The 10 Best College Towns In New Jersey For 2024


Editor's Note: We updated this article for 2024. This is our six time ranking the best college towns in New Jersey.

Believe it or not, America has the best colleges in the world. It's been proven by data (and surveys) that the U.S. educational system is of the highest quality

It's actually not even close and New Jersey is home to a handful of them.

While we could debate which colleges within the are the 'best,' that's not the goal of this post.

Instead, ride along with us as we determine which college towns in New Jersey are the best.

You know, the type of places where there's energy and stimulation, but the type of place you can walk around at night. The happiest, chillest, most downright fun places where you can send your kids off to college where you won't break the bank, or worry about their well being.

Without further ado, here are the best college towns in New Jersey for 2024.

The 10 Best College Towns In New Jersey For 2024

  1. Camden, NJ
  2. Caldwell, NJ
  3. New Brunswick, NJ
  4. Woodland Park, NJ
  5. Lodi, NJ
  6. Jersey City, NJ
  7. Newark, NJ
  8. Madison, NJ
  9. Glassboro, NJ
  10. Lakewood, NJ

While some of these may not seem like a 'real' college town per se, when you look at the numbers, it's hard to argue against.

And for those who live in Camden, Caldwell and New Brunswick - we tip our hats to you and we'll schedule a tour for next week. You can see where Camden ranks in terms of the best college town in America.

Read on to find out more or for more on New Jersey check out:

The 10 Best College Towns In New Jersey For 2024

Camden, NJ
Source: Wikipedia User Yann | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility
5
/10

Population: 71,799
% Undergrad Pop.: 5.2% (9th best)
Median Rent: $1,091 (best)
Unemployment Rate: 1463.1% (14th best)
Crime Rank: 5th best
More on Camden: Real Estate | Cost Of Living

Colleges: Rutgers University-Camden, Cooper Health System Center for Allied Health Education

Caldwell, NJ
Source: Wikipedia User Jared Kofsky/PlaceNJ.com | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility
7.5
/10

Population: 8,897
% Undergrad Pop.: 20.7% (4th best)
Median Rent: $1,868 (12th best)
Unemployment Rate: 400.5% (2nd best)
Crime Rank: 2nd best
More on Caldwell: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Caldwell University

New Brunswick, NJ
Source: Wikipedia User MJKazin at English Wikipedia | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility
5
/10

Population: 55,718
% Undergrad Pop.: 50.1% (best)
Median Rent: $1,754 (9th best)
Unemployment Rate: 650.5% (8th best)
Crime Rank: 13th best
More on New Brunswick: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Rutgers University-New Brunswick, New Brunswick Theological Seminary

Woodland Park, NJ
Source: Wikipedia User Jared Kofsky/PlaceNJ.com | CC BY-SA 4.0
Overall SnackAbility
8.5
/10

Population: 13,291
% Undergrad Pop.: 15.0% (5th best)
Median Rent: $1,709 (8th best)
Unemployment Rate: 607.7% (5th best)
Crime Rank: 3rd best
More on Woodland Park: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Berkeley College-Woodland Park, Branford Hall Career Institute-Woodland Park

Lodi, NJ
Source: Flickr User njhomepictures | CC BY-ND 2.0
Overall SnackAbility
7
/10

Population: 25,969
% Undergrad Pop.: 5.7% (8th best)
Median Rent: $1,596 (6th best)
Unemployment Rate: 640.5% (6th best)
Crime Rank: 7th best
More on Lodi: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Felician University

Jersey City, NJ
Source: Wikipedia User David Jones | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility
8
/10

Population: 287,899
% Undergrad Pop.: 3.2% (12th best)
Median Rent: $1,799 (10th best)
Unemployment Rate: 575.9% (3rd best)
Crime Rank: 8th best
More on Jersey City: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: New Jersey City University, Hudson County Community College, Saint Peter's University

Newark, NJ
Source: Wikipedia User Jamaalcobbs at English Wikipedia | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility
4
/10

Population: 307,355
% Undergrad Pop.: 3.7% (11th best)
Median Rent: $1,273 (3rd best)
Unemployment Rate: 1072.1% (13th best)
Crime Rank: 11th best
More on Newark: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Essex County College, Rutgers University-Newark, New Jersey Institute of Technology

Madison, NJ
Source: Wikipedia User Jared Kofsky/Placenj.com | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility
7
/10

Population: 16,521
% Undergrad Pop.: 9.3% (6th best)
Median Rent: $2,168 (13th best)
Unemployment Rate: 686.9% (9th best)
Crime Rank: best
More on Madison: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Drew University, Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham Campus

Glassboro, NJ
Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility
8
/10

Population: 23,014
% Undergrad Pop.: 35.0% (3rd best)
Median Rent: $1,468 (5th best)
Unemployment Rate: 794.1% (11th best)
Crime Rank: 10th best
More on Glassboro: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Rowan University

Overall SnackAbility
7
/10

Population: 68,555
% Undergrad Pop.: 4.4% (10th best)
Median Rent: $1,619 (7th best)
Unemployment Rate: 641.7% (7th best)
Crime Rank: 5th best
More on Lakewood: Real Estate | Cost Of Living | Crime Report

Colleges: Georgian Court University, Beth Medrash Govoha, Bais Medrash Toras Chesed

How'd we figure out the best college towns in New Jersey?

To crunch our data on New Jersey's best college towns, we had to first decide which qualities (or rankings) make sense to use in the data, and then crunch the numbers for our rankings.

First off, we firmly decided that only cities with a 4 year college should make the cut -- so there has to be at least one college granting bachelors degrees in town.

You might be surprised to hear that there are only 12 places in New Jersey with an institution of higher learning with that criteria.

Source of data include OpenStreetMaps, the College Scorecard, the U.S. Census, and FBI reporting data to include the following factors:

  • Students Make Up Large % of the Population
  • College-specific Factors
    • Graduation rate
    • Tuition Cost
    • Student Body Diversity
  • Town Characteristics
    • Safety
    • Affordability
    • Income and Employment Opportunities
  • Things to Do
    • Bars
    • Museums & Libraries
    • Population Density

We ranked each city across each of the criteria, with one being the best.

We rolled up the individual scores into the category and ranked them again based on the category.

Finally, we took the average rank across each category, with the city posting the lowest overall score being crowned the winner of the title "Best College Town In New Jersey For 2024".

And it looks like Camden placed Summa Cum Laude.

There You Have It -- The Best College Towns In The

If you're looking for the best college towns in New Jersey, you came to the right place.

These places all have great college sports programs, tons of stuff to do, and are great places to raise a family.

For more reading, check out:

12 Best College Towns In New Jersey

Rank City Population
1 Camden, NJ 71799
2 Caldwell, NJ 8897
3 New Brunswick, NJ 55718
4 Woodland Park, NJ 13291
5 Lodi, NJ 25969
6 Jersey City, NJ 287899
7 Newark, NJ 307355
8 Madison, NJ 16521
9 Glassboro, NJ 23014
10 Lakewood, NJ 68555
11 West Long Branch, NJ 8547
12 Hoboken, NJ 58754

Best College Towns By State

Enjoy The Snack?