses in the sciences, computer science, English, history, mathematics, art and foreign languages. On last year's SAT reasoning tests, Livingston High School students scored a combined verbal and mathematics average of 1,163, compared with a state average of 994. In 1998, Livingston High was awarded the prestigious Blue Ribbon for Excellence by the United States Department of Education, and, in its 2000 survey of the best schools in the state, New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked Livingston High as 14th.

The school system has grown by 1,000 students in the last decade, and is projected to swell even more. Over the last three years, additions have been built to all but one of the elementary schools and to the middle schools, at a cost of $24 million.

Livingston also has three private schools -- the pre-K-8 Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy and the Kushner Yeshiva High School, which share a campus on South Orange Avenue, and the Roman Catholic Aquinas Academy, which accepts children from age 2 1/2 through eighth grade.

The six elementary schools are:

Burnet Hills Elementary (pre-K-5)
Collins Elementary (K-5)
Harrison Elementary (K-5)
Hillside Elementary (K-5)
Mt. Pleasant Elementary (K-5)
Riker Hill Elementary (K-5)

What to Do

Many residents complain that Livingston lacks a walking downtown business district. However, it does offer abundant and varied shopping opportunities. There are three supermarkets and national chains are represented at the 105-store Livingston Mall, anchored by Sears, Macy's and Lord & Taylor, on Eisenhower Parkway. Smaller, service-oriented businesses are located in the ''H,'' comprised of a 1.5-mile stretch of Livingston Avenue intersected by half-mile-long sections of Mount Pleasant Avenue to the north and Northfield Road to the south. The township has a total of 600 acres of parkland that is shared with the schools, which are all built in the middle of parks. Known as the Oval, the largest park is the 65-acre Memorial Park off Livingston Avenue in the center of town. It includes the high school, the municipal complex, one of the township's two municipal pools, the library, a football field, four baseball diamonds, two basketball courts, six tennis courts, a lacrosse/soccer field and a fishing pond. Many of the medical offices are attracted to Livingston by the 620-bed St. Barnabas Medical Center on Old Short Hills Road in the southeast corner of the township. Ranked as one the top hospital in New Jersey and the 13th best in the nation, the nonsectarian facility treats more than 300,000 patients and delivers 7,000 babies annually.

The Commute

Even without a station, Livingston is a convenient commuter suburb, fringed by U.S. Route 280 to the east and bisected by New Jersey Highway 10. Called Mount Pleasant Avenue as it passes through the township, Highway 10 was laid out in the early 1800's as a stagecoach route from Newark to Morristown, connecting Essex and Morris Counties.

Preschools Near Livingston: There are also many excellent preschool options in the area. A few of the many options are:

Unique To Town

Riker Hill Art Park, a former Nike Missile base, provides studio space for working artists. There is also a collection of outdoor sculpture. Many studios offer classes for adults and children.
Walter Kidde Dinosaur Park, part of the Riker Hill complex, is a 16 acre paleontological site where dinosaur tracks from the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic periods are preserved.
Becker Park, also part of the Riker Hill complex, was once part of Becker Farm where crops grew and cattle grazed. Now, antique carriages, historic farm equipment and Becker Farm memorabilia can be seen at the Roseland Historical Society.
The Livingston Mall is a regional shopping mall with 110 specialty stores and 4 anchor stores.
East Hills Park includes a fitness trail and the Livingston Dog Park.
Prospect Park includes hiking and biking trails, along with interpretive and handicapped accessible trails.
The “Welcome to Livingston” Annual Picnic helps to introduce new residents to how the community can serve them. It also provides information about the many businesses, organizations, schools and activities around town.
Livingston Symphony Orchestra, a group of community-based performers, holds many performances throughout the year.
Livingston Community Players, a community-based theater organization, has received Perry Awards from the New Jersey Association of Community Theaters. This award is given for outstanding achievement in New Jersey community theater.
Since 2007, Children’s Theater of Livingston provides opportunities for Livingston children in grades 2-8 to perform.
New Jersey Ballet, recognized nationally and internationally, is a major ballet company based in Livingston.

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