New Jersey: America's Best Place to Raise a Family

Rain Parade (0.00 / 0)

Of course, Morris, Hunterdon and Somerset are three of the most Republican parts of the state.  :-(

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by: huntsu @ Thu Jul 10, 2008 at 22:38:43 PM UTC

Morris, Hunterdon and Somerset (4.00 / 1)

But all three got a huge uptick in new Democrats on Super Tuesday, with Somerset's haul being the highest percentage of freshly-minted Dems in the state. And both Somerset and Hunterdon went Obama in the Primary, a decent sign for November.

I'll see your glass half-empty, huntsu, and I'll raise you a glass half-full. Or some poker reference.  

It's not a particularly snappy signature, but here's what I think we need in the next NJ Democratic State Chair.  

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by: Rosi Efthim @ Fri Jul 11, 2008 at 05:37:48 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Nice ... if you can afford it (4.00 / 1)

Forbes Magazine doesn't really reflect the interests of the average NJ citizen. Why are those three counties "the best" to live in? Because the people Forbes is talking to live in Harding, Far Hills, or Tewksbury, not Mo'town, the south side of Somerville, or - well, actually, it's hard for me to think of anywhere in Hunterdon that harbors pockets of poverty.

The counties in the US with the highest per capita incomes are:

1 Marin County, CA $44,962
2 Manhattan, NY $42,922
3 Falls Church, VA $41,052
4 Pitkin County, CO $40,811
5 Fairfield County, CT $38,350
6 Teton County, WY $38,260
7 Somerset County, NJ $37,970
8 Arlington County, VA $37,706
9 Alexandria, VA $37,645
10 Morris County, NJ $36,964
11 Fairfax County, VA $36,888
12 Westchester County, NY $36,726
13 Hunterdon County, NJ $36,370

So, yeah, they're swell places to live ... but the statewide per capita income is $27,006 ,,, 74 percent of that of Hunterdon, 73 percent of Morris, and 71 percent of Somerset.

The county with the lowest per capita income is Cumberland, at $17,376, 46 percent of that of Somerset ...

So the glass is half-full if you're well heeled, maybe not so much for the rest of us ...

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by: denniscmcgrath @ Fri Jul 11, 2008 at 11:03:21 AM UTC

Forbes criteria includes: (0.00 / 0)

http://www.forbes.com/forbesli...

Forbes' rankings are skewed toward counties with good school districts.

... we knocked off all the counties with average SAT scores under 1,050 (math and verbal combined) ...

... we ranked the remaining counties using 10 data points: cost of living, graduation rate, standardized scores, home price, property tax rate as a percentage of median home price, percentage of homes occupied by owner, per-capita income, air quality, crime rate and commute time.

So, Forbes skewed toward where rich people congregate - good schools, high SATs, high home ownership, high per capita income, and low crime rates. Not that I would expect Forbes to be biased in any other way, but I'm unmoved by the idea that if your per capita income is over $36,000 (mine isn't), then there are places in New Jersey that are the "best." Of course, there are ... it's good to be king.

Money magazine id's Montville (Morris co.) and Westfield (Union co.) in its top 100 towns for 2007.

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by: denniscmcgrath @ Fri Jul 11, 2008 at 11:40:43 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Not a Forbes (or Money) subscriber (0.00 / 0)

but, in their defense, I don't think Forbes is calling places the best because rich people congregate there. Maybe rich people congregate in the best places.

High graduation rates, high owner-occupancy, high-paying jobs and low crime - the items you highlight as skewing toward rich people - are all desirable traits in looking for a place to raise a family wherever one falls on the income scale.

That the wealthy get first pick of where to live can't possibly be a surprise. Could it?

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by: Jeff Gardner @ Fri Jul 11, 2008 at 12:47:19 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

best places to live, continued (4.00 / 1)

Besides the Forbes list, there was a much-ballyhooed Money Magazine "best places to live"ranking that put N.J.'s own Moorestown at the top spot.

Moorestown, as with the Forbes ranking, was given the top spot, much like Hunterdon, Somerset, and Morris in Forbes, because of top schools, lack of sprawl, decent housing, and proximity to cultural venues. Chatham also made the top 10 that year.  Home prices in those three counties may go up as a result of the market's recognition of these high rankings, as has happened in Moorestown.

I don't think there's any disputing that parts of N.J. have an incredibly high quality of life; we just need to make sure that this is the case for the entire state, too.

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by: Martin @ Fri Jul 11, 2008 at 14:25:12 PM UTC

Amen (4.00 / 1)

"I don't think there's any disputing that parts of N.J. have an incredibly high quality of life; we just need to make sure that this is the case for the entire state, too."

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by: Jeff Gardner @ Fri Jul 11, 2008 at 14:58:42 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

My point exactly n/t (0.00 / 0)

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by: denniscmcgrath @ Fri Jul 11, 2008 at 15:06:52 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Notice that (0.00 / 0)

the counties most influenced by Party Boss and Pay to Play corruption - Bergen, Hudson, and Burlington, are NOT on this list.  The cost of political corruption is just too high.

One Vote.  Yours.  It really does matter.

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by: carolh @ Fri Jul 11, 2008 at 16:05:45 PM UTC