Bloomfield, New Jersey: A Love Letter to Newark's Plus-One (With Tudor Revival Trim)

Welcome to Bloomfield, New Jersey, the township you've driven through on the way to somewhere else. If you've ever said "oh, I think that's near Montclair?" about a place with more than 50,000 residents, you may have been talking about Bloomfield. We say that with love. Mostly.

Bloomfield, NJ: 53,105 People Who Are Tired of Explaining Where It Is

Let's start with the facts, since this is allegedly a travel blog. Bloomfield is a township in Essex County and an inner-ring suburb of Newark. That means you are close enough to Newark to share its airport headaches and far enough away that nobody mentions you at parties.

The numbers, though, are not small. The 2020 census counted 53,105 residents, up 5,790 (+12.2%) from 47,315 in 2010. That's a real growth spurt for a town that spent decades shrinking. In 1970 you peaked at 52,029 residents, then spent thirty years losing people before the 21st century turned things around.

The history is better than the branding. Back in the 1850s, Louis Peloubet's musical instrument business took root in town, which later made well-known melodeons and organs. So the town's first big export was a fancy accordion cousin. Over the decades, new immigrants from Italy, Poland, and Germany joined the original families in the town, and you can still taste the Italian influence in every deli and bakery. The Bloomfield Center Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988, so at least the federal government agrees you have a past.

Brookdale Park: The Custody Arrangement With Montclair

Every town needs a crown jewel, and Bloomfield's is Brookdale Park, the Olmsted Brothers-designed green space that sits half in Bloomfield and half in Montclair. Yes, the firm run by the sons of Central Park's designer drew up your best amenity. Yes, you share it with the neighbors who get all the Brooklyn-transplant press. And yes, the county runs it, so your civic pride is essentially a rental.

Still, go. The track is lovely at sunrise, the gardens are genuinely gorgeous, and nobody on the Montclair side is actually timing your mile. (Probably.) Jog it like you're in a Patagonia ad and enjoy the one place in town where you can pretend the Garden State Parkway doesn't exist.

Brookdale also doubles as a neighborhood, which sounds like a fantasy novel nobody finished reading.

Nightlife, Pizza Feuds, and the Holy Grail of Holsten's

Now for the part where we gently roast your after-dark scene. Bloomfield's nightlife consists of a go-go bar, a Dunkin', and whatever else is still lit on Bloomfield Avenue. "Let's just go to the diner" counts as a bold strategy here, and honestly, it's a good one.

Food-wise, the main local sport is arguing on Facebook about which pizza place is the least disappointing. This is New Jersey, so the stakes are high and the opinions are unmovable. Your neighbors in Newark and Montclair have better restaurant reputations, which is why every chain in a five-mile radius seems to have set up shop one parking lot away.

Then there's Holsten's, the ice cream parlor and candy shop that earned its pop-culture fame as the setting of a certain famous TV finale. Order the ice cream, stare at the booth, and think about onion rings. It's the one meal in town that comes with a story, and it's worth the trip even if you've never seen the show.

The Property Tax Bill: Bloomfield's Real Horror Story

The scariest thing in Bloomfield isn't the police blotter. It's the mailbox. This year the township council approved a 2026 budget bringing a 12.1% tax hike, or about $589 more per household, amid rising costs. Officials note that municipal government represents approximately 38% of the total property tax bill, with the remainder going to county and school taxes. Translation: you're not just paying for your town, you're paying for everyone's.

Meanwhile, the school district has had its own belt-tightening. In April, the Board of Education approved cutting 24 staff positions in its 2026-27 budget after state aid cuts. Not exactly a fun fact, but it's the kind of local reality that makes you appreciate a free afternoon in Brookdale Park.

There's good civic news too. Mayor Jenny Mundell delivered her second State of the Township Address in May, and the township has been among the first in the state to earn a Sustainable Jersey Gold Star in Health. The town even ran a "Pothole Week" in May, inviting residents to report the craters. In New Jersey, that's not a program, that's a public service announcement.

The Verdict

Bloomfield is a place where you can get a historic district, an Olmsted park, a famous ice cream parlor, and a Newark-adjacent commute, all in 5.36 square miles of Tudor-Revival charm. It's not flashy. It's not trying to be Montclair. And it doesn't have to be, because it's got Holsten's and a surprisingly resilient population boom.

Think we were too nice? Too mean? See the full roast on RoastMyTown.com.