This is New Jersey’s richest town, report says

USA Today released a list of the richest towns in each of the 50 states recently. It looked at the median annual household income in over 2,600 cities, towns, villages, and census designated places to find the richest town in every state.

According to these data points, Glen Ridge is the richest town in New Jersey. A 1.5-square-mile Essex County borough, Glen Ridge is thoroughly residential, is stunningly picturesque, has excellent schools and has historic homes throughout. But you’re going to pay a price for all that beauty. And residents of Glen Ridge can afford it.

Case in point: The article points out that the national median household income is just over $60,000 and Glen Ridge enjoys a median household income of $213,801. That’s more than $130,000 over the state median of $79,363. And THAT figure sounds pretty good to begin with! We are, after all, one of the richest states in the country overall, so that figure shouldn’t be that shocking. What is surprising is that Glen Ridge beats out other affluent cities in New Jersey like Short Hills, Alpine, Montclair and Saddle River.

With a population of 7573, the median home value in Glen ridge is steep: $644,900. (For those keeping score, that’s $317,000 over the state median home value of $327,900.) In some states that would buy you THREE pretty decent houses! The closer you get to New York City, the more expensive homes tend to be and then the higher incomes follow suit.

Situated at only 15 miles from Manhattan, Glen Ridge sits in the “Gold Coast” of the state. It’s a 35-minute trip on the Midtown direct to Manhattan. The article points out that these figures were all taken before the COVID-19 pandemic, so things obviously could shifted around a little. But pandemic or not, there’s no doubt that you’ll need to have a pretty hefty paycheck to keep up with Joneses in Glen Ridge.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Judi Franco. Any opinions expressed are Judi's own.