Cranford

#7 in Best Places to Raise a Family in Union County

Cranford is a township in Union County located 14 miles southwest of Manhattan. In both 2018 and 2019, The Star-Ledger named Cranford the best downtown in New Jersey after an online vote, calling it “adorable and snowglobe-like.” New Jersey Monthly Magazine ranked Cranford as its 34th best place to live in its 2010 rankings of the “Best Places To Live.” It is part of the New York City metropolitan area.

Cranford was incorporated as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 14, 1871, from portions of the Townships of Clark, Linden, Springfield, Union and Westfield. Portions of the township were taken to form Garwood(in 1903) and Kenilworth (in 1907). The township’s name is said to derive from the Crane family, including John Crane, who built a mill in 1720 along the Rahway River. 

As of the 2010 United States Census, the township’s population was 22,625, reflecting an increase of 47 (+0.2%) from the 22,578 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn declined by 55 (−0.2%) from the 22,633 counted in the 1990 Census.