3 NJ Towns Made 'Best Small Cities In America,' And 2 Are In Bergen County

Which two Bergen County suburbs made the top 25 "Best Small Cities In America"? The answers may surprise you.
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BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — WalletHub recently released its list of "Best Small Cities In America," including just three in New Jersey in the top 30 — and two of those were in Bergen County.
The personal finance company created its list by assigning scores for safety, education, affordability, safety, and general quality of life.
The top five "small cities," with scores over 70 using their metrics, were:
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• Carmel, Ind.
• Brookfield, Wisc.
• Lexington Mass.
• Fishers, Ind.
• Appleton, Wisc.​

​Three In New Jersey

But New Jersey had a strong showing after that.

​Fair Lawn led the way by coming in 12th on the list. It was 21 on the list for safety and 34 for education and health.
Ridgewood came in at 24, with a high ranking for safety. Ridgewood has appeared on several other lists of best places to live.
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Princeton was the third city in the top 30, coming in at number 29.
While these "small cities" are generally what we refer to as suburbs, the company explained, "WalletHub compared more than 1,300 U.S. cities with populations between 25,000 and 100,000 based on 45 key indicators of livability. They range from housing costs to school-system quality to the number of restaurants per capita."

The company explained its top choice.
"Carmel, Ind., is the best small city to live in, due in part to strong economic factors," they said. "Carmel has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country, at 3 percent. It also has the 33rd-lowest cost of rent as a share of median household income, at around 14 percent. On top of that, the median annual household income is nearly $133,000."
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They noted, "Small-city life can be best for those who appreciate more wiggle room, fewer degrees of separation and shorter commutes."

Source: WalletHub