Here Are The 15 Smartest Cities In New Jersey To Live In

Intelligence is subjective and there are many ways to measure it. For curiosity's sake, I went with towns that had the highest percentage of residents (age 25 and older) with bachelor's degrees. Of course, a degree doesn't make one person smarter than another, and there are many possible metrics. Still, it's interesting to know which towns are the "smartest." Here's the list of New Jersey's top 15 most educated towns with populations over 1000, based on data from FindTheHome.com.

1. Short Hills

88.7 percent of residents age 25 or older have a bachelor's degree or higher. The public school rating is 86/100.

2. Mountain Lakes

87.1% of residents have a bachelor's degree or higher. The public school rating is 91/100.

3. Upper Montclair

84.2% of residents have bachelor degrees or higher. The public school rating is 78/100.

4. Princeton

80.9% of residents have a bachelor's degree or higher. The public school rating is 75/100. Princeton also has the highest percentage of residents with doctorate degrees in New Jersey, at 16%.

5. Princeton Junction

76.9% of residents have a bachelor's degree or higher. The public school rating is 92/100.

6. Glen Ridge

75% of residents have a bachelor's degree or higher. The public school rating is 89/100.

7. Ridgewood

74.9% of residents have a bachelor's degree or higher. The public school rating is 85/100.

8. Ho-Ho-Kus

74.7% of residents have a bachelor's degree or higher. The public school rating is 87/100.

9. Essex Fells

74.4% of residents have a bachelor's degree or higher. The public schools are the best in the state, with a rating of 100/100.

10. Hoboken

74.3% of residents have a bachelor's degree or higher. Public school rankings are about average, coming in at 56/100.

11. Tenafly

74.1% of residents have a bachelor's degree or higher. The public school rating is 80/100.

12. Chatham

74.1% of residents have bachelor's degrees or higher. The public school ranking is 91/100.

13. Haddonfield

73.1% of residents have bachelor's degrees or higher. The public school rating is 96/100.

14. Demarest

72.7% of resident's have a bachelor's degree or higher. The public school rating is 91/100.

15. Upper Saddle River

72.2% of residents have a bachelor's degree or higher. The public school rating is 96/100.

Other towns that were well educated, but with populations under 1000, included Allamuchy and Mantaloking. For comparison's sake, approximately 35% of New Jersey residents have a bachelor's degree or higher. This may not seem like much, but it's actually quite an accomplishment - the national average is 30% and only 4 states top 35% (Maryland, Massachusetts, Colorado and Connecticut).

It's not surprising that these towns are among the wealthiest in New Jersey, but it is interesting to know. Though most of the top ranked towns in the state are in North Jersey, the whole state can rejoice in the fact that we're smarter than most of the country. New Jersey came in 2nd in the nation for children's education, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, based on preschool attendance, 4th grade reading proficiency, 8th grade math proficiency, and on-time high school graduation rates.