Lots of small towns made the top 100 on our list, including lovely Mountain Lakes, with a population of just over 4,200 and a total land area of less than 3 miles. This town is home to the state’s highest percentage of families with kids under 18—which means there are always kids around for play dates, BBQs and block parties. And its educational reputation is impressive: Not only do Mountain Lakes public schools score 10 out of 10 on Great Schools, but 86 percent of the town’s adult population has a college or graduate degree. Mountain Lakes is also incredibly beautiful, thanks in large part to its nine namesake manmade lakes—some of which host sailors and swimmers in the summer and ice skaters in the winter.

Town Population Overall Rank
Pennington 2,587 1
Oradell 8,128 2
Mendham Twp. 5,899 3
Frelinghuysen 2,204 4
Closter 8,545 5
Harrington Park 4,751 6
Mendham Boro. 5,020 7
New Providence 12,332 8
Chatham Boro. 9,039 9
Demarest 4,947 10
Mountain Lakes 4,269 11
Milltown 6,996 12
North Caldwell 6,557 13
Hopewell Boro. 1,920 15
Northvale 4,746 16

 

 

More Best Towns: 

New Jersey's Best Towns for Families 
Full List of Towns
Top Town – Pennington
Editor's Pick: Best Small Town – Mountain Lakes
Highest Ranked: Morris County – Mendham Township

Editor's Pick: Mid-Size Town – Westfield
Editor's Pick: Large Town – Parsippany-Troy Hills

Highest Ranked: North Jersey – Oradell

Highest Ranked: Union County – New Providence

Highest Ranked: Essex County – North Caldwell
Editor's Pick: Central Jersey – Milltown
Methodology
Top NJ Transit Commuter Towns