South Jersey magazine just named Mantua the No. 3 Best Town in Gloucester County and the No. 9 Best Town in South Jersey for 2025.
Mantua is third best out of 24 municipalities in the county and ninth best among 169 municipalities in all of South Jersey. Mantua (third), Woolwich Township (second) and Harrison Township (first) make up the top three towns in the county for this year.
For many of us fixated on taxes, Mantua’s average property taxes are by far the lowest out of the county’s top three towns at $7,747 for 2025. Woolwich taxes average $10,808 and Harrison averages $11,286.00. Our average property values are relatively close, with Mantua’s at$312,345, Woolwich’s at $321,904 and Harrison’s at $347,540.
South Jersey Magazine states in their write-up, “We gathered all the data and crunched the numbers to come up with this year’s rankings of the best places to live, work and play in South Jersey.”
The article goes on.
“Each year, our top towns spotlight looks to shine a light on the region, celebrating the places that make South Jersey so special,” it reads. “Our rankings were formulated using data from the New Jersey State Police, the New Jersey Department of Education and the state’s Division of Local Government Services.
“Using a weighted formula, we combined average property values and taxes, crime reports and high-school performance numbers consisting of average SAT scores, graduation rates and more.”
For the record, Mantua was ranked a top-three town in the county for 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024 and 2025. We dropped very slightly to fourth in 2023. We’ve been in the top 10 in South Jersey for the last five out of six years, and moved slightly to No. 9 this year.
We’re proud to be recognized as such a desirable place to live in Gloucester County and throughout South Jersey, and are incredibly grateful for this very special recognition.
The township committee and I want to personally thank everyone in our community who works tirelessly to make Mantua stronger, safer and better each year. Our volunteers, our employees, our schools, our public safety and emergency services, our business owners, our residents and even those who visit the great place we call home have created an impactful and lasting difference.
We will continue to work harder to become an even stronger, more connected and more vibrant community for all who call the township home.
I recently started highlighting small businesses and restaurants around the township on our social media platforms. I’ll continue to periodically pop up in places for my new series, “Mayor’s Business Spotlight,” in order to showcase and promote the outstanding local businesses that we have throughout Mantua.
If you’d like to nominate a business, even your own, feel free to shoot me an email at rzimmerman@mantuatownship.com. I’ll gladly stop by and we’ll film a short video or we’ll do a little write-up on social media to help champion the business’s greatness.
On June 25, I and Committeeman Jay Snyder attended the 66th Gloucester County Police Academy graduation ceremony at Rowan College of South Jersey – with Police Chief Darren White, Capt. Bill Murphy, Lt. Brian Hauss and other members of the Mantua police department – where we were honored to celebrate the graduation of our newest full-time officers, Joshua Cummings and Brenden Hiatt.
The township committee and I want to extend our heartfelt congratulations to officers Cummings and Hiatt and welcome them both. We’re confident that they are now prepared to uphold the values of honesty, integrity, fairness and dedication while hitting the streets and protecting our great community and our valued residents.
On behalf of the entire Township Committee and I, we look forward to continuing our service with honesty, integrity and trustful leadership.
