Stargaze Atlas

New Jersey dark-sky map — light pollution by town

208 towns rated · darkest: Ringwood · measured from VIIRS 2024 satellite night-lights

New Jersey has 208 towns rated for light pollution here, from its darkest — Ringwood (Bortle 4) — to its brightest city cores. 1 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (Bortle 4 or better). Sort the table by darkness to find the best stargazing near you, then open any town for its exact rating, what you can see, the nearest darker skies to drive to, and tonight's live Moon, cloud, and aurora conditions. Ratings are a VIIRS satellite proxy for planning, not survey-grade sky-brightness readings.

Statewide New Jersey · VIIRS 2024
Towns rated
208

1 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (about Bortle 4 or better).

Darkest town
Ringwood
Genuinely dark towns
1

All New Jersey towns by darkness

Darkest sky first. Click a column heading to sort, or filter by name. A satellite reading, not a survey-grade measurement — and the real dark skies are usually a short drive out of any town.

New Jersey towns, darkest sky first.
Sky
Ringwood 4 Rural / suburban transition 2.7
Hopatcong Hills 5 Suburban sky 3.1
Hillsborough 5 Suburban sky 3.8
Vincentown 5 Suburban sky 3.8
Randolph 5 Suburban sky 3.9
Jackson 5 Suburban sky 4.4
Warren Township 5 Suburban sky 4.4
Hopatcong 5 Suburban sky 6.4
Bradley Gardens 5 Suburban sky 6.6
Martinsville 5 Suburban sky 6.9
Holiday City-Berkeley 5 Suburban sky 7.0
Oakland 5 Suburban sky 7.6
Basking Ridge 5 Suburban sky 7.7
Sewell 6 Bright suburban sky 8.0
Lumberton 6 Bright suburban sky 8.4
Bridgewater 6 Bright suburban sky 10
Robertsville 6 Bright suburban sky 10
Ocean Acres 6 Bright suburban sky 10
Sparta 6 Bright suburban sky 10
Kinnelon 6 Bright suburban sky 11
Wanaque 6 Bright suburban sky 11
West Milford 6 Bright suburban sky 11
Mount Laurel 6 Bright suburban sky 11
Middletown 6 Bright suburban sky 12
Short Hills 6 Bright suburban sky 12
East Brunswick 6 Bright suburban sky 12
Tinton Falls 6 Bright suburban sky 12
South Vineland 6 Bright suburban sky 12
Pine Hill 6 Bright suburban sky 13
Somerset 6 Bright suburban sky 13
Wyckoff 6 Bright suburban sky 13
Colts Neck 6 Bright suburban sky 13
Atco 6 Bright suburban sky 14
Bayville 6 Bright suburban sky 14
Franklin Lakes 6 Bright suburban sky 14
Princeton Meadows 6 Bright suburban sky 14
Marlboro 6 Bright suburban sky 14
Willingboro 6 Bright suburban sky 14
Beachwood 6 Bright suburban sky 15
Greentree 6 Bright suburban sky 15
South Old Bridge 6 Bright suburban sky 15
Sayreville 6 Bright suburban sky 16
Springdale 6 Bright suburban sky 16
Sicklerville 6 Bright suburban sky 16
New Providence 6 Bright suburban sky 16
Pennsville 6 Bright suburban sky 17
Point Pleasant 6 Bright suburban sky 17
River Edge 6 Bright suburban sky 17
Hamilton Square 6 Bright suburban sky 17
Ramsey 6 Bright suburban sky 17
Little Falls 6 Bright suburban sky 17
Wayne 6 Bright suburban sky 17
Franklin Park 6 Bright suburban sky 17
Moorestown-Lenola 6 Bright suburban sky 17
Springfield 6 Bright suburban sky 18
Lindenwold 6 Bright suburban sky 19
East Hanover 6 Bright suburban sky 19
Glen Rock 6 Bright suburban sky 19
Lincoln Park 6 Bright suburban sky 19
Upper Montclair 6 Bright suburban sky 19
Dover 6 Bright suburban sky 19
Florham Park 6 Bright suburban sky 19
Haddonfield 6 Bright suburban sky 20
Summit 6 Bright suburban sky 20
Berkeley Heights 6 Bright suburban sky 20
Old Bridge 7 Suburban / urban transition 20
Scotch Plains 7 Suburban / urban transition 20
Waldwick 7 Suburban / urban transition 20
Hillsdale 7 Suburban / urban transition 20
Manville 7 Suburban / urban transition 20
Maplewood 7 Suburban / urban transition 21
Sayreville Junction 7 Suburban / urban transition 21
Middlesex 7 Suburban / urban transition 22
Bound Brook 7 Suburban / urban transition 22
Paramus 7 Suburban / urban transition 22
West Orange 7 Suburban / urban transition 22
Hammonton 7 Suburban / urban transition 22
Hanover 7 Suburban / urban transition 22
Cinnaminson 7 Suburban / urban transition 22
Pompton Lakes 7 Suburban / urban transition 23
Browns Mills 7 Suburban / urban transition 23
Piscataway 7 Suburban / urban transition 23
Westwood 7 Suburban / urban transition 23
Ewing 7 Suburban / urban transition 24
Tenafly 7 Suburban / urban transition 24
New Milford 7 Suburban / urban transition 24
Collingswood 7 Suburban / urban transition 24
Parsippany 7 Suburban / urban transition 24
Williamstown 7 Suburban / urban transition 24
Denville 7 Suburban / urban transition 25
Verona 7 Suburban / urban transition 25
Phillipsburg 7 Suburban / urban transition 25
South River 7 Suburban / urban transition 25
North Brunswick 7 Suburban / urban transition 25
Mercerville-Hamilton Square 7 Suburban / urban transition 25
Highland Park 7 Suburban / urban transition 25
Teaneck 7 Suburban / urban transition 25
Madison 7 Suburban / urban transition 26
West Freehold 7 Suburban / urban transition 26
Mercerville 7 Suburban / urban transition 26
Ventnor City 7 Suburban / urban transition 26
Woodland Park 7 Suburban / urban transition 27
Somers Point 7 Suburban / urban transition 27
Totowa 7 Suburban / urban transition 27
Montclair 7 Suburban / urban transition 28
Livingston 7 Suburban / urban transition 28
Bridgeton 7 Suburban / urban transition 29
Ridgewood 7 Suburban / urban transition 29
Colonia 7 Suburban / urban transition 29
South Plainfield 7 Suburban / urban transition 29
Red Bank 7 Suburban / urban transition 30
Cherry Hill Mall 7 Suburban / urban transition 30
Maple Shade 7 Suburban / urban transition 30
Clifton 7 Suburban / urban transition 30
Princeton 7 Suburban / urban transition 31
Cedar Grove 7 Suburban / urban transition 31
South Orange 7 Suburban / urban transition 31
Millburn 7 Suburban / urban transition 31
Gloucester City 7 Suburban / urban transition 32
Metuchen 7 Suburban / urban transition 32
Bergenfield 7 Suburban / urban transition 32
Dumont 7 Suburban / urban transition 32
Bloomfield 7 Suburban / urban transition 33
Nutley 7 Suburban / urban transition 34
Toms River 7 Suburban / urban transition 34
Hawthorne 7 Suburban / urban transition 34
Echelon 7 Suburban / urban transition 34
Mahwah 7 Suburban / urban transition 35
Plainfield 7 Suburban / urban transition 35
Morristown 7 Suburban / urban transition 35
Cherry Hill 7 Suburban / urban transition 35
Cranford 7 Suburban / urban transition 36
Ridgefield Park 7 Suburban / urban transition 36
Westfield 7 Suburban / urban transition 36
Somerville 7 Suburban / urban transition 36
Long Branch 7 Suburban / urban transition 36
Lyndhurst 7 Suburban / urban transition 36
Fair Lawn 7 Suburban / urban transition 37
Hasbrouck Heights 7 Suburban / urban transition 37
Eatontown 7 Suburban / urban transition 37
Glassboro 7 Suburban / urban transition 37
Bellmawr 7 Suburban / urban transition 38
Pleasantville 7 Suburban / urban transition 38
Edison 7 Suburban / urban transition 38
Ocean City 7 Suburban / urban transition 38
Rutherford 7 Suburban / urban transition 39
Mount Holly 7 Suburban / urban transition 39
Pennsauken 7 Suburban / urban transition 39
Iselin 7 Suburban / urban transition 39
Roselle 7 Suburban / urban transition 39
North Plainfield 7 Suburban / urban transition 40
Brick 8 City sky 40
Avenel 8 City sky 40
Union 8 City sky 41
North Arlington 8 City sky 41
Woodbridge 8 City sky 42
Edgewater 8 City sky 42
Garfield 8 City sky 42
Marlton 8 City sky 42
Freehold 8 City sky 43
Clark 8 City sky 44
Rahway 8 City sky 44
Millville 8 City sky 44
Palisades Park 8 City sky 44
Ridgefield 8 City sky 46
Belleville 8 City sky 47
Fords 8 City sky 47
Woodbury 8 City sky 47
Elmwood Park 8 City sky 48
Englewood 8 City sky 48
Carteret 8 City sky 48
Wallington 8 City sky 49
Kearny 8 City sky 49
Little Ferry 8 City sky 49
Vineland 8 City sky 50
Saddle Brook 8 City sky 50
Fort Lee 8 City sky 51
Hillside 8 City sky 53
Roselle Park 8 City sky 54
Trenton 8 City sky 55
Asbury Park 8 City sky 55
New Brunswick 8 City sky 55
Perth Amboy 8 City sky 57
Cliffside Park 8 City sky 57
Lodi 8 City sky 58
Fairview 8 City sky 62
Lakewood 8 City sky 63
Irvington 8 City sky 64
Passaic 8 City sky 66
East Orange 8 City sky 66
Orange 8 City sky 70
Bayonne 8 City sky 71
Camden 8 City sky 71
Guttenberg 8 City sky 73
Secaucus 8 City sky 74
Linden 8 City sky 74
Jersey City 8 City sky 77
North Bergen 8 City sky 78
Hoboken 8 City sky 96
Hackensack 9 Inner-city sky 104
West New York 9 Inner-city sky 104
Elizabeth 9 Inner-city sky 109
Paterson 9 Inner-city sky 118
Weehawken 9 Inner-city sky 129
Harrison 9 Inner-city sky 155
Union City 9 Inner-city sky 169
Newark 9 Inner-city sky 243
Atlantic City 9 Inner-city sky 267

Frequently asked questions

Where are the darkest skies in New Jersey?
The darkest town tracked here is Ringwood. Sort the table on this page by darkness to see the full ranking, from the most rural, star-filled skies down to the brightest city cores.
How many dark-sky towns does New Jersey have?
Of 208 towns rated here, 1 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (about Bortle 4 or better) — good for seeing the Milky Way on a clear, moonless night.
How are these light-pollution ratings measured?
From VIIRS 2024 annual-average satellite night-lights, sampled at each town's center and mapped to a darkness class and an estimated Bortle band. It is a satellite upward-radiance proxy for planning, not a survey-grade sky-brightness reading. See the methodology page for details.

Explore

Learn to read the Bortle scale, check the meteor shower calendar, or search all towns from the home page.