Liora G. Meidan

201-615-7678

liora@liorameidan.com

Statistically ranking New Jersey's 566 municipalities is no easy task, especially for laypeople, so we decided to leave the heavy lifting—the crunching of thousands and thousands of figures—to the professionals at Leflein Associates Inc. in Fort Lee. To devise a methodology, demographers, economists, and other statistical experts were consulted. To figure out how to divide all the municipalities into three categories—cities, suburbs, and rural villages—we relied on divisions employed by state government planners and also took population density into consideration. Results for the ranking reflect, as much as possible, measurable criteria such as crime rate and cost of living. Figures were gathered from private and government agencies and from a variety of publications. Although we ranked all 566 municipalities, we had room to print results only for the top towns.

We considered 1) CRIME RATE, based on the number of crimes per capita in each municipality. Violent or major crimes, such as murder, rape, or robbery, were weighted more heavily in the analysis than nonviolent crimes such as burglary, auto theft, and larceny. 2) COST OF LIVING, based on 1998 property tax rates and housing prices. drawn from New Jersey Monthly's April 2000 cover story, "Sold! For a Fortune." Housing costs were analyzed in relation to per capita income, since whether homes are reasonably-priced in any given municipality depends on how much its residents earn. 3) ECONOMY, based on variables including 1998 and 1999 unemployment rates, per capita income, the average number of housing permits issued in 1998 and 1999, and the amount of land still available for development. All of these figures were gathered from government agencies; the latter two variables, according to economists, should be included in any analysis because the health of a municipality's economy depends at least partly on growth. 4) EDUCATION, based on New Jersey Monthly's September 2000 statewide ranking of New Jersey's public high schools, which reflected such parameters as average student test scores and the percentage of students who continue their education. 5) CULTURE AND LEISURE, based on variables including library budgets and the number of amenities such as theaters, concert venues, performing arts companies, museums and art galleries, state parks, forests and marinas, golf courses, arts and cultural centers, historical sites, historical societies, and cultural service organizations.

Within the categories of cities, suburbs, and villages, each municipality received a numerical ranking for each criterion, with the top-ranked town assigned a score of 1. Then the rankings for each municipality were added up and divided by the total number of criteria to produce an average score. The municipality with the smallest average ranked first, the municipality with the second smallest average came in second, and so forth.

Sources: U.S. Bureau of the Census, N.J. Department of Labor, New Jersey Future, N.J. Department of Environmental Protection, N.J. Department of Community Affairs, N.J. School Boards Association, N.J. Department of Education, N.J. State Council on the Arts, Rutgers University Center for Government Services, NJave.com, Historical Societies of New Jersey, New Jersey Policy Perspectives, N.J. State Planning Commission, ArtPride New Jersey, N.J. Library Association, Discover Jersey Arts: Resource Guide.

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