Town guide · Union County
Living in Kenilworth, NJ
Kenilworth is a small borough of about two square miles between Cranford, Union, Roselle Park and Springfield. The Boulevard runs through the middle of town, the Garden State Parkway has an interchange here, and the Rahway River parks and Galloping Hill Golf Course sit along its edges.
- County
- Union
- Population
- About 8,400 (2020 census)
- Size
- About 2.2 square miles
- Setting
- Small suburban borough with parkland along the Rahway River
- Main roads
- Garden State Parkway (Interchange 138), the Boulevard (County Route 509) and Michigan Avenue (County Route 617)
Neighborhoods
A borough laid out as building lots
In the late 1890s the New Orange Industrial Association bought land in Cranford and Union and divided it into building lots. The area became a borough in 1907, carved from parts of Cranford and Union Township.
The original name, New Orange, kept getting confused with the Oranges in Essex County, so the borough took the name Kenilworth from a local literary club named after the Walter Scott novel. The borough is small enough that people simply say they live in Kenilworth, and it uses one ZIP code, 07033.
Homes
What you will find
- Residential streets: About 3,000 homes on streets that grew out of the building lots laid out more than a century ago.
- Former corporate campus: Kenilworth was home to a large pharmaceutical headquarters campus. Merck announced in 2020 that it would move its global headquarters to Rahway by the end of 2023.
Worth knowing: Kenilworth sits in the Rahway River watershed. In the late 1970s the Army Corps of Engineers reshaped Lenape Park, including a large concrete dam on Kenilworth Boulevard, to ease the river's cyclical flooding. Even so, we look up the FEMA flood zone and any insurance requirement for each address before pricing a home or writing an offer.
Property taxes
What taxes look like in Kenilworth
- 2.002%2025 effective tax rate, as a share of market value
- $12,2492025 average residential tax bill
A home worth $600,000 on today's market would pay roughly $12,012 a year at Kenilworth's 2025 effective rate. Your actual bill depends on your assessment, so we pull the real tax record for any home you are considering.
Source: New Jersey Division of Taxation, 2025 general and effective tax rates. Rates are set each year.
Getting around
Roads and commuting
The Garden State Parkway runs through Kenilworth, and Interchange 138 at the Boulevard (County Route 509) is how most residents reach it. The Boulevard runs west and east through the borough toward Cranford, Springfield and Westfield on one side and Union and Roselle Park on the other. Michigan Avenue (County Route 617) runs north to U.S. Route 22 and south to Route 28. There is no train station in Kenilworth. Roselle Park station on NJ Transit's Raritan Valley Line is less than a mile from the border. NJ Transit buses run to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York and to Elizabeth, including the local 58 route. Newark Liberty International Airport is about nine miles away.
Places worth knowing
Parks, landmarks and open space
- Galloping Hill Golf Course: A public 18 hole course designed by Willard Wilkinson and opened in 1928, mostly in Kenilworth with part in Union Township.
- Lenape Park: A 450 acre wildlife reserve and park in the Rahway River Parkway, shared with Cranford, Springfield and Westfield, with a paved path and the East Coast Greenway.
- Black Brook Park: A Kenilworth park on the Rahway River Parkway's paved path, which runs about 4.5 miles east from Mountainside.
- Rahway River Parkway: Union County's chain of riverside parks, whose upper reaches follow the Rahway River tributaries through the borough.
Common questions
Questions people ask us about Kenilworth
What are property taxes in Kenilworth, NJ?
Kenilworth Borough's 2025 effective tax rate is 2.002 percent of market value, and the average residential tax bill is $12,249, according to the New Jersey Division of Taxation. Actual bills depend on each home's assessment.
Is there a train station in Kenilworth?
No. The closest station is Roselle Park on NJ Transit's Raritan Valley Line, less than a mile from the Kenilworth border. The old Rahway Valley Railroad ran through town and was headquartered here, but its last train ran in 1992.
Which Garden State Parkway exit is Kenilworth?
Interchange 138, at the Boulevard (County Route 509), serves most of Kenilworth. The Parkway runs through the borough from northeast to southwest.
How did Kenilworth get its name?
The area was first called New Orange, which was often confused with the Oranges in Essex County. The borough took the name Kenilworth from a local literary group, the Kenilworth Club, named after Walter Scott's 1821 novel.
Is Galloping Hill Golf Course in Kenilworth?
Mostly, yes. The public 18 hole course, opened in 1928, has a Kenilworth address on Golf Drive, and part of it extends into Union Township.
Nearby towns
Towns that border Kenilworth
Buying or selling in Kenilworth?
One ZIP code, many different streets
Kenilworth has a single ZIP code, but a home near the Rahway River parks prices differently from one on an inland street. We check the flood map for your address and explain what it means for your sale.
Call or text either of us directly.