Mountainside ranks #6 in New Jersey for trails
Mountainside is ranked on 33 lists against the 468 New Jersey towns with 2,500+ residents. It makes the top 10 on 1 and the top quarter on 13.
The lists Mountainside does best on
Each list ranks every NJ town with 2,500+ residents. Tap one to see the whole list with Mountainside marked.
Mountainside lands in the top half on 16 of 23 lists
Each dot is Mountainside’s spot on one list: the left end is #1 in NJ, the right end is last. Areas where Mountainside does best come first.
More seniors than 88% of New Jersey
Not better or worse, just Mountainside’s character, from the lists where neither end is the “good” one. The most distinctive come first.
3 spots from the top 3 for trails
Lists where Mountainside sits just outside a milestone, and what it would take to get in.
Mountainside out-ranks 0 of its 3 ranked neighbors
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.
Where Mountainside 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.
Outdoors
Most conserved land#1 Montague · 68.2%
#35
Most trails#1 Cedar Grove · 6.4 mi / sq mi
#6
Most walkable#1 Union City · 295 / sq mi
#249 Health
Healthiest#1 Millburn · 100 / 100
#47
Lowest obesity#1 West Windsor · 17%
#49
Fewest smokers#1 West Windsor · 5%
#25
Most active#1 Fair Haven · 13%
#21
Fewest uninsured#1 Spring Lake · 4%
#45
Lowest depression#1 Palisades Park · 11%
#92
Closest to a top hospital#1 Englewood · 0.0 mi
#57 
Safety
Safest#1 Emerson · 1.5
#35 People
Most educated#1 Millburn · 90%
#72
Youngest#1 Lakewood · 18.1
#400
Oldest#1 North Wildwood · 65.6
#70
Most residents 65+#1 North Wildwood · 51.5%
#57
Most kids#1 Lakewood · 49.8%
#178 
Libraries
Most-used libraries#1 Princeton · 22.4 per resident
#83
Most library borrowing#1 Ocean City · 31.3 per resident
#102
Best libraries for kids#1 Ocean City · 44.2 per child
#128 Housing
Vacation-home towns#1 Long Beach · 81.3%
#141
Most new homes#1 Long Beach · 41.2 per 1,000
#380
Fastest-rising home prices#1 Margate City · +136.0%
#343
Housing hasn't kept up#1 Union · 49.9 per home
#118 Getting around
Shortest commute#1 New Hanover · 13.2 min
#404 Cost of living
Most affordable#1 Salem · 0.8 yrs
#413
Cheapest rent#1 Alloway · $749/mo
#453
Lowest property tax#1 Camden · $2,302/yr
#411
Rent easiest to afford#1 Matawan · 29.4%
The number on the right is Mountainside’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.