Cranford is a township in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located 18 miles (29 km) southwest of New York City. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 23,847, an increase of 1,222 (+5.4%) from the 2010 census count of 22,625, which in turn reflected an increase of 47 (+0.2%) from the 22,578 counted in the 2000 census.