Two NJ towns make top 25 list of best places to live for families

Fortune magazine's "Well" section, in conjunction with CVS, has released its ranking of the 25 Best Places to Live for Families in the United States, and while no New Jersey municipality made it into the top 10 this year, two are knocking on the door.

The magazine last week published an accompanying article detailing the concerns of the "sandwich generation," Americans in their late 30s through their 50s, a group that Fortune said amounts to 45% of the country who are feeling squeezed between raising their children and caring for their own parents.

Checking in at No. 11 was West Windsor, in Mercer County, and just a few behind that at No. 15 was Parsippany-Troy Hills, in Morris County.

West Windsor and Parsippany-Troy Hills topped the list of Garden State habitats via a methodology of five broad points — education, aging resources, general wellness, financial health, and livability — measured across more than 2,000 municipalities with populations between 25,000 and 750,000.

Of West Windsor, Fortune said that it "proves central Jersey is the place to be" (New Jerseyans may argue with that wording suggesting Central Jersey exists), referencing its farmers markets, parks, and even "the dynamic arts scene in nearby Princeton."

Meanwhile, Parsippany-Troy Hills was recommended by the magazine to change the minds of "people who make fun of New Jersey," also spotlighting the parkland in that township.

The rankings also provided up-to-date statistics on both towns.

West Windsor, currently with a population estimate of 30,038, boasts a median household income of $162,412, median single-family home price of $648,518, and 97% high school graduation rate.

Those numbers in Parsippany-Troy Hills (population 54,295) were $115,609, $457,347, and 95.8%, respectively.

EDITOR'S NOTE: A graphic in an earlier version of this story should have said that Parsippany-Troy Hills has a poverty rate of 4.3% and a population that is 58.8% college educated.

Patrick Lavery is a reporter and anchor for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at patrick.lavery@townsquaremedia.com

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