Some of you might be asking yourself, at this very moment, is New Jersey a good place?
The answer is unequivocally yes… if you know where to locate the best counties to live in New Jersey.
Lucky for you, we’re here to help you identify the best counties to live in the Garden State based on the most recently available data from the Census. And this isn’t our first rodeo — we’ve been using Saturday Night Science to rank places for years.
The question becomes if you wanted to relocate to the best part of New Jersey, where would you go? To answer that, we looked at crime, cost of living, and demographic data for all 21 counties in the state.
Hunterdon County is the county to be when it comes to living the good life in New Jersey. And you should avoid Cumberland County if you can — at least according to the data.
$141,715 median income · 4.6% unemployment
$137,326 median income · 5.2% unemployment
$140,374 median income · 4.7% unemployment
$116,186 median income · 5.1% unemployment
$124,845 median income · 5.4% unemployment
$124,884 median income · 5.8% unemployment
$108,111 median income · 5.3% unemployment
$91,128 median income · 5.3% unemployment
$100,869 median income · 5.1% unemployment
$105,115 median income · 5.3% unemployment
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is New Jersey’s statewide median.
New Jersey statewide median: $103,556
New Jersey statewide median: $569,411
New Jersey statewide median: 6.3%
On the map
Where New Jersey’s best counties are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How do you determine which New Jersey county is the best?
To give you the best county in New Jersey, we have to look at a handful of metrics that signal the quality of a place. To do that, we made assumptions about what’s in a “best county” and what isn’t. For reference, we are trying to make the kind of argument you’d make at a bar using facts, Saturday Night Science.
With that in mind, we went to two of the best data sources on the internet. Namely, the American Community Survey data and FBI Crime data for the most recent period.
We paid particular attention to:
- Violent Crime Rates
- Property Crime Rates
- Median Home Values
- Median Income
- Unemployment Rates
- Adult Education Levels
- Health Insurance Coverage
- Poverty Rates
We then ranked each county in New Jersey across each of the criteria from one to 21, with one being the best.
Taking the average rank across all criteria, we created a quality of life score with the county posting the lowest overall score being the “Best County To Live In New Jersey.”
The result is some of the safest, quietest, and best counties to raise a family in the Garden State.
We updated this article for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the best counties to live in New Jersey.
Read on to see why Hunterdon County is the best county, while Cumberland County is probably in contention for being the worst county in New Jersey.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Best Counties In New Jersey
Click any column to sort. Search by county name.
| Rank | County | Population | Median Income | Median Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hunterdon County | 130,160 | $141,715 | $629,111 |
| 2 | Morris County | 514,528 | $137,326 | $697,930 |
| 3 | Somerset County | 349,846 | $140,374 | $656,762 |
| 4 | Sussex County | 145,807 | $116,186 | $437,745 |
| 5 | Monmouth County | 645,353 | $124,845 | $759,386 |
| 6 | Bergen County | 962,316 | $124,884 | $767,390 |
| 7 | Burlington County | 467,805 | $108,111 | $417,347 |
| 7 | Cape May County | 94,941 | $91,128 | $785,670 |
| 9 | Warren County | 110,849 | $100,869 | $419,399 |
| 10 | Gloucester County | 306,954 | $105,115 | $379,106 |
| 11 | Ocean County | 654,362 | $89,863 | $537,945 |
| 12 | Middlesex County | 871,290 | $111,549 | $579,433 |
| 13 | Mercer County | 385,864 | $100,645 | $439,747 |
| 14 | Union County | 579,290 | $103,202 | $623,206 |
| 15 | Hudson County | 718,323 | $91,795 | $636,231 |
| 16 | Salem County | 65,275 | $79,960 | $287,364 |
| 17 | Camden County | 527,257 | $88,755 | $350,617 |
| 18 | Essex County | 863,002 | $80,789 | $657,085 |
| 19 | Passaic County | 521,012 | $87,522 | $592,192 |
| 20 | Atlantic County | 276,270 | $78,050 | $376,749 |
| 21 | Cumberland County | 153,305 | $67,436 | $271,138 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS + FBI crime data via Saturday Night Science. All 21 New Jersey counties.
Summary
Summary: The Best Counties In New Jersey To Call Home For 2026
Living in New Jersey can vary from one part of the state to the next — who woulda thought?
The best counties in New Jersey are Hunterdon County, Morris County, Somerset County, Sussex County, Monmouth County, Bergen County, Burlington County, Cape May County, Warren County, and Gloucester County.
But now you know the outstanding parts and the parts to avoid, and that’s why you came here to learn at the end of the day.
You are welcome.
