Mahwah Named One of NJ's 'Best Places to Live'

Out of 514 New Jersey towns, Mahwah was ranked the 26th best town to live in by New Jersey Monthly magazine in a bi-annual ranking recently released for 2013.

According to NJ Monthly, the 'Best Places to Live in NJ' list, which ranks all of the towns in the state, is “based on the most recent available data for home prices, property taxes, crime rates, school results and various lifestyle attributes. We’ve combined the data using a proprietary formula to create the overall rankings of New Jersey municipalities.”

Mahwah was the 26th town overall, and the 9th Bergen County town on the list.

Mahwah Mayor Bill Laforet issued a statement Friday saying he was proud of the township’s ranking in the magazine.

“This statewide ranking marks a day of pride in our community,” Laforet said. “It is assessments like these that bring light to the fact that Mahwah is a desirable, and premier place to live in New Jersey.”

In his release, Laforet pointed out several of the factors outlined in the ranking, including that of the Top 26 towns listed, Mahwah has the second lowest average property tax reported (behind East Hanover), and the second lowest crime rate per 1,000 residents (behind Chatham Township).

Mendham Borough in Morris County came in at this year’s #1 place to live in the state. A strong sense of community amongst residents is one of the reasons the magazine says it chose Mendham as its #1.

“Bucolic yet posh, Mendham Borough has managed to keep its taxes relatively low, its home values rising and its schools scoring well above average,” the magazine explains.

The top town in Bergen to make the list was Norwood, which ranked 4th overall. Other Bergen towns that placed before Mahwah on the list include Woodcliff Lake at #6, Tenafly at #7, Demarest at #8, Oakland at #15, Paramus at #21, Ho-Ho-Kus at #23, and Old Tappan at #24.

You can see the full 2013 list and compare data used in the ranking by signing up for the NJ Monthly newsletter. A list of towns with their rank but without the data is available online.