Woodcliff Lake, Bernardsville, North Caldwell: These cities aren’t just some of the best places to live in New Jersey. They are also home to some of the richest people in the Garden State.
Woodcliff Lake in particular houses the richest residents in the state thanks, in part, to a median household income of $150,862 and a ridiculously low poverty rate of 2.0%.
If you’re thinking of moving to one of these towns, you’ll probably need to start saving. The richest places in New Jersey share common characteristics such as having a genius level populous, sky high home prices, and a Pleasantville level of married couples.
How did we come up with these mega wealthy cities? We analyzed Census data from the 2012-2016 American Community Survey for the 190 places in New Jersey with more than 5,000 people.
- Woodcliff Lake (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Bernardsville (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- North Caldwell (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Chatham (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Demarest (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Little Silver (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Haddonfield (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Watchung (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Mendham (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Englewood Cliffs (Photos | Homes For Sale)
For more on how we calculated the top ten, read on or skip to the end for the full list of the richest cities in New Jersey.
Rich people not your cup of tea? Feel free to check out some more reading about New Jersey:
How We Determined The Richest Places In New Jersey For 2018
The first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they think about determining the richest places is to simply identify personal incomes. After all, rich people have really high salaries.
However, we don’t believe that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the “richest places”. So we looked at this set of criteria from the newly released 2012-2016 American Community Survey:
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income
- Unemployment Rate
Median household income is the most digestible way to understand how rich a place really is. The unemployment rate tries to capture the prospects for more people to become rich. If more people are employed, the richer the future looks.
After we collected the data for all 190 places with more than 5,000 people in New Jersey, we ranked each place from 1 to 190 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the richest.
We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a “Rich Score” with the place having the lowest overall Rich Score, Woodcliff Lake, crowned the “Richest Place In New Jersey For 2018”.
You can learn more about the top ten below or skip to the end to see the rankings for all 190 places.
/10
Population: 5,844.0
Median Income: $150,862.0
Unemployment Rate: 2.4%
Poverty Rate: 2.0%
More on Woodcliff Lake: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Woodcliff Lake is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the borough’s population was 5,730, reflecting a decline of 15 (-0.3%) from the 5,745 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 442 (+8.3%) from the 5,303 counted in the 1990 Census. Most of the borough mandates a minimum lot size of 22,500 square feet (2,090 m2) for single-family homes, with portions on the borough’s east zoned for 15,000 square feet (1,400 m2) and portions of the borough’s northwest and southwest zoned for 30,000 square feet (2,800 m2) lots.
/10
Population: 7,776.0
Median Income: $136,563.0
Unemployment Rate: 2.9%
Poverty Rate: 1.7%
More on Bernardsville: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Bernardsville /brnrdzvl/ is a borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. In 2000, Bernardsville had the 10th-highest per capita income in the state. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough’s population was 7,707, reflecting an increase of 362 (+4.9%) from the 7,345 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 748 (+11.3%) from the 6,597 counted in the 1990 Census.
/10
Population: 6,519.0
Median Income: $188,897.0
Unemployment Rate: 3.8%
Poverty Rate: 2.4%
More on North Caldwell: Real Estate | Data | Photos
North Caldwell is a borough in northwestern Essex County, New Jersey, United States, and a suburb of New York City. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough’s population was 6,183, reflecting a decline of 1,192 (-16.2%) from the 7,375 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 669 (+10.0%) from the 6,706 counted in the 1990 Census.
/10
Population: 9,030.0
Median Income: $150,625.0
Unemployment Rate: 3.8%
Poverty Rate: 2.2%
More on Chatham: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The Chathams is a term used in reference to shared services for two neighboring municipalities in Morris County, New Jersey, United States – Chatham Borough and Chatham Township. The two are separate municipalities. The first, a town that was settled in 1710 as a colonial English village in the Province of New Jersey, that in 1773 adopted a name change to “Chatham”. There are numerous references to this village as “Chatham, New Jersey” dating from that time. The second, more southern, without a town center, and less densely populated, is the vestige of a regional government that was formed in 1806 as a township, a form of municipal government peculiar to the state of New Jersey. It had jurisdiction over a region including a large area of open space and several villages. One of those, the village of Chatham, dating from 1710, was the source for its name, Chatham Township.
/10
Population: 5,007.0
Median Income: $150,139.0
Unemployment Rate: 4.6%
Poverty Rate: 1.8%
More on Demarest: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 5,922.0
Median Income: $137,652.0
Unemployment Rate: 3.5%
Poverty Rate: 2.9%
More on Little Silver: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Little Silver is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough’s population was 5,950, a drop of 220 (3.6%) from the 6,170 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 449 (+7.8%) from the 5,721 counted in the 1990 Census.
/10
Population: 11,444.0
Median Income: $135,700.0
Unemployment Rate: 3.4%
Poverty Rate: 2.9%
More on Haddonfield: Real Estate | Data | Photos
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 (-0.6%) from the 11,659 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 31 (+0.3%) from the 11,628 counted in the 1990 Census.
/10
Population: 5,944.0
Median Income: $126,250.0
Unemployment Rate: 2.4%
Poverty Rate: 3.0%
More on Watchung: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Watchung is a borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough’s population was 5,801, reflecting an increase of 188 (+3.3%) from the 5,613 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 503 (+9.8%) from the 5,110 counted in the 1990 Census.
/10
Population: 5,012.0
Median Income: $138,241.0
Unemployment Rate: 3.4%
Poverty Rate: 3.8%
More on Mendham: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 5,405.0
Median Income: $131,936.0
Unemployment Rate: 2.9%
Poverty Rate: 3.8%
More on Englewood Cliffs: Real Estate | Data | Photos
There You Have It – The Wealthiest Places In New Jersey For 2018
Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the richest places in New Jersey, we weren’t sure what we’d encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in New Jersey.
When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very top of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.
If you’re curious enough, here are the poorest cities in New Jersey, according to data:
Poorest: Camden
2nd Poorest: Atlantic City
3rd Poorest: Newark
For more New Jersey reading, check out:
- 10 Best Places To Raise A Family In New Jersey
- These Are The 10 Best Counties To Live In New Jersey
- These Are The 10 Best Places To Retire In New Jersey For 2018
Detailed List Of The Richest Cities In New Jersey
| Rank | City | RichScore |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Woodcliff Lake | 6.5 |
| 2 | Bernardsville | 9.17 |
| 3 | North Caldwell | 10.33 |
| 4 | Chatham | 11.67 |
| 5 | Demarest | 14.33 |
| 6 | Little Silver | 17.83 |
| 7 | Haddonfield | 18.33 |
| 8 | Watchung | 18.5 |
| 9 | Mendham | 20.83 |
| 10 | Englewood Cliffs | 21.83 |
| 11 | Rumson | 22.33 |
| 12 | Fair Haven | 23.0 |
| 13 | Westfield | 23.5 |
| 14 | Morris Plains | 26.67 |
| 15 | Franklin Lakes | 27.0 |
| 16 | Upper Saddle River | 27.5 |
| 17 | New Providence | 27.5 |
| 18 | Glen Rock | 28.0 |
| 19 | Oradell | 28.33 |
| 20 | Cresskill | 29.33 |
| 21 | River Edge | 29.67 |
| 22 | Norwood | 30.17 |
| 23 | Rockaway | 31.83 |
| 24 | Summit | 33.0 |
| 25 | Metuchen | 33.17 |
| 26 | Oakland | 33.67 |
| 27 | Ramsey | 37.0 |
| 28 | Glen Ridge | 37.67 |
| 29 | Midland Park | 38.17 |
| 30 | Ringwood | 39.67 |
| 31 | Paramus | 39.83 |
| 32 | Tenafly | 40.5 |
| 33 | Ridgewood | 41.33 |
| 34 | Madison | 43.17 |
| 35 | Dumont | 43.17 |
| 36 | Closter | 44.17 |
| 37 | Lincoln Park | 46.17 |
| 38 | Princeton | 46.33 |
| 39 | Hillsdale | 47.0 |
| 40 | Fanwood | 47.17 |
| 41 | Fair Lawn | 47.33 |
| 42 | Manasquan | 47.83 |
| 43 | Waldwick | 48.0 |
| 44 | Mountainside | 50.17 |
| 45 | Linwood | 50.5 |
| 46 | Allendale | 50.67 |
| 47 | Haddon Heights | 51.33 |
| 48 | Roseland | 52.17 |
| 49 | Kenilworth | 53.17 |
| 50 | Edgewater | 54.17 |
| 51 | Florham Park | 55.83 |
| 52 | Kinnelon | 56.33 |
| 53 | Hoboken | 57.0 |
| 54 | Butler | 57.17 |
| 55 | Park Ridge | 58.0 |
| 56 | Westwood | 58.33 |
| 57 | Boonton | 59.0 |
| 58 | Middlesex | 60.17 |
| 59 | Morristown | 62.17 |
| 60 | West Long Branch | 63.0 |
| 61 | Secaucus | 63.17 |
| 62 | Mount Arlington | 64.67 |
| 63 | Hawthorne | 66.83 |
| 64 | Raritan | 67.83 |
| 65 | Wood-Ridge | 69.83 |
| 66 | Rutherford | 70.83 |
| 67 | Pompton Lakes | 70.83 |
| 68 | Audubon | 72.17 |
| 69 | Maywood | 72.5 |
| 70 | Point Pleasant | 72.67 |
| 71 | Old Tappan | 73.0 |
| 72 | Bergenfield | 74.83 |
| 73 | Carlstadt | 75.0 |
| 74 | Wanaque | 76.5 |
| 75 | South Plainfield | 78.5 |
| 76 | Elmwood Park | 79.33 |
| 77 | North Haledon | 79.83 |
| 78 | Collingswood | 81.33 |
| 79 | North Arlington | 82.83 |
| 80 | Leonia | 82.83 |
| 81 | Caldwell | 83.0 |
| 82 | Spotswood | 83.17 |
| 83 | Matawan | 85.5 |
| 84 | Berlin | 85.5 |
| 85 | Hasbrouck Heights | 86.0 |
| 86 | Montvale | 86.17 |
| 87 | Totowa | 87.0 |
| 88 | Clifton | 87.5 |
| 89 | Somerville | 87.67 |
| 90 | Barrington | 87.67 |
| 91 | Englewood | 89.33 |
| 92 | Oceanport | 89.5 |
| 93 | Bound Brook | 90.67 |
| 94 | New Milford | 92.67 |
| 95 | Emerson | 92.83 |
| 96 | Dover | 93.83 |
| 97 | East Rutherford | 94.0 |
| 98 | Fort Lee | 94.17 |
| 99 | North Plainfield | 96.0 |
| 100 | Highland Park | 96.17 |
Why isn’t Colts Neck on the top of this list??? Its not on the list at all…..what????