Garwood, Clark Ranked Among Best Places To Live In NJ

CLARK/GARWOOD, NJ — Clark and Garwood were recently voted among best places to live in Union County and in New Jersey.

That's according to a Niche's 2018 "Best Places to Live" in New Jersey rankings. For at least the second consecutive year, the consumer rankings service assigned a grade, on an A+-to-D+ scale, to almost every town in the state.

Garwood:

Garwood received an A-. It was ranked the 10th best place to live in Union County and the 239th best in New Jersey.

"Garwood is a small close knit town. We are only one square mile and have roughly about 4000 people. There is only one school, K thru 8 then our kids get bused to a neighboring town for high school," a reviewer wrote. "The little down town area is small and sweet. I enjoy living here because any where you turn you know someone or know their kids."

Garwood received the following grades:

Public Schools: B+
Good for Families: A-
Diversity: A-
Nightlife: A+
Crime & Safety: A-
Housing: C

The town has a median home value of $372,500, more than double the national average of $184,700.

Clark:

Clark received an B+. It was ranked the 13th best place to live in Union County and the 299th best in New Jersey.

"Clark Township is the perfect town if you want a simple and safe life for your family. Each neighborhood is decorated with beautiful houses and friendly neighbors who are always willing to assist you in a time of need," a reviewer wrote. "The school district offers a wide variety of opportunities to students which will help them blossom and develop into college-ready young adults."

Clark received the following grades:

Public Schools: B
Good for Families: B+
Diversity: B+
Nightlife: B+
Crime & Safety: A-
Housing: C

The town has a median home value of $409,200, more than double the national average of $184,700.

Nearly 80 communities received A+ grades, topped with towns such as Princeton, Bedminster, Westfield, and East Brunswick. Four communities received D+ grades: Irvington, Harmony, the Brookfield section of White Township and the Port Norris section of Commercial Township in Cumberland County. The list included sections of towns and city neighborhoods.

To arrive at the rankings, Niche.com took several factors into consideration, such as the quality of local schools, crime rates, housing trends, employment statistics and access to amenities.

Niche created a standardized score for each factor, and after weighting each factor, an overall score was calculated, which was again given a new standardized score.

To see how every town in New Jersey scored, click here.

(Image via Shutterstock)

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