Watchung Hills Regional High School District, NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Watchung Hills Regional High School District

Watchung Hills Regional High School District is a single-school district serving grades nine through twelve. The school itself shares the district's name and is the only secondary school for the students who live in the sending communities. With an enrollment that is substantial for a high-school-only district, the student body is predominantly white, with a large Asian population and a smaller but visible Hispanic presence. Black students and students identifying with two or more races make up the rest of the enrollment in modest shares. The district did not report the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, nor did it provide data on students with individualized education plans or English learner classification, so a picture of the level of economic or special-education support the school provides is not available from the data. A parent looking into how the school serves particular groups would want to raise those questions directly.

The district operates within Somerset County, and compared with other county districts, its chronic absenteeism rate sits above the midpoint. That means a notable share of students are missing enough school days to be counted as chronically absent, and a family might want to understand the conditions behind that figure. Per-pupil current spending falls in the upper range among the county's districts, reflecting a meaningful investment in the high school. No state assessment results were available for the district, which can sometimes happen when a high-school-only entity’s testing data is reported through the sending elementary districts or when a particular year's results are not yet published. Without that data, a measure of overall academic proficiency cannot be drawn from the record here.

The communities that feed into the district -- Warren Township, Watchung, with smaller contributions from Basking Ridge, Gillette, Millington, and Stirling -- are among the more expensive housing markets in New Jersey. Home values in the district's catchment area are dramatically higher than the national typical home, and they are well above the state benchmark as well. Atypical for many places, the weighted median home value stands a good deal higher than even that state figure. Rents are also high, and the estimated monthly mortgage payment outpaces the typical rent by a wide margin. The affordability metrics suggest that buying a home here would be a stretch for a household earning the national median income. The economic context nationally shows a 30-year fixed mortgage rate that has been hovering mid-range, and unemployment is low, but the real median household income nationally has been relatively flat in recent years. For a family considering a move into the district, the cost of housing is going to be a central factor.

The district's single school offers a straightforward environment: one building, one administration, one set of programs. No charter or magnet status applies, and Title I status was not reported. The district brief indicates a search for recent parent-relevant changes turned up little of lasting impact, so there is no recent bond referendum, boundary shift, or leadership transition on the public record that would alter the picture. For a family, the decision to enroll here rests almost entirely on the character of the high school itself and on whether the housing market in those sending towns is within reach. Without testing data and without program offerings listed in the data, a parent should expect to do their own homework on academic pathways, Advanced Placement or dual-credit opportunities, extracurricular breadth, and the day-to-day culture of the school. The limited public data leaves those as open questions.

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District Context

Officially reported figures, 2024-25.

Enrollment

1,741

Grades

09–12

Schools

Student body

Hispanic 17%

Black 5%

White 55%

Asian 20%

Two+ 4%

Am. Indian / AK Native 0%

Hawaiian / Pac. Isl. 0%

Schools in this District

1 schools are officially reported under this district.

Watchung Hills Regional High School

Housing & Real Estate

Data as of April 2026 | District-weighted from constituent ZIP codes

Home Values

Typical home value$1.02M

Year-over-year change+4.3%

Range across 6 ZIP codes$761K to $1.1M

vs. state typical1.79x

vs. national typical2.77x

Home value trend (12 months)

ZIP code home values (6 ZIP codes)

ZIP	City	Value	YoY	Weight
07059	Warren Township	$1.1M	+4.4%	52.3%
07069	Watchung	$1.1M	+3.5%	16.2%
07933	Gillette	$773K	+3.8%	14.2%
07946	Millington	$901K	+5.4%	10.9%
07980	Stirling	$761K	+4.5%	6.3%
07920	Basking Ridge	$927K	+3.5%	0.1%

Rental Market

Typical monthly rent$2,830/mo

Range across 2 ZIP codes$2,829 to $3,213/mo

Rent trend (12 months)

ZIP code rents (2 ZIP codes)

ZIP	City	Rent/mo	YoY	Weight
07059	Warren Township	$2,829	—	52.3%
07920	Basking Ridge	$3,213	—	0.1%

Affordability

Est. monthly mortgage (20% down at 6.48%)$5,154/mo

Home price / national median income12.2x

Annual rent / national median income40.6%

Est. mortgage exceeds rent by$2,324/mo

Comparison

State typical home value$571,373 (+3.4% YoY)

National typical home value$368,198 (+0.6% YoY)

State ZHVI trend (12 months)

National ZHVI trend (12 months)

Economic Context

30-year fixed mortgage rate6.48%

National unemployment rate4.3%

National median household income$83,730

CPI: Rent of shelter (index)447.05

30-year fixed mortgage rate (12 months)

National unemployment rate (12 months)

National median household income (12 months)

CPI: Rent of shelter (index) (12 months)

Sources: Zillow Home Value Index and Zillow Observed Rent Index (Zillow Group), Realtor.com via Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED)

Data Currently Unavailable

Academic Performance
Civil Rights Data (CRDC)

This profile is derived exclusively from publicly available federal and state datasets. It may not reflect the most current information available. We encourage parents and families to supplement this data with information published directly on the school’s website, which may include more recent figures, additional programs, or updated enrollment data.