How to use TownStats

TownStats is a prototype municipal database that gives users the ability to easily compare one municipality with another on a wide range of measurable data.

TownStats currently provides data for all 566 municipalities in New Jersey in the following categories:

• 1. DEMOGRAPHIC data on population and race/ethnicity from the 2010, 2000 and 1990 Census, and BASIC INFORMATION on the type of municipality (urban, suburban, rural) and population density drawn from State Police reports.
• 2. CRIME data including both crime reports and police staffing figures for 2009, 2005 and 2000 drawn from State Police reports.
• 3. STATE AID figures for 2010, 2005 and 2000 drawn from state Department of Community Affairs (DCA) statistics.
• 4. PROPERTY TAXES AND RATABLES for 2010, 2005 and 2000 drawn from DCA spreadsheets.
• 5. EMPLOYEES AND SALARIES statistics for 2009 extracted from state Division of Pensions and Benefits files, with current 2011 statistics to be posted as soon as new computer runs are received from the state.

Most importantly, TownStats is the first on-line database to provide detailed information on MUNICIPAL BUDGETS, including providing revenue and spending totals in a wide range of categories that give users the ability to compare costs of services in one town with another. More than 50 current municipal budgets are now on-line, and 30 or more new budgets are being added each week.

Like the College Board website that so many high school students use to compare colleges, TownStats gives users the ability to compare three municipalities side-by-side or to compare current data for one municipality with prior-year data for the same town.

To use TownStats, simply type in the name of a town in the box at the top of the page and hit the "return" key. A short QuickSearch set of data on that town will appear. At that point, you have three expanded search options.

First, to see all data for that town, click on the "Display Advanced Data" button. A full set of Demographic, Crime, State Aid, Property Taxes and Ratables, and Employees and Salaries data will appear, along with Municipal Budget data if that town’s budget is already completed.

Second, to compare that town with other towns, click on the "Compare With Other Towns" button, type in the names of one or two other towns, and select the categories you would like to compare. All six categories can be compared simultaneously. (If you know that you want to compare towns, a "Compare With Other Towns" button appears at the bottom of the home page, and you can skip the intermediate step).

Third, to compare the town you have selected with prior-year data, click on the "Compare With Previous Years" button and select with a check the categories you would like to compare.

The TownStats prototype is designed for easy navigability. We plan to make all of the data available in the future on downloadable Excel spreadsheets for use by researchers and citizens who are interested in doing their own computer runs.