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.