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Top Towns 2023
South Jersey’s most desirable places to live, work and play

by Peter Proko

One of the best things about living in South Jersey is that it has a little bit of everything to offer. Close-knit neighborhoods, high-ranking schools, excellent health care providers, a vibrant dining scene, endless recreational offerings—you name it, we have it in droves. 

Our annual Top Towns spotlight celebrates our local communities and recognizes them for collectively impacting the quality of life in this wonderful place we call home. Our rankings were formulated using data from the New Jersey State Police, the New Jersey Department of Education and the state’s Division of Local Government Services. Using a weighted formula, we combined average property values and taxes, crime incidents reported per 1,000 residents and high school performance numbers consisting of average SAT scores, graduation rates and more. 

This year, Haddonfield takes the crown thanks and it’s easy to see why it has returned to the top of the list for the first time in three years. Idyllic tree-lined streets occupied with beautiful homes, a top-notch school system and a bustling main drag filled with stellar retail and dining options are just some of the reasons why the historic borough is No. 1. 

But truthfully, one could make an argument for any number of these towns to be at the top of the list, which is just further proof why these communities are so coveted. 

 

TOP TOWNS

Top 25

  1. Haddonfield
  2. Marlton
  3. Moorestown
  4. Medford
  5. Harrison Township
  6. Voorhees
  7. Cherry Hill
  8. Mount Laurel
  9. Woolwich
  10. Washington Township
  11. Cinnaminson
  12. Bordentown Township
  13. Mantua
  14. Haddon Township
  15. Burlington Township
  16. Delran
  17. Southampton
  18. Lumberton
  19. Monroe
  20. Florence
  21. Franklin Township
  22. West Deptford
  23. Collingswood
  24. Waterford
  25. Mount Holly

Top 10 Burlington County 

  1. Marlton
  2. Moorestown
  3. Medford
  4. Mount Laurel
  5. Cinnaminson
  6. Bordentown Township
  7. Burlington Township
  8. Delran
  9. Southampton
  10. Lumberton

Top 10 Camden County 

  1. Haddonfield
  2. Voorhees
  3. Cherry Hill
  4. Haddon Township
  5. Collingswood
  6. Waterford
  7. Gloucester Township
  8. Winslow Township
  9. Willingboro
  10. Pine Hill

Top 10 Gloucester County 

  1. Harrison Township
  2. Woolwich
  3. Washington Township
  4. Mantua
  5. Monroe
  6. Franklin Township
  7. West Deptford
  8. Glassboro
  9. Deptford
  10. Woodbury

Top 10 Small Towns

  1. Medford Lakes
  2. Chesterfield
  3. North Hanover
  4. East Greenwich
  5. Mansfield
  6. Shamong
  7. Tabernacle
  8. Haddon Heights
  9. Berlin
  10. Swedesboro
  11.  

Did You Know?

Interesting news and notes from across South Jersey

The Borough of Haddonfield revealed a 2024 Master Plan that focuses on housing diversity, resiliency, downtown economic viability and circulation; it has not been updated since 1984.

Marlton is named after marl clay, a combination of green clay and shell residue, found in the local soil. 

Moorestown is undergoing a multi-phase paving plan that will replace the over-a-century-old water main, and remove the trolley tracks on Main Street.

Medford has a self-guided tour of 66 historical sites that are marked by blue signs and maintained by the Medford Historical Society. 

“Lights on Main” is Harrison Township’s signature holiday event that occurs annually and is attended by more than 10,000 visitors from throughout the region.

Voorhees opened South Jersey’s first proton therapy center, an advanced and high-tech treatment for cancer. The joint venture between Virtua Health and Penn Medicine is one of 50 such centers in the United States. 

Saddlehill Winery is set to open in Voorhees Spring of next year, with a tasting room and onsite vineyard. 

A senior living complex may replace Cherry Hill’s Historic Holly Ravine Farm site, with development plans in the works. 

Former NBA player and Mount Laurel native Jacob Thompson is giving back with a new basketball court at Laurel Acres Park.

Mount Laurel turned 151 in May and the town is rife with history as it played a role in the Underground Railroad and was the home of prominent women’s rights activist Alice Paul. 

Early Washington Township settlers included many names familiar to the South Jersey area today: the Heritages (Heritage Dairy Stores and Heritage Valley), the Turners (Turnersville), the Hurffs (Hurfvilles) and the Bells (Bells Lake Park & Bells Elementary School).

The Lenni-Lenape named their hunting grounds “Cinnaminson,” which meant Sweetwater.

Crosswicks Creek in Bordentown is the site of a British raid on 44 American ships during the Revolutionary War.

Chesterfield Township was one of the state’s 104 original townships.  

One home in Lumberton was actually a site for the Underground Railroad, complete with a fake well used as a chute for escaped slaves to slide down while hiding from their slave masters en route to Canada.

Florence Township holds Roebling Township, an unincorporated community, inside of the township, which is home to the Roebling Steel Mill that provided steel for the Brooklyn Bridge and Golden Gate Bridge, as well as elevator cables for the Empire State Building, the Chicago Board of Trade Building, and the Washington Monument.

A small group of Swedes and Finns settled in Swedesboro in the mid-1600s, attracted to the area to hunt, fish and farm. It was then known as Raccoon as named by the native Leni Lenape.

 

MUNICIPALITY

Average Residential Property Value

Average Total Property Taxes

Crime Rate % Per 1,000 residents

Bordentown Twp.

$242,591

$7,587

6.7

Burlington Twp.

$235,143

$6,773

14.2

Cinnaminson 

$234,946

$8,026

22.9

Delran

$211,787

$7,899

11.7

Evesham

$272,250

$7,820

8.5

Florence

$221,156

$5,898

4.5

Lumberton

$300,643

$7,350

16.2

Maple Shade 

$160,430

$5,822

24.4

Medford 

$323,650

$10,518

9.1

Moorestown

$459,396

$12,229

7.9

Mount Holly

$174,493

$5,322

15.5

Mount Laurel

$237,891

$6,689

13.7

Pemberton

$183,274

$4,657

16.2

Southampton

$192,451

$5,898

9.1

Willingboro

$159,431

$6,359

8.4

Bellmawr

$167,483

$6,403

16.6

Cherry Hill 

$226,568

$8,581

23.1

Collingswood

$231,667

$8,634

26.1

Gloucester City

$108,431

$5,101

25.5

Gloucester Twp.

$188,466

$7,480

13.1

Haddon Twp.

$231,245

$8,740

20.8

Haddonfield

$516,913

$16,345

18.2

Lindenwold

$110,514

$5,275

30.5

Pennsauken

$141,434

$5,457

28.7

Pine Hill

$117,103

$5,841

19.1

Voorhees

$260,811

$10,790

9.6

Waterford 

$174,789

$7,177

7.5

Winslow

$176,530

$6,154

10.6

Deptford 

$182,215

$5,947

35

Franklin Twp.

$187,395

$6,498

9.4

Glassboro

$190,520

$6,598

15.6

Harrison Twp.

$342,722

$10,656

7

Mantua

$209,246

$7,107

12.6

Monroe 

$205,575

$7,436

11.8

Washington Twp.

$232,178

$7,702

9.8

West Deptford

$200,363

$6,874

12.4

Woodbury

$152,156

$6,935

37.5

Woolwich

$319,180

$10,744

3.8

MUNICIPALITY

Average Residential Property Value 

Average Total Property Taxes

Crime Rate %Percentage per 1,000 residents

Bordentown City

                204,768 

$6,979

6.8

Burlington City

                139,051 

$5,850

17.2

Chesterfield

                392,637 

$11,788

1.8

Delanco

                192,300 

$6,406

7.5

Eastampton

                229,493 

$7,146

12.8

Edgewater Park Twp. 

                181,048 

$6,056

11.9

Hainesport 

                280,936 

$7,035

14.7

Mansfield

                251,707 

$8,307

7.5

Medford Lakes

                288,615 

$10,150

4.3

New Hanover Twp.

                182,012 

$4,948

0.4

North Hanover Twp.

                320,271 

$7,105

2.8

Palmyra

                148,497 

$6,137

18.9

Riverside

                151,995 

$5,718

12.4

Riverton

                248,320 

$9,052

5.5

Shamong

                309,491 

$8,950

5

Tabernacle

                271,159 

$7,976

5

Westampton

                243,727 

$6,258

22

Audubon

                202,708 

$7,700

34.5

Barrington 

                193,453 

$8,750

10.2

Berlin

                235,087 

$7,947

15.2

Berlin Twp.

                186,860 

$6,956

35

Clementon 

                120,445 

$5,248

16.4

Haddon Heights 

                291,262 

$9,887

5.9

Magnolia 

                148,201 

$6,760

27.3

Merchantville 

                187,845 

$9,124

16.6

Mount Ephraim

                145,855 

$7,316

64.2

Oaklyn

                163,914 

$7,935

28.2

Runnemede

                148,260 

$6,271

20.5

Somerdale

                142,533 

$6,087

46.6

Stratford 

                157,834 

$7,352

15.6

Clayton

                154,865 

$6,189

10.3

East Greenwich Twp.

                298,866 

$8,938

8.1

Elk Twp.

                210,591 

$7,733

7.7

Greenwich Twp.

                163,545 

$5,337

10.3

Logan Twp.

                213,619 

$4,461

13.7

National Park 

                139,249 

$6,447

15.3

Paulsboro 

                104,545 

$4,511

19.1

Pitman 

                238,297 

$7,784

5.8

Swedesboro

                172,766 

$7,266

5.8

Wenonah

                258,810 

$10,839

9.5

Westville

                126,497 

$6,179

24.8

Woodbury Heights

                177,844 

$8,360

24.5

 

 

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Published and copyrighted in South Jersey Magazine, Volume 20, Issue 2 (May 2023)

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