Buying in Far Hills, NJ: What the Land, the Schools, and the Train Cost You

What Far Hills actually is, and where the ZIP code stops matching the town

Far Hills is an independent borough, incorporated in 1921 out of what was then part of Bernards Township, according to the Borough of Far Hills. The 2020 Census counted 924 residents there. A more recent Census Bureau population estimate, cited by Data USA, puts the figure at 948 for 2024. Both numbers are legitimate; they describe different years, and a buyer comparing sources should expect small drift like this rather than treat it as an error.

The borough’s 07931 ZIP code does not line up neatly with its municipal boundary. Sales data from Redfin’s ZIP-level market page shows a unit listed at 37 Hillandale Dr under “Mendham Twp., NJ 07931,” meaning a Far Hills mailing address can sit inside a different town’s school district, tax rate, and zoning code entirely. Before assuming a listing is inside the borough, check the municipality named on the deed and the tax bill, not the town printed on the envelope.

These five figures settle the parts of the record that competing write-ups leave inconsistent; treat any older source quoting a much higher population or attendance number as dated rather than current.

Does a “Far Hills” mailing address mean the home is in Far Hills borough? Not necessarily. The 07931 ZIP code extends into parts of neighboring Mendham Township and other adjacent municipalities, so the school district, tax rate, and zoning that apply to a specific address depend on the municipality on the deed, not the town on the envelope.

Housing character and what a lot actually costs

Far Hills homes sit mostly on large, private parcels; the estate-scale end of the market runs into double-digit acreage. Two portals disagree on the current headline price because they measure different things: Homes.com reports a median sale price near $1,265,000 over a trailing 12 months, while Movoto separately reports a $1,888,000 median list price. A sale price and a list price are not the same statistic, and on a market this small, a handful of closings can pull either number in either direction within a season.

One recent, verifiable transaction: 31 Hillandale Dr in Far Hills sold for $1,121,390 on January 31, 2025, according to Redfin’s ZIP-level sales data. That single sale sits below both portal medians above, exactly the kind of individual data point worth weighing against a headline “median” on a market with so few annual closings.

Homes.com reports an average days-on-market figure in the thousands rather than the dozens typical of most suburban markets. That figure almost certainly reflects a small number of long-sitting or repeatedly relisted properties skewing the average, not a typical marketing timeline for a well-priced home. With only a handful of sales a year, one stale listing can distort the whole statistic.

Farmland assessment: how large-lot owners cut the tax bill

New Jersey’s Farmland Assessment Act lets an owner of 5 or more contiguous acres apply for a reduced, agricultural-use tax assessment on the qualifying land, instead of the full market-value assessment applied to a typical residential lot. Per the New Jersey Division of Taxation, the land must have been in agricultural or horticultural use for the two years before the application, and the owner must show gross sales of at least $1,000 per year for the first 5 acres, plus $5 for each additional acre; lower thresholds apply to land under an approved woodland management plan. Applications go to the municipal tax assessor by August 1 of the year before the tax year in question.

This is a real gap between what a listing calls “low taxes” and the actual legal mechanism behind it. The tax break attaches to demonstrated agricultural use of the land, not simply to owning a large parcel.

How many acres do I need to qualify for farmland assessment? A minimum of 5 contiguous acres in active agricultural or horticultural use, plus proof of at least $1,000 in annual gross sales from that use for the first 5 acres (a lower threshold applies under an approved woodland plan), filed with the municipal assessor by August 1 of the pretax year.

Schools: the correction most guides get wrong

Far Hills has no public school within its own borders. Several real-estate guides describe local children as feeding into Bernards Township’s school district and its Ridge High School. That’s incorrect for Far Hills itself: the borough’s government site states plainly that Far Hills is part of the Somerset Hills Regional School District, whose schools (Bedwell Elementary, Bernardsville Middle School, and Bernards High School) sit in neighboring Bernardsville, not Basking Ridge. Peapack and Gladstone’s own municipal schools page confirms the same district structure. Families choosing private school instead have Far Hills Country Day School, a K-8 school located in the borough itself.

Does Far Hills have its own public schools? No. Public-school residents attend the Somerset Hills Regional School District, based in Bernardsville, not the Bernards Township district that some listings and guides describe.

Commuting: the Gladstone Branch and the Summit transfer

Far Hills has its own station on NJ Transit’s Gladstone Branch. Per NJ Transit’s route description, the branch joins the Morris & Essex Line at Summit, and most weekday peak trains continue from there via Midtown Direct service straight into New York Penn Station. Off-peak, a rider may need to disembark at Summit and board a connecting train; a schedule-change notice NJ Transit itself published documents specific trains that terminate at Summit and require exactly this kind of transfer. A commuter deciding whether Far Hills works should check the actual peak-versus-off-peak schedule for the specific trip, not assume every trip is a one-seat ride.

Can I get a one-seat ride to Manhattan from Far Hills? At most weekday peak times, yes, via Midtown Direct service. Off-peak, some trains terminate at Summit and require a same-platform transfer to a connecting train.

The Far Hills Race Meeting: landmark and once-a-year traffic problem

Held every third Saturday in October at Moorland Farm, the Far Hills Race Meeting traces to a fox-hunting club’s Farmers’ Day races that moved to the site in the 1910s, per the event’s history page. It’s a genuine civic landmark and a genuine annual disruption at the same time. For one day, a town of under 1,000 people absorbs tens of thousands of visitors, tailgates, and parked cars, straining local roads well beyond their normal capacity. Residents who dislike crowds should plan around that specific Saturday; it isn’t representative of any other weekend in Far Hills.

Does the Far Hills Race Meeting disrupt daily life? For one Saturday a year, yes, with heavy traffic and parking pressure across the borough. The other 364 days, the town is unusually quiet by design, given its zoning and population.

Parks and daily life

Beyond race day, the borough’s everyday outdoor life centers on the Leonard J. Buck Garden, a 33-acre rock and woodland garden operated by the Somerset County Park Commission, and the J. Malcolm Belcher Fairgrounds. Neither draws crowds anywhere near the Race Meeting’s scale.

Who lives here

Census-linked data on Far Hills residents shows a small, white-collar population. Data USA’s Census-sourced profile reports 16.1% of residents born outside the United States as of 2024, a 94.2% rate of health-insurance coverage, and the leading employment sectors among residents as retail trade, health care and social assistance, and professional, scientific, and technical services. Separately, City-Data’s tax-derived estimate puts 2024 per-capita income at $109,507 and median home value at $861,827. None of this changes the price bands above; it confirms who the current resident base is, for a buyer weighing whether the town’s social fabric fits.

Far Hills vs. Bernardsville, Mendham, and Peapack & Gladstone

Buyers evaluating Far Hills are frequently cross-shopping the same four Somerset Hills towns. Recent sale-price snapshots from Redfin illustrate both the price range and how unstable a single month’s median can be on markets this small.

The swings in this table, Peapack & Gladstone’s year-over-year change, Mendham’s two total sales, aren’t noise to discard. They’re the clearest evidence that every town in this cluster trades on volumes low enough that a single closing can move the headline number, Far Hills included. Ask an agent for the actual closed-sale list, not a portal’s monthly median.

Who this town fits, and who it doesn’t

• Good fit: buyers who want estate-scale land, value quiet over walkable amenities, and can absorb a commute that’s direct at peak hours and less predictable off-peak.
• Poor fit: buyers who want an in-town public school, a starter-home price point, or a lively downtown; Bernardsville and Basking Ridge match those needs better.
• Before you commit acreage to farmland assessment: confirm the exact acreage and income thresholds with the municipal assessor rather than assuming any large parcel automatically qualifies.