Money's list of America's best small cities


35 of 100
BACKNEXT
35. Edison, NJ
Edison
Edison Tower
WINNER
Top 100 rank: 35
Population: 101,400
Compare Edison to Top 10 Best Places
It's fitting that the town named for the inventor of the incandescent light bulb has become a beacon for central New Jersey.

A transportation hub, the township is connected via several interstates to New York, Philadelphia, Trenton and Boston. Usually ranked among the safest cities in the country, Edison is home to a growing middle and upper-middle class community.

It's one of the region's most diverse towns too. The many green acres of forests and seasonal foliage will make you want to settle in and dream up some bright ideas of your own.

Median family income
(per year)		 $96,640 $93,313
Family purchasing power
(annual, cost-of-living adjusted)		 $77,127 $84,802
Sales tax 7.00% 6.60%
State income tax rate
(highest bracket)		 8.97%I 5.22%
State income tax rate
(lowest bracket)		 1.40%I 2.42%
Auto insurance premiums
(Average price quotes, for the state)		 $2,559 $1,854
Job growth %
(2000-2007)		 3.34% 18.60%
Median home price $350,000 $293,712
Average property taxes
(2006)		 $6,939 $4,072
See Edison homes for sale
See million-dollar homes
Colleges, universities and
professional schools (within 30 miles)		 130 40
Junior colleges and
technical institutes (within 30 miles)		 39 20
Test scores reading
(% above/below state average)		 16.3% 17.3%
Test scores math
(% above/below average)		 35.6% 16.6%
% students attending public/private
schools (located within town limits)		 81.5/14.9 89.5/10.5
Air quality index*
(% of days AQI ranked as good)		 78.1% 76.0%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000) 3 2
Property crime incidents (per 1,000) 23 25
Median commute time
(in minutes)		 25.4 23.0
% population with commute
45 mins. or longer		 27.1% 15.8%
% population walk or bike to work 2.5% 3.0%
Movie theaters
(within 15 miles)		 52 51
Restaurants
(within 15 miles)		 6,593 4,141
Bars
(within 15 miles)		 565 338
Public golf courses
(within 30 miles)		 384 242
Libraries
(within 15 miles)		 155 90
Museums (accredited by AAM;
within 30 miles)		 29 11
Ski resorts (within 100 miles) 31 13
Arts funding (Dollars per person of state funds spent on arts) 3.4 1.5
Annual rainfall
(inches)		 49.23 36.31
% clear days in the area 26 30
High temp in July ° F 85.7° 87.8°
Low temp in Jan ° F 21.0° 22.9°
Has health plan
(% of residents)		 87.6% 88.2%
Body mass index (avg. for residents) 27 27
Diabetes rates
(% of residents diagnosed)		 11.6% 9.6%
Hypertension rates
(% of residents diagnosed)		 29.2% 27.3%
Median age 38.0 36.0
Completed at least some college
(% of residents)		 68.6% 73.6%
Married 57.7% 57.5%
Divorced 6.0% 8.3%
Racial diversity index
(100 is national average; higher numbers indicate greater diversity)		 313.6 104.0
Amount spent on vacations
(domestic and foreign, household avg. per year)		 $8,071 $8,012
From the August 2008 issue
Notes:
* County data
** State data

(I) Income tax notes:
The tax brackets reported are for single individuals. For married couples filing jointly, the tax rates range from 1.4% to 8.97% (with 7 income brackets) applying to income brackets from $20,000 to over $500,000.
See Edison in...
...What Readers Say
They speak out on Edison and other places ...
Nearby...
FORTUNE 500
Johnson & Johnson 35
Medco Health Solutions 51
See the rest
FORTUNE: Best to work for
None  
   
There are no Best Companies to Work For in this state.
EMAILFeedback on the Best Places to Live list?
E-mail the editors
On Board LLC
Information powered by Onboard Informatics
Some data may be provided courtesy of its partners.
Sperling's Best Places
Additional data and consulting services provided by Bert Sperling's bestplaces.net.
Homes For Sale
Homes for sale provided by Trulia Real Estate Search.
  • Find Homes for sale
    Real estate and homes for sale on Trulia

  • Property Type
  • Find a home in:
  • New York | Atlanta | Chicago | Los Angeles
  • Washington D.C | Houston | Philadelphia | More options
Search by city or state
City
State
Video
  • NEXT
    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
  • NEXT
    BACK
    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
  • NEXT
    BACK
    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
  • NEXT
    BACK
    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
  • BACK
    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
 
iReport
iReport
Is your town a great place to live?
Do you live in a great place? Does your city have great cafes and culture? Lovely affordable homes? Low crime and a thriving downtown? A thriving local economy? Amazing neighbors? Show us why your town is remarkable: Send your photos and videos, and they could be profiled in an upcoming story.
 
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
Contact Us Closed Captioning Manage Cookies+ Site Map

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.