Oxford's housing stock is rural and largely owner-occupied, reflecting its agricultural township character. Homes range from older residences in the village of Oxford near Route 31 to single-family houses on larger lots, farmsteads, and wooded parcels spread across the township's countryside. Newer construction appears on a limited, infill basis, and the overall density is low compared with New Jersey's more suburban counties. The combination of historic village homes and open rural acreage gives the market a distinctly country character within commuting range of the Lehigh Valley and northwest New Jersey employment centers.

Oxford is organized around the village of Oxford, the township's historic center along New Jersey Route 31, where the Oxford Furnace, Shippen Manor, and the Oxford Central School are clustered. Beyond the village, the township spreads into farmland, wooded ridges, and scattered rural homes, with no large subdivisions or dense residential districts. This layout keeps the community cohesive and distinctly rural, with the Oxford Mountain ridge and surrounding agricultural land shaping the landscape and separating Oxford from the more developed areas of Warren County.

Oxford's lifestyle is quiet, rural, and historically minded. The township is a place of farms, wooded ridges, and winding roads, with a village center built around the Oxford Furnace and Shippen Manor. Community life centers on the local school, churches, and volunteer organizations, while residents travel to Washington, Hackettstown, or the Lehigh Valley for shopping and employment. The suburban-rural mix, with most residents owning their homes, gives Oxford a settled, family-oriented character. Its history as one of New Jersey's earliest iron-making communities remains a source of local identity and pride.

Oxford is served by the Oxford Township School District, which operates Oxford Central School for students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. For seventh through twelfth grade, students attend the Warren Hills Regional School District, a comprehensive regional system serving Oxford and several neighboring Warren County municipalities, with Warren Hills Regional High School as its secondary campus. This arrangement gives Oxford families a small community school for the early grades and access to a larger regional high school with a broad range of academic, athletic, and extracurricular programs.

New Jersey Route 31 is Oxford's principal roadway, running north-south through the village and connecting the township to Washington and other Warren County communities, with U.S. Route 46 reachable to the north. Interstate 78 lies to the south, providing a route toward the Lehigh Valley and the New York metropolitan area. The township's rural, low-density layout makes the automobile essential, with commutes to employment centers in Warren County, eastern Pennsylvania, and beyond. Public transit is limited, consistent with Oxford's country character.

Recreation in Oxford is grounded in its history and countryside. The Oxford Furnace and Shippen Manor form a preserved historic district that residents and visitors explore year-round, with the furnace's industrial history a point of local pride. The township's farmland, woods, and the Oxford Mountain ridge support walking, hunting, and rural outdoor pursuits, while the nearby Pequest River and Delaware Water Gap region add fishing, hiking, and paddling within a short drive. Broader recreational and cultural amenities are found in nearby Washington, Hackettstown, and the Lehigh Valley.