Top counties to raise children in New Jersey

New Jersey is one of the better states to raise your kids. We always rank high on the list of top states for public schools.

Within the state, there are differences, of course, and it’s all about location. One ZIP code might have blue ribbon schools and playgrounds, and parks that children will enjoy, but it will cost you more in property taxes.

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What about entire counties?

Suppose you looked at factors like housing equity, academic performance, recreation and community centers per 1,000 people, and childcare costs. Are there discernible differences that make certain entire counties stand out from others in terms of being good places to raise children? SmartAsset looked at exactly that, and yes, they found the best counties in the state to bring up kids.

The top ten were fairly evenly spread in all parts of the state, with three in South Jersey, four in Central Jersey, and three in North Jersey.

Well, I say that within the always unsettled debate of where people decide Central Jersey is. Courier Post decided this same list represented only three Central Jersey counties, and they put Union County in Central, but left out Monmouth. I included Monmouth and Mercer, but left Union in with the northern counties.