South River is a borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, home to about 16,124 people across 2.8 square miles. Its ZIP code is 08882.
Homes sold for a median of $331 per square foot in the three months ending August 2026, a seller’s market.
Each card is that ZIP code’s whole market, including any part outside South River. Seller’s market: under 4 months of supply; buyer’s market: over 6. Methodology
South River takes its name from the tidal South River, the first major tributary of the Raritan, which forms the borough's eastern and northeastern edge. The land was Lenape territory; in 1683 Daniel Groom, acting for the East Jersey proprietors, set out to negotiate its purchase, and Daniel Willett settled here in 1720, a date the borough marked with a 300th anniversary in 2020. The riverside village went by South River Landing, Willettstown and Washington before it was organized as the town of Washington within East Brunswick Township in February 1870 and renamed South River the same year. The state legislature made it an independent borough on February 28, 1898.
From the mid-1800s the river and the local clay shaped the economy: clay mining, tile and brick making, shipbuilding, and later textile and clothing work. The American Enameled Brick and Tile Company ran a plant here from 1893 until a fire destroyed it in June 1934; a rail spur carried its bricks to boats that took them down the South River and across Raritan Bay to New York City builders. The plant was never rebuilt, and a shoreline covered in old bricks, known locally as Brick Beach, still lines the river's southern bank.
Most of those industries later closed or moved away, and the borough became largely residential. Floods along the river, including those of 1962, 1971, 1992 and the March 1993 northeaster that closed the bridge to Sayreville, led the Army Corps of Engineers to design a levee and storm-surge barrier; after a post-Sandy reevaluation the Corps ended that project in 2016.
South River covers just under three square miles between East Brunswick and Sayreville, with the river along its eastern side. It is a built-out, mostly residential borough with little vacant land, so new housing tends to come through redevelopment rather than new subdivisions. Warehousing is concentrated at the north end of town, and most commercial property sits toward the south.
Main Street is the commercial spine, and part of it lies in a state Economic Opportunity Zone. As of 2020 the borough was encouraging apartments above ground-floor shops downtown, with plans for the former Old Capital movie theater building to get upper-floor apartments over street-level retail and for a mixed-use project called Pondview Village on the site of a demolished school. The borough runs its own municipal electric utility.
Parks sit close to the river and to residential streets. Varga Park and Pacers Field on William Street reach the water and serve as a put-in for paddlers, and Grekoski Park has a small lake and wooded edges beside the floodplain. The South River Public Schools serve the borough from pre-kindergarten through high school.
South River has no train station. County Routes 527 and 535 are the main roads through the borough, and NJ Transit buses use Main Street and the Old Bridge Turnpike. Route 18 runs just west of town, connecting north to New Brunswick and to the New Jersey Turnpike (I-95), and a bridge across the South River links the borough with Sayreville.
NJ Transit buses connect the borough to nearby rail stations. Route 815 runs between New Brunswick Station and Woodbridge Center, using Main Street in South River and Route 18, with stops at the Sayreville Park and Ride and at the South Amboy and Perth Amboy stations. Route 811 runs on weekdays between South River and New Brunswick, serving George Street, Brunswick Square and New Brunswick Station.
Newark Liberty International Airport is the closest major airport, which the mayor described in 2020 as about half an hour away by road.
The river is the main outdoor draw. The Lower Raritan Watershed Partnership has run guided kayak and canoe trips from Varga Park and Pacers Field on William Street out to the main stem of the Raritan and back, as well as floodplain clean-ups in the borough. Brick Beach, the brick-strewn shoreline left by the old enameled-brick works, is a visible piece of the town's industrial past on the tidal floodplain, and Grekoski Park sits beside the same floodplain.
The South River Public Library at 55 Appleby Avenue offers programs for children, teens and adults, meeting rooms, notary service and e-books and streaming through its online resources, with catalog access shared across the STELLA library network. Borough Parks and Recreation runs seasonal programs such as youth basketball and cheer.
Community traditions include a Memorial Day Parade, a September 11 commemoration and a Homecoming Day Parade. In the fall the borough has held a Trunk-or-Treat, a Halloween decorating contest and the Frost on the Pumpkin 10K road race, so it is worth checking the borough's event calendar for the current year's schedule.
Researched and drafted from the public sources below. Updated October 2026. Spot something wrong or out of date? Tell us.
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Get matched| Nearest major airport | Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)20 miles away |
|---|---|
| Nearest city of 250,000+ | Newark, NJ22 miles away |
| Nearest city of 1 million+ | New York, NY28 miles away |
Straight-line distances from the center of South River; driving is longer.
Source: Airports from OurAirports (scheduled passenger service); city centers and populations from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Source: Members of Congress from the congress-legislators project; districts from the Census Bureau’s relationship files; governor and mayor from Wikidata.
South River had 16,118 residents in the 2020 census, up 5% since 2000.
It’s the 165th largest of 565 towns in New Jersey by population.
Middlesex County grew from 79,762 residents in 1900 to 863,162 in 2020.
Middlesex County, 1900–2020
Source: U.S. Census Bureau decennial censuses (counties 1900–1990 from the Bureau’s historical county file).
Average highs peak around 87°F in summer, and winter lows average 23°F. About 49.5 inches of rain and melted snow fall in a typical year, with about 29 inches of snow.
Source: NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, New Brunswick 3 Se, NJ weather station (3 miles away).
434,143 jobs at 22,314 businesses in Middlesex County. The biggest industries by employees:
Source: U.S. Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023 (private employers; jobs counted where people work).
27 doctors and other health care providers list an office in South River.
Nearest hospitals
Providers with an office here
| Primary care doctors | 4 |
|---|---|
| Specialist doctors | 4 |
| Dentists | 4 |
| Nurse practitioners and physician assistants | 5 |
| Mental health providers | 6 |
| Physical and occupational therapists | 3 |
| Chiropractors | 1 |
| Pharmacies | 5 |
Source: Hospitals from CMS Hospital General Information (ratings are CMS overall star ratings); straight-line distances; providers from the CMS National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES), by practice address and primary specialty.
Parks (7 nearby)
Grocery stores (5 nearby)
Pharmacies (2 nearby)
Libraries (1 nearby)
Museums
Theaters and performance venues
Counts are within about 1.5 miles of the center of town.
Source: Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (openstreetmap.org/copyright), as mapped by volunteers; it can miss places or include closed ones.
Notable people born here
Source: Wikidata (wikidata.org), the free knowledge base; people are listed by place of birth.
Public schools here are run by South River Public School District. Check each district’s attendance zones for a specific address.
| School | Grades | Students | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South River Early Learning CenterSouth River | Pre-K | 151 | Public | 0.4 mi |
| South River Primary SchoolSouth River | Pre-K–2 | 508 | Public | 0.4 mi |
| South River Elementary SchoolSouth River | 3–5 | 496 | Public | 0.2 mi |
| South River Middle SchoolSouth River | 6–8 | 524 | Public | 0.3 mi |
| South River High SchoolSouth River | 9–12 | 716 | Public | 0.3 mi |
| School | Grades | Students | Affiliation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darul Arqam SchoolSouth River | Pre-K–12 | 268 | Islamic | 0.5 mi |
| Pillars Preparatory AcademySouth River | Pre-K–12 | 289 | Islamic | 0.3 mi |
Source: U.S. Department of Education, NCES: Common Core of Data (2024-2025) for public schools; Private School Universe Survey (2023-2024) for private schools. Listed by address; we don’t rate schools.
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Town boundaries don’t always match ZIP codes: a ZIP code can cross into neighboring towns, and a town can share a ZIP code with its neighbors. Facts describe the town itself; market figures describe whole ZIP codes.