Best Places to Live

Money's list of America's best small cities

States

Top 100
Rank	City	Population
35	Edison	101,400
5	Franklin Township	59,100
51	Hamilton	91,700
77	Howell	52,000
86	Middletown	67,600
13	Parsippany/Troy Hills	52,900
23	Piscataway	53,900
75	Union	56,000
58	Washington	52,600
100	Wayne	55,700

Other cities
Rank	City	Population
	Bayonne	58,800
	Bergenfield	26,100
	Bloomfield	46,000
	Brick	84,000
	Bridgewater	45,700
	Camden	79,300
	Cherry Hill	71,200
	Clifton	79,600
	Cranford	22,600
	Dover	97,400
	East Brunswick	49,000
	East Orange	67,200
	East Windsor	27,100
	Elizabeth	126,100
	Englewood	27,800
	Evesham	48,800
	Ewing	37,200
	Fair Lawn	31,200
	Fort Lee	37,000
	Gloucester	68,800
	Hackensack	43,600
	Hazlet	22,100
	Hillsborough	39,100
	Hillside	21,900
	Hoboken	39,800
	Irvington	58,700
	Jersey City	241,700
	Livingston	28,600
	Lyndhurst	19,800
	Mahwah	26,000
	Manalapan	36,600
	Maplewood	23,200
	Marlboro	38,900
	Medford	23,700
	Mercerville-Hamilton Square	27,400
	Montclair	37,700
	Montville	22,300
	Moorestown	21,400
	Mount Laurel	43,200
	Mount Olive	25,700
	New Brunswick	50,100
	Newark	281,400
	North Bergen	55,500
	North Brunswick Township	40,300
	North Plainfield	21,700
	Nutley	27,300
	Old Bridge	23,300
	Paramus	26,500
	Passaic	67,900
	Paterson	148,700
	Perth Amboy	48,600
	Plainsboro	22,100
	Point Pleasant	19,800
	Rahway	27,800
	Randolph	26,000
	Ridgewood	24,600
	Rockaway	24,600
	Roselle	21,100
	Sayreville	42,500
	Scotch Plains	22,800
	Somerset	26,800
	South Brunswick	43,500
	South Plainfield	22,700
	Sparta	19,400
	Summit	21,100
	Teaneck	39,600
	Toms River	93,700
	Trenton	83,900
	Union City	63,900
	Vineland	58,200
	Voorhees	28,300
	Wall	28,200
	West Milford	27,400
	West Orange	43,900
	Westfield	29,900

From the August 2008 issue

Best Places Winners

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Video

Why Plymouth is No. 1

A sense of home, parks and award-winning schools help put this Minnesota city at the top of Money's Best Places to Live list. Watch
Why Fort Collins is a natural pick

Green-minded residents love this Colorado city, no. 2 on Money's Best Places to Live list, where you can borrow a bike, and enjoy the nearby mountains. Watch
Naperville's family feel

Great schools, a vibrant downtown and low crime help put this small city near Chicago at No. 3 on Money's Best Places to Live list. Watch
Hoboken's great singles scene

For the second year running, Hoboken takes the top spot for the over 30 and single scene, as part of Money's Best Places to Live. Watch
Where to beat the gas crunch

In places like State College, Pa., commutes are short or many residents get to work in ways that dont use a lot of fuel. Watch

Top 3

City	Median income
New Canaan, CT	$231,138
Darien, CT	$218,130
Lake Forest, IL	$212,122

See the rest

City	% single
Hoboken, NJ	57.7%
Cambridge, MA	52.4%
Somerville, MA	51.4%

See the rest

City	Median home price
Nicholasville, KY	$70,000
Watauga, TX	$117,040
Redan, GA	$115,000

See the rest

How we picked the Best Places

Using statistics from data provider Onboard Informatics and consultant Bert Sperling of BestPlaces.net, we crunched the numbers in order to zero in on America's best small cities for families. (Last year, we looked at small towns, with populations between 7,500 and 50,000.) More