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Big city living isn't for everyone--but at the same time, urban areas certainly have their perks.
There's the culture, the food, the arts, the food, the energy, and you know, the food. But there are drawbacks. There's traffic, expensive parking, expensive housing--pretty much, expensive everything, depending on which big city you're looking at.
But that's where the suburbs come in--they have all of the benefits of being near big cities, without actually having to be big cities.
Of course, not all suburbs of Newark are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones. So without further ado...
Here are the 10 best suburbs to live around Newark for 2022:
What's the best suburb of Newark? East Hills ranks as the best suburb of Newark for 2022 based on the most recent Census and FBI data. If you happen to be a resident of East Hills, you're probably not too surprised to find it on the top our list.
We'll tell you what makes each of these 10 Newark 'burbs better than the rest--but first, a bit about our methodology.
Note: This result may differ from our state wide data as we did not include commute times and crime for this analysis to allow for a larger selection of suburbs.
Feel free to check out some more reading about New Jersey:
The 10 Best Newark Suburbs To Live For 2022
East Hills is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the Newark area. We'll tell you the good about "Awesome East Hills."
Everyone here is rich; families average $250,001 a year, which is the 2nd highest in the Newark region. And only 1.34% are out of work. Homes average more than $1,139,300 each.
/10
Population: 7,189
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $250,001
Unemployment Rate: 1.3%
Poverty Rate: 1.6%
More on East Hills: Real Estate | Data
East Williston is the second best 'burb we looked at near Newark for 2022.
It ranks 22nd for incomes in the area and only 0.94% of residents lack insurance, good for 22nd best.
/10
Population: 2,552
Rank Last Year: 7 (Up 5)
Median Income: $183,500
Unemployment Rate: 0.4%
Poverty Rate: 3.8%
More on East Williston: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Here in Scarsdale, it's really safe, and residents are just about as rich as you'll see in the Newark metro area.
The bad side? Schools are more crowded, and the cost of living puts a large part of the city out of reach for most families.
But price is based on demand and a lot of people want to live in Scarsdale.
/10
Population: 17,890
Rank Last Year: 2 (Down 1)
Median Income: $250,001
Unemployment Rate: 3.0%
Poverty Rate: 1.8%
More on Scarsdale: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Malverne ranks as the 4th best suburb of Newark for 2022.
You won't find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in Malverne and the schools are some of the best around.
/10
Population: 8,516
Rank Last Year: 29 (Up 25)
Median Income: $133,428
Unemployment Rate: 2.4%
Poverty Rate: 1.6%
More on Malverne: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Coming in as the fifth best is Essex Fells.
Essex Fells gets kudos for having the 25th most expensive homes in the Newark area, where houses sell for an average of $862,200. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.
/10
Population: 2,037
Rank Last Year: 16 (Up 11)
Median Income: $215,104
Unemployment Rate: 3.1%
Poverty Rate: 1.8%
More on Essex Fells: Real Estate | Data
Glen Ridge is proud of its 6th place finish on this list. And here's why.
Most residents have great jobs and the unemployment rate sits at 2.68% which is 20th best in the area.
According to online reports, Glen Ridge is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Newark area, meaning you need to get in soon.
/10
Population: 7,583
Rank Last Year: 20 (Up 14)
Median Income: $211,091
Unemployment Rate: 2.7%
Poverty Rate: 5.2%
More on Glen Ridge: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The 7th best suburb on our list goes to Fair Haven.
Fair Haven schools are some of the best in the region, and crime is really low. The cost of living makes it a lot more desirable for many families, especially first-time home buyers.
And, it's only 26.0 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.
/10
Population: 5,833
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 4)
Median Income: $184,201
Unemployment Rate: 3.2%
Poverty Rate: 3.0%
More on Fair Haven: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Ho-Ho-Kus is growing quickly, and for a good reason. Crime is far below average, and most residents are gainfully employed. Even the cost of living is reasonable.
A solid 0.34% of people lack insurance, good for 5th in the area.
/10
Population: 4,096
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 4)
Median Income: $230,682
Unemployment Rate: 5.1%
Poverty Rate: 0.1%
More on Ho-Ho-Kus: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Is 'Everything Better In North Hills?'
Almost.
It placed 9th on our list thanks to the fact that it's really expensive to live here, but the schools are great, so you get what you pay for in that regard.
/10
Population: 5,867
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 6)
Median Income: $158,167
Unemployment Rate: 0.8%
Poverty Rate: 1.7%
More on North Hills: Real Estate | Data | Photos
And rounding out the top ten for 2022 is Little Silver.
This city is far above average in every category, and the best part? It's far more affordable than the other cities listed above. So, you get a big bang for your buck here.
/10
Population: 5,817
Rank Last Year: 41 (Up 31)
Median Income: $202,875
Unemployment Rate: 3.9%
Poverty Rate: 1.2%
More on Little Silver: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Methodology: How We Determined The Best Suburbs Around Newark for 2022
Figuring out the best suburbs around Newark was pretty simple; we just needed to list several things that people like, and then find out which cities have the most of those things.
We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible:
- Low unemployment rate
- High Median household incomes
- Population density (lots of things to do)
- High home values
- A lot of college educated people
- Low poverty
- High rate of insured families
Then we used the newest American Community Survey data for 2016-2020 to research each suburb.
FYI: We defined a suburb as being within 30 miles of Newark.
Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 215 suburbs to evaluate around Newark.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 215 in each category, where 1 was the "best.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality of life index.
And finally, we crowned the city with the best quality of life index the "Best Suburb near Newark." We're lookin' at you, East Hills. You can download the data here.
Read on below to learn more about what it's like to live in the best of the best. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from best to worst.
Summary: Welcome to the Best Newark 'Burbs of 2022
We said it once and we'll say it again--life in the big city isn't for everyone. At least not all the time.
So if you're hankering for some of the amenities of a larger city like Newark, but don't want to deal with the drawbacks, one of these suburbs might just be for you.
For more New Jersey reading, check out: