10 Best Places To Raise A Family In New Jersey For 2018

If you’re like the rest of us, you’re looking for the perfect place for your family. But you have a strict criteria; the city has to be safe, affordable, and stimulating. Basically, the place you move – or even visit – has to be outright perfect.

Is that attainable? Perhaps not, but we’ll get you as close as we can.

Promise.

According to the United States Census, the number of American families who move is trending downwards Why is that? Perhaps it has to do with the ‘safety net’ factor: We get comfortable where we live, and we’re afraid to try a new move. What if the schools are bad? What if it’s dangerous?

Well, we can pretty much guarantee that if you choose the cities we’re mentioning below, you won’t lose any sleep whatsoever.

So, where are the best cities for families in New Jersey? We’ve got the answers here.

These are the best cities to raise a family in the Garden State:

1. Madison (Photos | Homes For Sale)
2. New Providence (Photos | Homes For Sale)
3. Glen Rock (Photos | Homes For Sale)
4. Summit (Photos | Homes For Sale)
5. River Edge (Photos | Homes For Sale)
6. Haddonfield (Photos | Homes For Sale)
7. Westfield (Photos | Homes For Sale)
8. Tenafly (Photos | Homes For Sale)
9. Kinnelon (Photos | Homes For Sale)
10. Ringwood (Photos | Homes For Sale)

If you’re thinking of making a move to New Jersey, and want a family-friendly place, we’ve got you covered. And if you already have kids, we’re surprised you made it this far into the article and hope your little ones give you a couple of more minutes of free time.

Keep on reading for a detailed methodology.

Or, check out some more reading about New Jersey and the best places for families in the country:

• Best Places To Live In New Jersey
• Cheapest Places To Live In New Jersey
• Best Cities To Raise A Family In America
• Best States To Raise A Family In America

How do you determine which place is best for families in New Jersey anyways?

To give you the places in New Jersey which are best for families, we have to look at a handful of metrics. Of course, we want to measure the type of people who live in each city, and make some assumptions about what’s family-friendly and what isn’t.

So we researched the internet for a database that contains all that information.

How we crunched the family friendly numbers for the Garden State

We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible. Using U.S. Census data produced for the state of New Jersey, we looked at every single city in the state. We paid particular attention to:

• Crime (Both violent and property)
• Quality of local schools
• Distance to a major city without necessarily being in it
• % of households with children
• Family-friendly amenities nearby (museums, libraries and colleges)

We then gave each city a Family Score.

The higher the score, the better the city is for families. We also limited our results to cities with populations over 10,000 people. For New Jersey, that meant a total of 97 cities.

Read on to see why Madison is where all the families are headed, while Somers Point is probably a place made for singles.

Madison is a borough in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 15,845, reflecting a drop in population of 685 from the 16,530 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 680 from the 15,850 counted in the 1990 Census. It is known as “The Rose City” and was named in honor of President James Madison.

New Providence is a borough on the northwestern edge of Union County, New Jersey, United States. It is located on the Passaic River, which forms the county boundary with Morris County. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 12,171, reflecting an increase of 264 from the 11,907 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 468 from the 11,439 counted in the 1990 Census.

Glen Rock is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough’s population was 11,601, reflecting an increase of 55 from the 11,546 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 663 from the 10,883 counted in the 1990 Census.

Summit is a city in Union County, New Jersey, United States. At the 2010 United States Census, the city’s population was 21,457, reflecting an increase of 326 from the 21,131 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 1,374 from the 19,757 counted in the 1990 Census. Summit had the 16th-highest per capita income in the state as of the 2000 Census.

Haddonfield is a borough located in Camden County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough had a total population of 11,593, reflecting a decline of 66 from the 11,659 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 31 from the 11,628 counted in the 1990 Census.

Westfield is a town in Union County of New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town’s population was 30,316, reflecting an increase of 672 from the 29,644 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 774 from the 28,870 counted in the 1990 Census. According to a 2014 nationwide survey, Westfield is considered to be the 30th-safest city to live in the United States.

Ringwood is a borough in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough’s population was 12,228, reflecting a decrease of 168 from the 12,396 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn declined by 227 from the 12,623 counted in the 1990 Census.

Load More Cities

There You Have It – The Best Places To Grow Up In New Jersey

If you’re looking for a breakdown of cities in New Jersey ranked by criteria that most would agree make a place a great spot for families, this is an accurate list.

Here’s a look at the best cities for singles New Jersey according to the data:

1. Somers Point
2. Manville
3. Lindenwold

For more New Jersey reading, check out:

• These Are The 10 Best Places To Retire In New Jersey For 2018
• These Are The 10 Richest Cities In New Jersey
• 10 Safest Places In New Jersey

Detailed List Of The Best Places For Families In New Jersey

Rank	City	Population	Amenities Score
1	Madison	16,090	50
2	New Providence	12,434	52
3	Glen Rock	11,887	49
4	Summit	21,895	54
5	River Edge	11,586	33
6	Haddonfield	11,444	48
7	Westfield	30,438	50
8	Tenafly	14,821	60
9	Kinnelon	10,239	60
10	Ringwood	12,398	62
11	Ridgefield	11,294	40
12	Westwood	11,170	53
13	Ridgewood	25,430	48
14	Oakland	13,041	39
15	Roselle Park	13,560	40
16	Hasbrouck Heights	12,124	40
17	Hillsdale	10,454	43
18	Lincoln Park	10,488	44
19	Metuchen	13,791	63
20	Dumont	17,788	56
21	Lodi	24,654	62
22	Bergenfield	27,513	54
23	Franklin Lakes	10,810	60
24	Highland Park	14,245	35
25	Little Ferry	10,868	37
26	Rutherford	18,480	53
27	New Milford	16,682	34
28	Paramus	26,795	47
29	South River	16,305	45
30	Ridgefield Park	12,976	39
31	Carteret	23,966	44
32	Edgewater	11,998	53
33	Ramsey	15,000	50
34	Woodland Park	12,358	53
35	Florham Park	11,787	47
36	Fairview	14,314	58
37	Rahway	28,884	53
38	Wallington	11,618	58
39	Hawthorne	18,950	60
40	Fair Lawn	33,205	58
41	Pompton Lakes	11,163	32
42	Paterson	146,894	65
43	Totowa	10,900	61
44	Plainfield	50,578	62
45	Dover	18,317	54
46	Woodbury	10,024	51
47	Wanaque	11,636	33
48	Passaic	70,536	35
49	Fort Lee	36,607	55
50	Palisades Park	20,499	34
51	New Brunswick	56,427	73
52	Elmwood Park	20,135	31
53	Englewood	28,184	39
54	Hackensack	44,271	50
55	Cliffside Park	24,661	31
56	South Plainfield	23,963	40
57	Kearny	42,029	57
58	Perth Amboy	52,265	62
59	Elizabeth	128,042	50
60	Garfield	31,456	55
61	Linden	41,595	47
62	Trenton	84,559	80
63	Roselle	21,507	45
64	Collingswood	13,925	36
65	Bayonne	65,772	54
66	Clifton	85,578	61
67	Newark	280,139	80
68	Red Bank	12,218	40
69	Sayreville	44,260	36
70	Phillipsburg	14,570	45
71	Hoboken	53,136	48
72	West New York	52,407	34
73	Guttenberg	11,628	56
74	Bridgeton	25,209	59
75	North Arlington	15,788	38
76	Beachwood	11,153	37
77	East Orange	64,621	47
78	Bellmawr	11,503	57
79	Bound Brook	10,512	43
80	Secaucus	18,737	45
81	North Plainfield	22,106	35
82	Point Pleasant	18,464	39
83	Hopatcong	14,633	42
84	Vineland	60,876	56
85	Pine Hill	10,472	54
86	Glassboro	19,195	44
87	Harrison	15,007	31
88	Hammonton	14,630	34
89	Long Branch	30,705	51
90	Millville	28,399	58
91	Tinton Falls	17,910	40
92	Pleasantville	20,532	46
93	Somerville	12,207	41
94	Asbury Park	15,850	52
95	Lindenwold	17,482	50
96	Manville	10,448	42
97	Somers Point	10,686	41