There are all types when it comes to being a snob in New Jersey. You’ve got your Wine Snobs, Book Snobs, and, of course, Clothes Snobs. Then there are the Technology Snobs, Car Snobs, and yes, even City Snobsas in, I’m better than you because I live in (insert snooty city here).
How can we tell which New Jersey cities are the snobbiest? By measuring snobby things, that’s how.
We used Saturday Night Science to look at things like expensive homes, high incomes, and overly educated populations by city in New Jersey. These are the criteria you’d argue with a friend over a foodie dinner about who’s snobbier.
After analyzing 177 of the state’s most populous areas over 5,000 people, we came up with this ranking of the ten snobbiest places in the state of New Jersey.
The New Jerseyan in these places aren’t snobby, they just know they’re better than you.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Snobbiest Places In New Jersey
Don’t freak out.
What’s the snobbiest place in New Jersey? The snobbiest place in New Jersey is Chatham based on the data. If we had their wealth and lifestyle, we’d probably be a little snobby, too.
The most laid back? That would be Camden.
We’re not so full of ourselves as to make this ranking up from nowhere. So here’s a look at the top ten and more on how we did it. And if you’re curious, New Jersey is the 6th snobbiest in the United States.
For more New Jersey reading, check out:
The 10 Snobbiest Places In New Jersey For 2024
/10
% Highly Educated: 82.0%
Median Income: $250,001
Median Home Price: $1,092,337
More on Chatham: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
% Highly Educated: 78.0%
Median Income: $250,001
Median Home Price: $1,812,105
More on Rumson: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
% Highly Educated: 79.0%
Median Income: $229,643
Median Home Price: $1,262,730
More on Fair Haven: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
% Highly Educated: 82.0%
Median Income: $246,429
Median Home Price: $970,075
More on Glen Ridge: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
% Highly Educated: 81.0%
Median Income: $207,652
Median Home Price: $1,066,620
More on Tenafly: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
% Highly Educated: 75.0%
Median Income: $213,261
Median Home Price: $1,437,753
More on Englewood Cliffs: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
% Highly Educated: 77.0%
Median Income: $204,917
Median Home Price: $1,396,762
More on Franklin Lakes: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
% Highly Educated: 72.0%
Median Income: $234,476
Median Home Price: $1,204,841
More on Upper Saddle River: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
% Highly Educated: 79.0%
Median Income: $211,224
Median Home Price: $978,934
More on Ridgewood: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
% Highly Educated: 77.0%
Median Income: $215,000
Median Home Price: $1,001,940
More on North Caldwell: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Methodology: How we determined the snobbiest cities in the Garden State
Do you think wed just come up with this list willy-nilly? Not a chance – we only use Saturday Night Science around here.
We gathered up all of the places in New Jersey with populations of 5,000 people or more. This left us with a total of 177 places. Then, we looked at each place in terms of these snoot-er-iffic criteria (And no, its not a word. English snob.):
- Median home price (Higher is snobbier)
- Median household income (Higher is snobbier)
- Percent of population with a college degree (Higher is snobbier)
Incomes and college education levels come from the American Community Survey. Home prices come from Zillow.
Turned out this simple criteria was much better at sniffing out the snobby places then more snobby criteria like:
- Libaries per capita (Higher is snobbier)
- Museums per capita (Higher is snobbier)
- Private schools per capita (Higher is snobbier)
From there, we ranked each of our 177 places in each category with scores from one to 177. We then averaged each places ranking into one overall score, where the lowest score went to the snobbiest place in New Jersey. So lets all flip a table in honor of Chatham (with our pinkies up, of course.)
Before you get upset and ruin your blowout or something drastic here, lets remember that this is all in good fun. Would we live in one of these 10 places if we had the chance? Of course, we would.
And it’s not like your real estate agent would ever point out how snobby the town you’re moving to is. We’re here to keep you grounded, even if you’re wearing a monocle.
There You Have It – Now That You’re On Your High Horse
When it comes to snobbery, these places in New Jersey are heading ever upward. Residents in these communities are well educated, well paid, and appear to have all the sophisticated culture and entertainment of an Ernst Lubitsch film right at their fingertips.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
The snobbiest cities in New Jersey are Chatham, Rumson, Fair Haven, Glen Ridge, Tenafly, Englewood Cliffs, Franklin Lakes, Upper Saddle River, Ridgewood, and North Caldwell.
If you’re also curious enough, here are the most laid back places in New Jersey, according to science:
- Camden
- Salem
- Bridgeton
For more New Jersey reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In New Jersey
- Cheapest Places To Live In New Jersey
- Most Dangerous Cities In New Jersey
- Richest Cities In New Jersey
- Safest Places In New Jersey
- Worst Places To Live In New Jersey
- Most Expensive Places To Live In New Jersey
Table: The Snobbiest Cities In New Jersey For 2024
| Rank | City | Population | Median Income | Average Home Prices | Adult Highly Educated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chatham, NJ | 9,199 | $250,001 | $1,092,337 | 82.0% |
| 2 | Rumson, NJ | 7,285 | $250,001 | $1,812,105 | 78.0% |
| 3 | Fair Haven, NJ | 6,221 | $229,643 | $1,262,730 | 79.0% |
| 4 | Glen Ridge, NJ | 7,797 | $246,429 | $970,075 | 82.0% |
| 5 | Tenafly, NJ | 15,299 | $207,652 | $1,066,620 | 81.0% |
| 6 | Englewood Cliffs, NJ | 5,347 | $213,261 | $1,437,753 | 75.0% |
| 7 | Franklin Lakes, NJ | 11,007 | $204,917 | $1,396,762 | 77.0% |
| 8 | Upper Saddle River, NJ | 8,313 | $234,476 | $1,204,841 | 72.0% |
| 9 | Ridgewood, NJ | 26,043 | $211,224 | $978,934 | 79.0% |
| 10 | North Caldwell, NJ | 6,625 | $215,000 | $1,001,940 | 77.0% |
| 11 | Woodcliff Lake, NJ | 6,096 | $227,500 | $1,021,125 | 74.0% |
| 12 | Little Silver, NJ | 6,104 | $216,974 | $936,174 | 78.0% |
| 13 | Westfield, NJ | 30,839 | $203,235 | $1,040,776 | 76.0% |
| 14 | Old Tappan, NJ | 5,863 | $195,833 | $993,658 | 78.0% |
| 15 | Summit, NJ | 22,555 | $176,702 | $1,115,201 | 71.0% |
| 16 | Glen Rock, NJ | 12,086 | $202,586 | $857,563 | 74.0% |
| 17 | Bernardsville, NJ | 7,888 | $220,060 | $890,901 | 68.0% |
| 18 | Hoboken, NJ | 58,754 | $168,137 | $795,620 | 81.0% |
| 19 | Haddonfield, NJ | 12,456 | $178,362 | $698,505 | 80.0% |
| 20 | Madison, NJ | 16,521 | $163,567 | $906,312 | 72.0% |
| 21 | Closter, NJ | 8,555 | $181,652 | $917,085 | 66.0% |
| 22 | Allendale, NJ | 6,817 | $163,875 | $891,873 | 72.0% |
| 23 | Oradell, NJ | 8,208 | $196,023 | $793,885 | 70.0% |
| 24 | New Providence, NJ | 13,595 | $167,188 | $806,187 | 69.0% |
| 25 | Manasquan, NJ | 5,921 | $130,240 | $1,004,601 | 69.0% |
| 26 | Fanwood, NJ | 7,723 | $177,727 | $651,607 | 71.0% |
| 27 | Kinnelon, NJ | 9,986 | $170,905 | $745,748 | 66.0% |
| 28 | Mountainside, NJ | 6,991 | $162,531 | $851,670 | 66.0% |
| 29 | Watchung, NJ | 6,417 | $157,065 | $905,582 | 60.0% |
| 30 | Florham Park, NJ | 12,790 | $141,620 | $852,042 | 68.0% |
| 31 | Hillsdale, NJ | 10,125 | $175,802 | $698,480 | 63.0% |
| 32 | River Edge, NJ | 12,022 | $150,073 | $685,672 | 72.0% |
| 33 | Ramsey, NJ | 14,739 | $160,589 | $705,649 | 66.0% |
| 34 | Cresskill, NJ | 9,105 | $162,430 | $824,668 | 58.0% |
| 35 | Edgewater, NJ | 14,394 | $136,806 | $641,816 | 75.0% |
| 36 | Montvale, NJ | 8,413 | $175,179 | $787,501 | 54.0% |
| 37 | Park Ridge, NJ | 9,098 | $164,241 | $706,489 | 55.0% |
| 38 | Norwood, NJ | 5,657 | $156,630 | $747,730 | 59.0% |
| 39 | Morris Plains, NJ | 6,104 | $144,540 | $620,521 | 67.0% |
| 40 | Paramus, NJ | 26,582 | $136,824 | $866,706 | 49.0% |
| 41 | Roseland, NJ | 6,221 | $135,451 | $686,003 | 61.0% |
| 42 | Oakland, NJ | 12,734 | $162,848 | $624,707 | 54.0% |
| 43 | Fair Lawn, NJ | 34,948 | $141,540 | $601,965 | 63.0% |
| 44 | Metuchen, NJ | 14,958 | $154,339 | $566,292 | 64.0% |
| 45 | Oceanport, NJ | 6,119 | $132,723 | $795,055 | 49.0% |
| 46 | Westwood, NJ | 11,241 | $160,466 | $617,848 | 52.0% |
| 47 | Rutherford, NJ | 18,754 | $128,576 | $638,326 | 56.0% |
| 48 | Emerson, NJ | 7,281 | $141,908 | $655,975 | 49.0% |
| 49 | Caldwell, NJ | 8,897 | $117,879 | $625,878 | 62.0% |
| 50 | Leonia, NJ | 9,273 | $110,679 | $726,904 | 60.0% |
| 51 | Waldwick, NJ | 10,068 | $150,861 | $600,598 | 54.0% |
| 52 | Midland Park, NJ | 7,022 | $136,326 | $623,608 | 54.0% |
| 53 | Secaucus, NJ | 21,470 | $129,348 | $594,469 | 60.0% |
| 54 | Wood-Ridge, NJ | 9,978 | $132,901 | $617,275 | 55.0% |
| 55 | West Long Branch, NJ | 8,547 | $114,036 | $856,215 | 45.0% |
| 56 | Palisades Park, NJ | 20,231 | $93,250 | $844,948 | 55.0% |
| 57 | Ridgefield, NJ | 11,465 | $105,609 | $677,879 | 46.0% |
| 58 | Belmar, NJ | 5,877 | $89,736 | $853,550 | 51.0% |
| 59 | Ringwood, NJ | 11,692 | $141,800 | $504,128 | 49.0% |
| 60 | Point Pleasant, NJ | 19,024 | $106,203 | $625,208 | 46.0% |
| 61 | Fort Lee, NJ | 39,799 | $101,573 | $537,880 | 63.0% |
| 62 | New Milford, NJ | 16,888 | $107,976 | $590,506 | 48.0% |
| 63 | Tinton Falls, NJ | 19,180 | $107,959 | $530,656 | 55.0% |
| 64 | Maywood, NJ | 10,040 | $119,057 | $569,144 | 43.0% |
| 65 | Hasbrouck Heights, NJ | 12,080 | $114,219 | $603,225 | 42.0% |
| 66 | Matawan, NJ | 9,546 | $125,040 | $563,446 | 43.0% |
| 67 | North Haledon, NJ | 8,801 | $128,472 | $617,950 | 37.0% |
| 68 | Bergenfield, NJ | 28,223 | $121,738 | $541,010 | 45.0% |
| 69 | Dumont, NJ | 18,014 | $116,708 | $543,620 | 45.0% |
| 70 | Highland Park, NJ | 14,996 | $93,927 | $488,073 | 71.0% |
| 71 | Linwood, NJ | 6,952 | $133,487 | $417,000 | 57.0% |
| 72 | Hawthorne, NJ | 19,456 | $105,168 | $536,528 | 46.0% |
| 73 | Boonton, NJ | 8,781 | $96,500 | $567,031 | 46.0% |
| 74 | Red Bank, NJ | 12,868 | $89,500 | $594,880 | 52.0% |
| 75 | Cliffside Park, NJ | 25,546 | $96,734 | $573,933 | 45.0% |
| 76 | South Plainfield, NJ | 24,273 | $123,417 | $495,585 | 43.0% |
| 77 | Brigantine, NJ | 7,784 | $91,307 | $625,871 | 44.0% |
| 78 | Lincoln Park, NJ | 10,884 | $112,056 | $465,030 | 47.0% |
| 79 | Somerville, NJ | 12,467 | $102,423 | $462,875 | 53.0% |
| 80 | Haddon Heights, NJ | 7,484 | $117,556 | $429,614 | 53.0% |
| 81 | Butler, NJ | 8,045 | $108,378 | $474,719 | 45.0% |
| 82 | Totowa, NJ | 10,975 | $112,097 | $558,674 | 35.0% |
| 83 | Englewood, NJ | 29,109 | $93,134 | $543,826 | 44.0% |
| 84 | Bogota, NJ | 8,940 | $113,260 | $503,090 | 37.0% |
| 85 | Bloomingdale, NJ | 7,726 | $125,865 | $459,891 | 39.0% |
| 86 | East Rutherford, NJ | 10,020 | $92,536 | $553,445 | 43.0% |
| 87 | Pompton Lakes, NJ | 11,052 | $113,781 | $464,830 | 41.0% |
| 88 | Woodland Park, NJ | 13,291 | $90,323 | $546,965 | 42.0% |
| 89 | North Arlington, NJ | 16,352 | $96,869 | $531,251 | 37.0% |
| 90 | Harrison, NJ | 19,217 | $72,773 | $555,075 | 46.0% |
| 91 | Rockaway, NJ | 6,589 | $93,750 | $488,557 | 43.0% |
| 92 | Union Beach, NJ | 5,751 | $124,828 | $437,728 | 36.0% |
| 93 | Roselle Park, NJ | 13,964 | $97,769 | $481,750 | 38.0% |
| 94 | Wanaque, NJ | 11,217 | $108,650 | $439,505 | 38.0% |
| 95 | Raritan, NJ | 8,301 | $99,928 | $469,041 | 37.0% |
| 96 | Carlstadt, NJ | 6,341 | $89,669 | $578,158 | 33.0% |
| 97 | Mount Arlington, NJ | 5,863 | $95,431 | $462,369 | 41.0% |
| 98 | Long Branch, NJ | 31,932 | $72,234 | $693,373 | 34.0% |
| 99 | Clifton, NJ | 89,451 | $94,179 | $510,186 | 35.0% |
| 100 | Ridgefield Park, NJ | 13,161 | $94,047 | $511,683 | 34.0% |
WHERE is Livingston, NJ on this list????
Give Princeton a few more points in the unique pronunciation category. One of the more picturesque streets off Nassau Street across from campus is Van Deventer Street. Only the locals pronounce the name Van Deevender with emphasis on the “Dee.”
We do? I’ve been saying it wrong then. 😛
I’ll second that 😉
Snobbery is a mindset that is driven by socioeconomic forces. This author is clearly disenfranchised from the subject at hand, because they chose to separate Upper Montclair from Montclair when the two compose the same town and the larger tax bracket, larger and older homes and estates are in Montclair! ie- there’s more money in old Montclair than there is in Upper Montclair, which actually contains more middle class colonial housing than the rest of town which features grand old queen anne victorians and set back tudors. All 3 of MKA’s campuses are in Montclair. 2 are South of Bloomfied Ave.. Montclair’s public high school sends more kids to IVY, little and public IVY and international as well as ancient universities than any prep school in the state. Those who know, know. The wealthiest people in town send their kids to the public schools in Montclair. The AGs, the Superintendents of BofE, media icons, politicians, celebrities, scientists, world famous artists, movie directors, television producers and other creatives and intellectuals all intermingle at lacrosse games and attend writer workshops, sponsor film festivals and bike races. Any given day, you can find more movies being filmed in picturesque settings around town than you can in Manhattan. It was both designed and inhabited by the Nation’s greatest architects.
What a joke!! If your town has a high average home price and an educated population then your town is labeled as snobby. Such an evaluation is ridiculous and stupid.
That’s odd, according to the redneck list that’s linked in this listicle, Edgewater is the 17th most redneck place in NJ, while it’s the 4th snobbiest place in this listicle? Likewise, Morris Plains is the 15th snobbiest and 18th most redneck place in NJ? There’s a number of other places on both lists, but how can a place be both snobby and redneck?
Glen Ridge and Montclair and Westfield are annoyingly snobby. I meet them all the time.
you left out Cherry Hill
The people who put together these lists never have first hand insight. Milltown, for example, is the furthest thing possible from a snobby town. It’s a white trash deposit of underclass, racist whites living in an insular environment that is completely devoid of IVY pedigree, prep school mentality, affluence, sophistication, architectural details or anything to be snobby about. Fairlawn is a Bergen County DMZ buffer zone for Paterson. The most affluent people there are first responders. There’s no snobbery in Fairlawn. It’s a very low brow town. You don’t even have Essex Fells on the list? But, you have North Caldwell? What a joke.