8 NJ Towns Among Nation's Top 200: Study

NEW JERSEY – New Jersey has more than 500 towns, and some are the most enviable communities in America. WalletHub confirmed that in a recent study, placing eight Garden State towns in the top 200 "small cities" nationwide.

Fair Lawn, a quaint, tight-knit bucolic Bergen County community, led the state and came in ninth in the United States. The town beat out communities that typically finish at the top of such surveys, such as Princeton or Westfield.

While it had one of the lowest quality of life and affordability rankings among the top finishers, it ranked 89th in economic health and 30th in education.

Princeton (78th in quality of life) and Ridgewood (9th in safety) ranked ninth and 41st overall on the poll.

Here is the New Jersey list among the top 200:

• Fair Lawn (9th)
• Princeton (13th)
• Ridgewood (41st)
• Westfield (83rd)
• Bergenfield (121st)
• Hoboken (135th)
• Sayreville (165th)
• Paramus (191st)

“Small-city life can be best for those who appreciate more wiggle room, fewer degrees of separation and shorter commutes, to name just a few advantages,” authors of the WalletHub study said. See the full list here.

Here are the top 10 overall small cities in the country:

1. Leawood, Kansas: 71.98
2. Brentwood, Tennessee: 71.53
3. Sammamish, Washington: 71.34
4. Melrose, Massachusetts: 70.7
5. Carmel, Indiana: 70.59
6. Lexington, Massachusetts: 70.55
7. Milton, Massachusetts: 70.46
8. Brookfield, Wisconsin: 70.38
9. Fair Lawn, New Jersey: 70.25
10. Cedar Park, Texas: 69.98