Watchung, Green Brook Ranked Among Best Places To Live In NJ

WATCHUNG/GREEN BROOK, NJ — Watchung and Green Brook were recently voted among best places to live in Somerset 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.

Watchung:

Watchung received an A. It was ranked the 15th best place to live in Somerset County and the 131th best in New Jersey.

"Watchung is a wealthy suburb safe for families and people of all ages," a reviewer said. "Many areas have wide open spaces or are even located in mountains. Watchung geographically has a lot of hill top areas."

Watchung received the following grades:

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

The town has a median home value of $752,700, more than four times the national average of $184,700.

Green Brook:

Green Brook received an A. It was ranked the 8th best place to live in Somerset County and the 80th best in New Jersey.

"Green Brook is a great little town. There is just one elementary school, and one middle school. High schoolers attend Watchung Hill Regional High School in Warren," a reviewer said. "I like the small town feel, and everyone knows everyone."

Green Brook received the following grades:

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

The town has a median home value of $433,300, 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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