70 Best NJ Towns To Get A Home - Despite What You've Heard

A study listed 70 New Jersey towns as the best for owning a home, even though many of them have been at the bottom of some "best-of" lists.

Indeed, topping the list is a community - Williamstown - that was featured prominently in NJAdvance Media's expose on the heroin epidemic in New Jersey, entitled "Welcome to Herointown, New Jersey's 4th-largest city."

Some of them have appeared on lists that show which New Jersey cities that have been plagued by drugs and crime. Read more: 30 N.J. Towns With The Most Heroin Abuse, New Data Says

But NerdWallet, a consumer analysis website, took a number of data points into account - particularly affordability, and the ability to maintain that ownership.

The methodology was based on the home-ownership rate, which made up 33.3 percent of the total score, and a higher rate earned a higher score. The rate comes from the U.S. Census American Community Survey 5-year Estimates for all places in the state. Monthly owner costs as a percentage of median household income made up 16.7 percent of the total score.

Here is the list, with the median monthly homeowner costs:

1. Williamstown $2,040
2. Ocean Acres (section of Barnegat Township) $2,170
3. Woodbridge $2,223
4. South Plainfield $2,410
5. Somerset $2,367
6. Secaucus $2,612
7. Old Bridge $2,509
8. Hopatcong $2,196
9. Tinton Falls $2,422
10. Toms River $2,188
11. Paramus $3,109
12. Vineland $1,715
13. Iselin (section of Woodbridge) $2,242
14. Carteret $2,279
15. Fair Lawn $2,849
16. Sayreville $2,362
17. South River $2,258
18. Millville $1,724
19. Point Pleasant $2,296
20. Westfield $3,697
21. Bergenfield $2,857
22. Dumont $2,786
23. Glassboro $1,954
24. Hawthorne $2,784
25. Ridgewood $3,948
26. Avenel $2,398
27. Pleasantville $1,770
28. Clifton $2,648
29. Rahway $2,514
30. Colonia $2,519
31. Rutherford $2,888
32. Linden $2,378
33. Elmwood Park $2,644
34. Fort Lee $2,482
35. North Arlington $2,572
36. Madison $3,258
37. New Milford $2,965
38. North Plainfield $2,490
39. Bridgeton $1,426
40. Roselle $2,490
41. Plainfield $2,452
42. Englewood $2,950
43. Hoboken $3,290
44. Summit $4,000
45. Kearny $2,670
46. Lindenwold $1,667
47. Dover $2,284
48. Trenton $1,467
49. Camden $1,129
50. Bayonne $2,695
51. Cliffside Park $2,919
52. Perth Amboy $2,151
53. Garfield $2,284
54. Hackensack $2,426
55. Lodi $2,691
56. Morristown $2,616
57. Jersey City $2,678
58. Lakewood $2,228
59. New Brunswick $1,968
60. Long Branch $2,380
61. Palisades Park $3,073
62. Elizabeth $2,555
63. West New York $2,822
64. Atlantic City $1,857
65. Newark $2,277
66. East Orange $2,230
67. Union City $2,669
68. Paterson $2,604
69. Passaic $2,883
70. Asbury Park $2,283

You can find the entire methodology here.

Read the Star-Ledger article on "Herointown" by clicking here.

Patch file photo