For young couples looking for their first home, one real estate website says there aren’t too many better places to live than Cherry Hill.
Real estate website Movoto.com ranked three different Cherry Hill neighborhoods in the top 10 of a list of the best Philadelphia suburbs for young couples ages 22 to 34.
The Cherry Hill Mall, Springdale and Greentree neighborhoods finished fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively, on the list. Laurel Springs was the only New Jersey suburb ranking higher on the list.
“We’re proud and thrilled to receive the designation,” said Bridget Palmer, director of communications for Cherry Hill Township.
To compile the list, Movoto looked at 45 suburbs in the Philadelphia area. It looked at the percentage of married residents, percentage of children under 5, percentage of residents between 22 and 34, median home value, median household income and unemployment rate. Each category was scored based on U.S. Census data. Data such as unemployment rate, home values and median income were taken from AreaVibes.com. The scores in each category were then combined for the final ranking.
Cherry Hill Mall benefitted in the rankings from having the second-highest population of children under 5. The area also ranked higher than other New Jersey suburbs such as Marlton, Moorestown and Haddonfield because homes are more affordable for young couples.
“Here, the median home price is just $258,500, which, yes, compared to the national median home price is a bit high, but compared to most of Jersey, it’s pretty low,” the report said
“Whether you’re talking affordability for young families and young professionals, we are doing the most that we can with our tax dollars,” Palmer said.
Greentree’s high ranking was mostly due to a high percentage of married couples as well as a low unemployment ranking.
“An abundance of married couples is just one of the things that makes Greentree feel rather like a modern-day Pleasantville,” the report said.
Springdale was cited as a neighborhood for young couples with a bit more money to spend on housing. Springdale has the fifth highest median income for young couples in the list. In addition, Springdale also has a large number of married residents.
“A good 65 percent of the residents here are married, so you should have no problem finding other couples to hang out with,” the report said.
The township recognizes there are many young families in the township and has tried to cater to them in a number of ways. Palmer said the recreation department has expanded its offerings to reach all demographics, including children and young families.
“We have a wealth of child programming and we have a lot of young adult programs coming up,” she said.
Coming up with events for young families extends beyond recreation classes. Township initiatives such as Welcome to Cherry Hill Night, Cherry Hill Restaurant Week and Complete Streets were created with young families in mind.
“They’re all sort of aimed at attracting new families that are going to live here and invest here,” Palmer said.
Palmer said the township has seen a number of new families move to Cherry Hill in recent years. The township has tried to strike a balance between catering to residents of all ages and backgrounds.
“It’s such a diverse community and it’s important that we attract new families,” Palmer said. “We try and strike a balance with the things we do.”
Cherry Hill’s diversity extends beyond age. Palmer said having three separate sections of Cherry Hill finishing in the top 10 of the list showcases the town’s neighborhood diversity.
“If you look at the different neighborhoods, they each have their own qualities and characteristics,” Palmer said.
The full list of best Philadelphia suburbs for young couples is available at www.movoto.com/philadelphia-pa/best-philadelphia-suburbs-for-young-couples.
