Most Americans have never been to small town New Jersey. However, as the New Jerseyan who live there know, small town New Jersey is an awesome place to call home.
But is it all roses? Definitely not. Just like any other state, New Jersey has its trouble spots. This article aims to determine, using Saturday Night Science, the absolute worst small towns to live in the Garden State. Don’t freak out, we will use data to show which places have high crime, poverty, and unemployment.
After analyzing more than 199 of New Jersey’s smallest cities, we came up with this list as the 10 worst small towns in New Jersey where you’d never want to live:
These are the worst small towns in New Jersey for 2023:
So what is the worst small town to call home in New Jersey for 2023? According to the most recent census data, Seabrook Farms is the worst small town to live in New Jersey.
While many of these small towns have seen better days, they have wonderful communities and people. This report in no way means to knock the folks that call towns like Seabrook Farms home. Everyone
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers, or scroll to the bottom to see how your town ranked.
And if you already know about the small towns, check out the best places to live in New Jersey or the worst places to live in New Jersey.
If you’re looking for something more national, check out the worst cities in America or the worst states in America.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Worst Small Towns In New Jersey For 2023
1. Seabrook Farms
/10
Population: 1,355
Median Home Value: $89,500 (4th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 12.6% (10th worst)
2. Egg Harbor City
/10
Population: 4,368
Median Home Value: $144,100 (13th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 8.0% (45th worst)
3. Port Norris
/10
Population: 1,697
Median Home Value: $111,800 (7th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 6.6% (7worst)
4. Laurel Lake
/10
Population: 2,396
Median Home Value: $114,400 (8th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 10.4% (20th worst)
5. Woodbine
/10
Population: 2,288
Median Home Value: $164,100 (20th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 6.8% (66th worst)
6. Penns Grove
/10
Population: 4,836
Median Home Value: $124,700 (12th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 18.4% (2nd worst)
7. Voorhees
/10
Population: 1,586
Median Home Value: $298,700 (98th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 11.9% (13th worst)
8. Chesilhurst
/10
Population: 1,421
Median Home Value: $156,300 (15th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 5.8% (83rd worst)
9. Oxford
/10
Population: 1,164
Median Home Value: $173,400 (25th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 5.2% (103rd worst)
10. Woodlynne
/10
Population: 2,902
Median Home Value: $105,300 (5th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 8.4% (37th worst)
Methodology: How do you decide if a small place in New Jersey is lousy or not?
To rank the worst small towns to live in New Jersey, we had to determine what criteria people like or dislike about a place. Assuming that people like low crime, solid education, things to do, and a stable economy isn’t a stretch.
We then analyzed the criteria using Saturday Night Science, the thinking you’d use at a bar. It seems like even your crazy Uncle would agree that a town with high crime is worse than a town with low crime; all else the same.
Using FBI crime data and the Census’s 2017-2021 American Community Survey, this is the criteria we used:
- Population Density (The lower, the worse)
- Highest Unemployment Rates
- Low housing costs (meaning there’s no demand)
- Adjusted Median Income (Median income adjusted for the cost of living)
- Education (Number of high school dropouts)
- High Crime
We looked at cities with populations between 1,000 and 5,000 people, of which there were many – 199 to be exact.
We get the crime numbers from the FBI, which gets them from the cities. Dropout numbers are based on the adult population, not just the current graduation rates of teenagers.
We base all our research on facts, which is meant as infotainment. We updated this article for 2023, which is our tenth time ranking the worst small places to live in New Jersey.
There You Have It – The Worst Small Towns In New Jersey
If you’re analyzing teeny places in the Garden State with the worst economic situations, where there’s high crime and there’s not a lot to do, this is an accurate list.
If you’re curious enough, here are the best small towns to live in New Jersey, according to science:
- Spring Lake (Pop. 2,814)
- Essex Fells (Pop. 2,270)
- Ho-Ho-Kus (Pop. 4,248)
For more New Jersey reading, check out: