Matawan Among Worst Towns In N.J., Report Says

Ocean City? Manasquan? Point Pleasant? Toms River? Among the ”worst places” in America or, at least, New Jersey?

Really?

O-K.

Roadsnacks, the same site that gave us the towns with the highest rate of Ashley Madison “cheaters,” has also put together the worst places to live in America, and several New Jersey communities -deservedly or not - made that list (see list below).

The Roadsnacks.net site, a data compiler that rates cities on various topics, also put together a list of the ”worst” places to live in New Jersey (see list below).

In the national list, Roadsnacks divided the cities in categories of mid-sized, small and overall, and developed lists that show as many as 450 communities.

According to the site, there’s a common denominator that “bad” communities have.

“They are the places that have bad economies. They are the places where the school systems are in bad shape. They’re the places where people are out of work, and where residents earn low salaries,” according to the site.

And if home prices are low, it’s a sign that there’s not a lot of demand to live there, according to the site.

Feel free to voice your opinion in the comments section after reading the lists below.

On the New Jersey list, the site took the following categories into consideration: education; employment opportunities; crime; weather; income levels; population density; commutes; and “things to do.”

Here are the lists:

Worst cities:

• Elizabeth (112)
• Paterson (117)
• Newark (119)
• Jersey City (218)

Worst mid-sized cities:

• Camden (56)
• Trenton (71)
• Passaic (150)
• Toms River (176)
• Clifton (204)

Worst small cities:

• Vineland (189)
• New Brunswick (200)
• Plainfield (209)
• Linden (219)
• East Orange (241)
• West New York (244)
• Kearny (269)
• Union City (311)
• Perth Amboy (349)
• Hackensack (370)
• Bayonne (396)
• Hoboken (418)

Worst cities in New Jersey:

1. Newark
2. West New York
3. Orange
4. Irvington
5. Union City
6. Lindenwold
7. Guttenberg
8. Madison Park
9. Berkeley Township
10. Bridgeton
11. Winslow Township
12. Jersey City
13. Princeton Meadows
14. Perth Amboy
15. East Orange
16. Passaic
17. Long Branch
18. Kearny
19. Harrison
20. Bayonne
21. Willingboro
22. Mullica Township
23. Commercial Township
24. Trenton
25. Clementon
26. Mystic Islands
27. Manchester
28. Paulsboro
29. Neptune Township
30. Keansburg
31. Collingswood
32. Plainfield
33. Toms River
34. Penns Grove
35. Elizabeth
36. Camden
37. Rahway
38. Carteret
39. Hackensack
40. Union Beach
41. Echelon
42. Woodbury
43. Avenel (section of Woodbridge)
44. Paterson
45. Bloomfield
46. Haddon
47. Berlin
48. Weehawken
49. Highlands
50. Linden
51. Manasquan
52. Glen Ridge
53. North Bergen
54. Atlantic City
55. Dunellen
56. Prospect Park
57. Deptford
58. Ocean City
59. Belleville
60. Little Egg Harbor
61. Point Pleasant
62. Washington Township (Gloucester County)
63. Brick Township
64. Millville
65. Bellmawr
66. Pine Hill
67. Clayton
68. Lacey
69. Red Bank
70. South River
71. Williamstown
72. Hammonton
73. Matawan
74. Stratford
75. Totowa
76. Watchung
77. Franklin
78. Berlin Township
79. Maplewood
80. Glassboro
81. Garfield
82. Wildwood
83. Carneys Point
84. Burlington
85. Edgewater Park
86. Hamilton Township (Atlantic County)
87. Forked River (section of Lacey)
88. Phillipsburg
89. Monroe Township (Gloucester County)
90. Barnegat Township
91. Metuchen
92. Asbury Park
93. Woodbridge
94. Gloucester Township
95. Haledon
96. Dover
97. Woodbridge
98. Vineland
99. Ventnor

100. Washington

Photo: “Downtown Toms River, NJ” by Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image’s Commons talk page or my English Wikipedia talk page; I’ll know about it a lot faster) - Own work. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Downtown_Toms_River,_NJ.jpg#/media/File:Downtown_Toms_River,_NJ.jpg