Caldwell, NJ

Caldwell is a small Essex County borough with a strong institutional and historic feel. The broader early land purchase in this part of western Essex stretched from First Mountain to the Passaic River, and modern Caldwell still sits in that compact, older suburban landscape. Caldwell University is one of the borough's defining institutions, and the downtown has restaurants, shops, and civic buildings that give it a real center. Caldwell feels compact, local, and more village-like than many North Jersey suburbs.