The Town Files

The 25 Best Small Towns for Young Professionals in New Jersey

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

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Numbers match the ranking.
The 25 Best Small Towns for Young Professionals in New Jersey1. Bradley Beach100th pct2. Caldwell99th pct3. Watsessing99th pct4. Rutgers University-Busch C…98th pct5. The College of New Jersey98th pct6. Rutgers University-Livings…98th pct7. Six Mile Run98th pct8. Cape May98th pct9. Plainsboro Center98th pct10. Ocean Grove97th pct11. Belmar96th pct12. Fort Dix95th pct13. West Long Branch94th pct14. Bedminster94th pct15. New Hanover94th pct16. Bordentown94th pct17. Monmouth Junction93rd pct18. Pine Brook93rd pct19. Great Notch93rd pct20. Peapack and Gladstone93rd pct21. Boonton92nd pct22. Eastampton92nd pct23. Ampere North92nd pct24. Point Pleasant Beach92nd pct25. Lawrenceville92nd pct
  1. 25Lawrenceville, New Jersey

    Better for young professionals than 92% of New Jersey towns

    3,751 people · Mercer County · median home $411,900 · income $122,614 · Jan low 23°F · 27 in snow

  2. 24Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey

    Better for young professionals than 92% of New Jersey towns

    4,766 people · Ocean County · median home $850,300 · income $141,716 · Jan low 22°F

  3. 23Ampere North, New Jersey

    Better for young professionals than 92% of New Jersey towns

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

  4. 22Eastampton, New Jersey

    Better for young professionals than 92% of New Jersey towns

    6,191 people · Burlington County · median home $392,400 · income $110,000 · Jan low 23°F · 25 in snow

  5. 21Boonton, New Jersey

    Better for young professionals than 92% of New Jersey towns

    8,815 people · Morris County · median home $495,400 · income $114,302 · Jan low 21°F · 27 in snow

  6. 20Peapack and Gladstone, New Jersey

    Better for young professionals than 93% of New Jersey towns

    2,558 people · Somerset County · median home $868,800 · income $202,578 · Jan low 21°F · 30 in snow

  7. 19Great Notch, New Jersey

    Better for young professionals than 93% of New Jersey towns

    3,289 people · Passaic County · median home $580,400 · income $162,101 · Jan low 23°F · 28 in snow

  8. 18Pine Brook, New Jersey

    Better for young professionals than 93% of New Jersey towns

    5,675 people · Morris County · median home $767,200 · income $126,488 · Jan low 21°F · 24 in snow

  9. 17Monmouth Junction, New Jersey

    Better for young professionals than 93% of New Jersey towns

    8,895 people · Middlesex County · median home $552,900 · income $133,585 · Jan low 21°F · 24 in snow

  10. 16Bordentown, New Jersey

    Better for young professionals than 94% of New Jersey towns

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

  11. 15New Hanover, New Jersey

    Better for young professionals than 94% of New Jersey towns

    6,367 people · Burlington County · median home $360,200 · income $107,292 · Jan low 23°F · 25 in snow

  12. 14Bedminster, New Jersey

    Better for young professionals than 94% of New Jersey towns

    8,272 people · Somerset County · median home $448,500 · income $123,709 · Jan low 21°F · 30 in snow

  13. 13West Long Branch, New Jersey

    Better for young professionals than 94% of New Jersey towns

    8,587 people · Monmouth County · median home $684,300 · income $114,271 · Jan low 25°F · 26 in snow

  14. 12Fort Dix, New Jersey

    Better for young professionals than 95% of New Jersey towns

    6,508 people · Burlington County · median home — · income $92,303 · Jan low 23°F · 25 in snow

  15. 11Belmar, New Jersey

    Better for young professionals than 96% of New Jersey towns

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

  16. 10Ocean Grove, New Jersey

    Better for young professionals than 97% of New Jersey towns

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

  17. 9Plainsboro Center, New Jersey

    Better for young professionals than 98% of New Jersey towns

    2,760 people · Middlesex County · median home $483,300 · income $119,317 · Jan low 21°F · 24 in snow

  18. 8Cape May, New Jersey

    Better for young professionals than 98% of New Jersey towns

    2,768 people · Cape May County · median home $863,900 · income $62,576 · Jan low 29°F · 15 in snow

  19. 7Six Mile Run, New Jersey

    Better for young professionals than 98% of New Jersey towns

    3,383 people · Somerset County · median home $480,700 · income $140,379 · Jan low 23°F · 29 in snow

  20. 6Rutgers University-Livingston Campus, New Jersey

    Better for young professionals than 98% of New Jersey towns

    3,545 people · Middlesex County · median home — · income — · Jan low 23°F · 29 in snow

  21. 5The College of New Jersey, New Jersey

    Better for young professionals than 98% of New Jersey towns

    3,701 people · Mercer County · median home — · income — · Jan low 23°F · 27 in snow

  22. 4Rutgers University-Busch Campus, New Jersey

    Better for young professionals than 98% of New Jersey towns

    4,586 people · Middlesex County · median home — · income — · Jan low 23°F · 29 in snow

  23. 3Watsessing, New Jersey

    Better for young professionals than 99% of New Jersey towns

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

  24. 2Caldwell, New Jersey

    Better for young professionals than 99% of New Jersey towns

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

  25. 1Bradley Beach, New Jersey

    Better for young professionals than 100% of New Jersey towns

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

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: