N.J. Has Among Best, Worst Communities In America, Report Says: Who Made Either List?

A number of New Jersey communities found themselves with either a praiseworthy - or dubious - distinction.

Are they among the best - or worst - small cities in America?

WalletHub, the personal finance website, conducted an in-depth analysis of more than 1,000 cities with a population between 25,000 and 100,000 for its 2015’s Best & Worst Small Cities in America report, and found that Princeton was number one among the nation’s best small cities.

It ranks first out of 1,268 small cities in the U.S. that were studied. Another 32 N.J. towns and cities found themselves in either the upper half, or the lower half of the list.

WalletHub evaluated the cities using a data set of 22 key metrics that ranged from housing costs to school-system quality to the number of restaurants per capita.

Here are the New Jersey communities that were ranked among the “best and worst” small cities in the report:

• 1. Princeton
• 15. Paramus
• 80. Hoboken
• 81. Westfield
• 152. Ridgewood
• 200. Fair Lawn
• 306. Sayreville
• 341. Bergenfield
• 509. Fort Lee
• 546. Millville
• 593. Linden
• 627. Rahway

Half-way point

• 662. Clifton
• 666. Toms River
• 698. Englewood
• 830. Vineland
• 918. Long Branch
• 968. Trenton
• 981. Hackensack
• 1010. Bayonne
• 1015. Plainfield
• 1031. Kearny
• 1093. Garfield
• 1094. Bridgeton
• 1116. Atlantic City
• 1146. New Brunswick
• 1159. Lakewood
• 1171. Perth Amboy
• 1180. West New York
• 1201. Union City
• 1206. Camden
• 1212. East Orange
• 1215. Passaic