Costliest home for sale in poorest NJ town might surprise you

You won’t be shocked to know that Camden is the poorest town in New Jersey. But maybe knowing it’s the second poorest town in the entire country might get your attention.

There was an analysis done of towns over 25,000 people and the only town poorer than Camden was East Saint Louis, Illinois. Their median household income is $24,343. Camden’s is $27,015. Ranking a city so rich in history as the poorest city in New Jersey and second poorest in all the United States.

Amazing when it used to be an industrial powerhouse. In the first half of the 20th century and continuing through World War II Camden had major companies like Campbell’s, RCA Victor and New York Shipbuilding Corp. The city even endured the Great Depression thanks to its industry. But in the 1950s companies began moving out, ‘white flight’ set in, and rioting hit the city hard in the 1970s.

Much of Camden is bleak. Many homes look like this.

Or this.

But I wondered if there were any bright spots. I researched to find the most expensive single-family home currently for sale in the city. Now I’m not saying you’ll confuse it for a home in Basking Ridge. But if you didn’t know it was in Camden you probably wouldn’t guess it.

Take a look at a decent, clean, pretty nice home where our bias might not expect to see one. This is a 4 bedroom, 4 bath home at 102 South 35th Street in Camden listed at just shy of 2,000 square feet. They’re asking $330,000.

Cute front yard.

Simple, but the hardwood floor is nice, and this looks like any of the homes where I grew up in Rahway or Clark.

The fireplace looks inviting.

Sure, the kitchen needs updating, but I’ve seen worse kitchens in Hillsborough.

Small but decent bathroom.

Here’s one of the bedrooms and keep in mind there are three others.

Now here’s where it gets surprisingly nice. A finished basement.

I love the white stone wall.

And this bathroom makes the most of its space.

Not too shabby at all for Camden now, is it?

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

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