The Town Files

The 25 Hippest Small Towns in New Jersey

Ranked on The Town Files lifestyle rankings among 352 towns of 2,500–10,000 people in New Jersey. #1 is Watsessing, NJ.

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Numbers match the ranking.
The 25 Hippest Small Towns in New Jersey1. Watsessing100th pct2. Lambertville100th pct3. Ocean Grove100th pct4. Highlands99th pct5. Bordentown99th pct6. Audubon98th pct7. Belmar98th pct8. Silver Lake98th pct9. Washington97th pct10. Keyport97th pct11. Caldwell96th pct12. Pitman96th pct13. Merchantville96th pct14. Leonia95th pct15. Ampere North95th pct16. Atlantic Highlands95th pct17. Oaklyn95th pct18. Rockaway94th pct19. East Newark94th pct20. Ventnor City92nd pct21. Glen Ridge92nd pct22. Manasquan92nd pct23. Bradley Beach92nd pct24. Rossmoor92nd pct25. Woodbury91st pct
  1. 25Woodbury, New Jersey

    Hipper than 91% of New Jersey towns

    9,963 people · Gloucester County · median home $222,700 · income $77,028 · Jan low 26°F · 23 in snow

  2. 24Rossmoor, New Jersey

    Hipper than 92% of New Jersey towns

    2,992 people · Middlesex County · median home $194,300 · income $64,074 · Jan low 21°F · 24 in snow

  3. 23Bradley Beach, New Jersey

    Hipper than 92% of New Jersey towns

    4,282 people · Monmouth County · median home $932,800 · income $97,005 · Jan low 25°F

  4. 22Manasquan, New Jersey

    Hipper than 92% of New Jersey towns

    5,938 people · Monmouth County · median home $988,100 · income $142,944 · Jan low 25°F

  5. 21Glen Ridge, New Jersey

    Hipper than 92% of New Jersey towns

    7,802 people · Essex County · median home $836,600 · income $250,001 · Jan low 21°F · 28 in snow

  6. 20Ventnor City, New Jersey

    Hipper than 92% of New Jersey towns

    9,210 people · Atlantic County · median home $363,000 · income $68,671 · Jan low 30°F · 17 in snow

  7. 19East Newark, New Jersey

    Hipper than 94% of New Jersey towns

    2,594 people · Hudson County · median home $470,300 · income $48,646 · Jan low 25°F · 28 in snow

  8. 18Rockaway, New Jersey

    Hipper than 94% of New Jersey towns

    6,598 people · Morris County · median home $448,100 · income $107,053 · Jan low 21°F · 27 in snow

  9. 17Oaklyn, New Jersey

    Hipper than 95% of New Jersey towns

    3,930 people · Camden County · median home $279,000 · income $84,394 · Jan low 25°F · 22 in snow

  10. 16Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey

    Hipper than 95% of New Jersey towns

    4,414 people · Monmouth County · median home $628,100 · income $126,080 · Jan low 25°F · 27 in snow

  11. 15Ampere North, New Jersey

    Hipper than 95% of New Jersey towns

    5,132 people · Essex County · median home $365,600 · income $66,714 · Jan low 25°F · 28 in snow

  12. 14Leonia, New Jersey

    Hipper than 95% of New Jersey towns

    9,304 people · Bergen County · median home $672,900 · income $129,665 · Jan low 26°F · 30 in snow

  13. 13Merchantville, New Jersey

    Hipper than 96% of New Jersey towns

    3,820 people · Camden County · median home $331,000 · income $90,706 · Jan low 25°F · 16 in snow

  14. 12Pitman, New Jersey

    Hipper than 96% of New Jersey towns

    8,780 people · Gloucester County · median home $279,300 · income $98,489 · Jan low 26°F · 22 in snow

  15. 11Caldwell, New Jersey

    Hipper than 96% of New Jersey towns

    9,027 people · Essex County · median home $575,400 · income $96,824 · Jan low 21°F · 24 in snow

  16. 10Keyport, New Jersey

    Hipper than 97% of New Jersey towns

    7,204 people · Monmouth County · median home $417,100 · income $82,321 · Jan low 23°F · 27 in snow

  17. 9Washington, New Jersey

    Hipper than 97% of New Jersey towns

    7,299 people · Warren County · median home $263,300 · income $81,336 · Jan low 18°F · 23 in snow

  18. 8Silver Lake, New Jersey

    Hipper than 98% of New Jersey towns

    4,730 people · Essex County · median home $448,300 · income $82,469 · Jan low 25°F · 28 in snow

  19. 7Belmar, New Jersey

    Hipper than 98% of New Jersey towns

    5,907 people · Monmouth County · median home $861,800 · income $93,573 · Jan low 25°F

  20. 6Audubon, New Jersey

    Hipper than 98% of New Jersey towns

    8,707 people · Camden County · median home $307,400 · income $115,789 · Jan low 25°F · 22 in snow

  21. 5Bordentown, New Jersey

    Hipper than 99% of New Jersey towns

    3,993 people · Burlington County · median home $345,500 · income $103,375 · Jan low 23°F · 27 in snow

  22. 4Highlands, New Jersey

    Hipper than 99% of New Jersey towns

    4,621 people · Monmouth County · median home $455,000 · income $91,913 · Jan low 25°F · 27 in snow

  23. 3Ocean Grove, New Jersey

    Hipper than 100% of New Jersey towns

    3,057 people · Monmouth County · median home $790,100 · income $89,286 · Jan low 25°F

  24. 2Lambertville, New Jersey

    Hipper than 100% of New Jersey towns

    4,139 people · Hunterdon County · median home $562,300 · income $109,733 · Jan low 19°F · 13 in snow

  25. 1Watsessing, New Jersey

    Hipper than 100% of New Jersey towns

    8,078 people · Essex County · median home $435,400 · income $103,378 · Jan low 25°F · 28 in snow

Price vs ranking

Median home value vs ranking, New Jersey towns0255075100$80K$328K$576K$824K$1073KMedian home valuePercentile
Orange squares are the 25 towns on this list; green dots are other towns on The Town Files in New Jersey.

More New Jersey rankings

Same ranking, other places

Methodology. We ranked 352 towns of 2,500–10,000 people in New Jersey (2020 Census population; towns with 2,500+ people have pages so far). Lifestyle measures are The Town Files lifestyle rankings, built from federal demographic, school, crime and housing data (2025), shown as percentiles. Only towns better than 60% of their peers on this measure qualify, so lists can be shorter than 25. Sources: