Town guide · Union County
Living in Union, NJ
Union Township was settled in 1667 as Connecticut Farms, one of the earliest English speaking settlements in New Jersey. Today it is a built up township of about nine square miles, crossed by the Garden State Parkway, Route 22 and Interstate 78, with its own NJ Transit station on the Raritan Valley Line.
- County
- Union
- Population
- About 59,700 (2020 census)
- Size
- About 9 square miles
- Setting
- Established residential neighborhoods with busy highway corridors
- Main roads
- Garden State Parkway (Exits 139A to 141), Interstate 78, U.S. Route 22 and Route 82 (Morris Avenue)
First things first
Union Township, not Union City
The town most people simply call Union is Union Township in Union County. It is a different place from Union City in Hudson County, from Union Township in Hunterdon County and from Union Beach in Monmouth County.
Homes in the township carry either a Union address or a Vauxhall address. Vauxhall, in the northern part of the township, has its own 07088 ZIP code, but it is part of Union Township and pays Union Township property taxes.
Neighborhoods
Old farm names and newer sections
Settlement here began in 1667, when the area was called Connecticut Farms. The township was incorporated in 1808 from part of Elizabeth Township and joined the new Union County in 1857. Linden, Roselle Park, Kenilworth and Hillside were all later carved from its land.
There is no single downtown. People tend to name their section, and many of the old place names are still in everyday use.
- Vauxhall: North of Interstate 78 and west of Stuyvesant Avenue, with its own post office and ZIP code. It is counted as its own census community inside Union Township.
- Union Center: The traditional business area of the township.
- Connecticut Farms: The original name of the settlement, still used for the historic area around Stuyvesant Avenue and Chestnut Street.
- Larchmont Estates and Fairway Drive: Larchmont Estates borders the Larchmont Reservation, and the Fairway Drive area borders Galloping Hill Golf Course.
- Other named areas: Battle Hill, Five Points, Galloping Hill, Putnam Manor, Putnam Ridge, Orchard Park, Parkside Manor, Townley, Salem and Green Lane.
Homes
What you will find
- Single family homes: Most of the township is made up of established residential streets, with sections developed over many decades.
- Edison concrete houses: A small group of homes on Ingersoll Terrace was built of poured concrete as part of Thomas Edison's concrete housing experiment, with concrete interior walls.
- Apartments and multi family buildings: Rental buildings are part of the housing mix, and the township has its own rent control rules.
Worth knowing: Union Township's municipal code includes a rent control article, so anyone buying or selling a rental property here should read it early and confirm how it applies to that building. Union Township assessments are well below market value, so the general tax rate looks unusually high. Compare actual tax bills, not rates. We also check the FEMA flood map on every property before it goes on the market.
Property taxes
What taxes look like in Union
- 2.270%2025 effective tax rate, as a share of market value
- $10,8492025 average residential tax bill
A home worth $500,000 on today's market would pay roughly $11,350 a year at Union'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 north and south through the township, with Exit 139A at Chestnut Street, Exit 139B for Route 82 toward West Union, Exits 140 and 140A at Route 22 and Route 82, and Exit 141 at Vauxhall Road. Interstate 78 crosses the northern part of town, and U.S. Route 22 and Route 82 (Morris Avenue) cross it east to west. Union station, on Green Lane off Morris Avenue next to Kean University, opened in 2003 and is served by NJ Transit's Raritan Valley Line toward Newark Penn Station. NJ Transit buses 113, 114 and 117 run to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York, and several routes run to Newark. Newark Liberty International Airport is about six miles east. Much of the larger shopping is along Route 22.
Places worth knowing
Parks, landmarks and open space
- Liberty Hall Museum: The 1772 home of William Livingston, New Jersey's first governor, now a museum on Kean University's Liberty Hall campus and a National Historic Landmark.
- Caldwell Parsonage: A 1782 farmhouse museum on Caldwell Avenue run by the Union Township Historical Society, rebuilt after the 1780 Battle of Connecticut Farms.
- Galloping Hill Golf Course: A public 18 hole course from 1928, run by Union County, in Kenilworth with part of the course in Union.
Common questions
Questions people ask us about Union
What are property taxes in Union, NJ?
Union Township's 2025 effective tax rate is 2.270 percent of market value, and the average residential tax bill is $10,849, according to the New Jersey Division of Taxation. Actual bills depend on each home's assessment.
Is Union, NJ the same as Union City?
No. Union is Union Township in Union County. Union City is a separate city in Hudson County. There is also a Union Township in Hunterdon County and a Union Beach in Monmouth County.
Is Vauxhall part of Union Township?
Yes. Vauxhall is an unincorporated community in the northern part of Union Township, with its own 07088 ZIP code. Homes with a Vauxhall address are in Union Township and pay Union Township property taxes.
Is there a train station in Union?
Yes. Union station, on Green Lane off Morris Avenue beside Kean University, is on NJ Transit's Raritan Valley Line toward Newark Penn Station. It opened in 2003 and has a large parking lot.
What was the Battle of Connecticut Farms?
On June 6, 1780, British and Hessian troops landed from Staten Island and moved through Connecticut Farms, today's Union, but could not get through the Hobart Gap. Hannah Caldwell was killed in the parsonage during the fighting, and the house on Caldwell Avenue was rebuilt in 1782.
Nearby towns
Towns that border Union
Buying or selling in Union?
Every Union section prices differently
From Vauxhall to Five Points, we look at the block, the building and any rent rules that apply. We compare actual tax bills, not rates, and go over every option with you.
Call or text either of us directly.