Bernards makes New Jersey’s top 10 on 3 lists
Bernards is ranked on 39 lists against the 468 New Jersey towns with 2,500+ residents. It makes the top 10 on 3 and the top quarter on 15.
Wetter than 96% of New Jersey
Not better or worse, just Bernards’s character, from the lists where neither end is the “good” one. The most distinctive come first.
The lists Bernards does best on
Each list ranks every NJ town with 2,500+ residents. Tap one to see the whole list with Bernards marked.
Bernards out-ranks every neighbor it can be compared with
Head to head on the lists where both towns are ranked: a point for each list where one town places higher. Tap a town for its own rankings.
Bernards lands in the top half on 19 of 26 lists
Each dot is Bernards’s spot on one list: the left end is #1 in NJ, the right end is last. Areas where Bernards does best come first.
2 spots from the top 3 for safety
Lists where Bernards sits just outside a milestone, and what it would take to get in.
Where Bernards lands in every NJ ranking
41 lists from Census, school, health, library, crime, climate and land data. Tap any list to see every town on it.
Safety
Safest#1 Emerson · 1.5
#5 Health
Healthiest#1 Millburn · 100 / 100
#48
Lowest obesity#1 West Windsor · 17%
#76
Fewest smokers#1 West Windsor · 5%
#25
Most active#1 Fair Haven · 13%
#43
Fewest uninsured#1 Spring Lake · 4%
#10
Lowest depression#1 Palisades Park · 11%
#33
Closest to a top hospital#1 Englewood · 0.0 mi
#316 People
Most educated#1 Millburn · 90%
#31
Youngest#1 Lakewood · 18.1
#368
Oldest#1 North Wildwood · 65.6
#99
Most residents 65+#1 North Wildwood · 51.5%
#222
Most kids#1 Lakewood · 49.8%
#92 
Libraries
Most-used libraries#1 Princeton · 22.4 per resident
#63
Most library borrowing#1 Ocean City · 31.3 per resident
#21
Best libraries for kids#1 Ocean City · 44.2 per child
#23 Outdoors
Most conserved land#1 Montague · 68.2%
#169
Most trails#1 Cedar Grove · 6.4 mi / sq mi
#146
Most walkable#1 Union City · 295 / sq mi
#338 
Cost of living
Most affordable#1 Salem · 0.8 yrs
#417
Cheapest rent#1 Alloway · $749/mo
#411
Lowest property tax#1 Camden · $2,302/yr
#285
Rent easiest to afford#1 Matawan · 29.4%
#35 Getting around
Shortest commute#1 New Hanover · 13.2 min
#314 
The number on the right is Bernards’s spot. All of New Jersey’s rankings, with the map → · National lists and other states: all rankings.
Do the numbers ring true?
The lists count what can be counted. Neighbors know the rest.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
- 2,500+ residents. Census estimates for smaller towns carry margins of error too wide to rank fairly, so they sit out every NJ list.
- One town, one row. A city that is both a city and a town in Census data, or a village inside a town, is counted once.
- Ties share a rank. Towns on one weather station, one school district or one CDC estimate share a figure, so they share a spot (T).
- No “worst” lists. Lists rank toward the good end, and share cards are made only for the top half. Age, snow and the like are character, not grades.
U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey 5-year, 2010 and 2020 censuses, Building Permits Survey), U.S. Department of Education, FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, CDC PLACES, Medicare Care Compare, IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FHFA House Price Index, NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. Each list explains its own method.