Majority Black middle class suburbs (house, neighborhood, school)

[Kthnry]

Here's an article on racial/demographic trends in Maplewood/South Orange, indicating that the share of Black residents has been dropping in recent years. This confirms my own impressions as a resident of South Orange until last year. The same is probably true of Montclair. I think it's related to the increasing popularity of the towns and the skyrocketing house prices. You need serious money to live there. I sure couldn't afford it now.

https://villagegreennj.com/community...ter-wealthier/

Also look at West Orange, which has some not-so-great areas but also some very lovely, wealthy areas, such as Llewelyn Park, where Whoopi Goldberg lives.

[Retriever]

Originally Posted by Kieran Keating

In central Jersey there's Somerset (29%)

This is an example of the problem that results from relying on raw statistics without knowing the local conditions.
The vast majority of the African-American population of Somerset is concentrated in a fairly small section adjacent to New Brunswick. That small working-class section of Somerset is characterized by smallish houses built in the '50s, plus a significant amount of street crime, and would be unlikely to be considered "desirable" by the OP.

Yes, African-Americans are represented in the nicer, middle and upper-middle class areas of Somerset, but these areas are overwhelmingly White, with a fairly strong Asian and South Asian presence.

[foodyum]

Moderator cut: Quoted post deleted

I guess you didn't read yesterday's NYT article on sag harbor
Here I'll link you to it, but the pictures of the homes are truly amazing and worth running out and getting the magazine section.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/01/t...ag-harbor.html

[swilliamsny]

Originally Posted by Kieran Keating

In north Jersey there's Maplewood (35%), South Orange (30%), Teaneck (28%), Montclair (26%), Hillside (53%), Union (29%), and Rahway (31%).

In central Jersey there's Somerset (29%), Ewing (28%), Neptune Township (38%)

South Jersey, as far as I know, doesn't have any middle class areas with a significant Black population. Maybe Pennsauken? I think it has too many low-income neighborhoods to be considered a "middle class town".

Of the towns listed, Maplewood, South Orange, and Montclair are definitely the nicest. All have very nice downtowns, above average schools, and are quite expensive to live in. Ewing is probably the most suburbanized while Montclair is the most urban. None of the towns are rural. Neptune is the only town above that is on the shore and has a beach.

It's a shame that the black middle class presence in NJ is quite low compared to other areas. In the DC metro area where I live now, there are plenty of middle-class, upper-middle-class, and even high-end suburbs with a large Black population. Maybe it's because there are quite a lot of historically Black colleges in VA and MD, while NJ has none?

The other problem with suburbs with middle-class towns in NJ that have a significant Black population tend to be very segregated. In Maplewood, South Orange, and Montclair, things are pretty integrated, but in most of the other towns, especially Neptune, Ewing, and Somerset, it is virtually completely segregated. You get some neighborhoods that are almost completely white and others almost completely black. Usually, the white portion of the town sends their kids to private schools and the Black population attends the public schools. This is, unfortunately, exactly how it is in Neptune Twp. (58% white and 38% black, but nearly all of Neptune HS is black, while the white students are going to St. Rose, Ranney, Mater Dei, and Donovan Catholic). The sad reality is, despite NJ being one of the more progressive states, there are still too many whites who feel uncomfortable having black people mixed in their neighborhoods and attending their schools (despite none of the above towns having a high crime rate) because they have deep-seated racist views, hence why there many of the above towns are highly segregated still.

Small nit-pick... I would not consider Hillside middle- or upper middle-class. And if you stray toward Irvington it goes from ‘just okay’ to ‘bad’.

[Leps12]

Originally Posted by swilliamsny

Small nit-pick... I would not consider Hillside middle- or upper middle-class. And if you stray toward Irvington it goes from ‘just okay’ to ‘bad’.

Neither is Union. Certain parts of the town are middle class...others are lower middle to working poor.

[Leps12]

Originally Posted by foodyum

I guess you didn't read yesterday's NYT article on sag harbor
Here I'll link you to it, but the pictures of the homes are truly amazing and worth running out and getting the magazine section.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/01/t...ag-harbor.html

Wikipedia shows Sag Harbor as 8% black. Maybe it’s more diverse than similarly wealthy towns, but it’s less black than the U.S. as a whole (13%).

[908Boi]

None of the majority black towns in NJ are upper middle class but there are a number of options where the towns have large black populations (at least 20%). Many posters have mentioned them. Here are some:
West Orange
South Orange
Montclair
Maplewood
Englewood
Teaneck
Somerset (part of Franklin)
Franklin
Piscataway (some parts are "working class")
Parts of Roselle
Parts of Linden
Parts of Hillside
Union
Parts of Ewing

There are a lot of options. People are comparing NJ to PG county, MD but PG is very unique in the United States.

@OP, Feel free to PM me, I am black and born and raised in NJ, I can provide better answers than you'll probably get in this thread.

[Mightyqueen801]

Originally Posted by Leps12

Wikipedia shows Sag Harbor as 8% black. Maybe it’s more diverse than similarly wealthy towns, but it’s less black than the U.S. as a whole (13%).

Sag Harbor is an "Our Kind of People" town, like the Inkwell on Martha's Vineyard, long a haven for the Black upper middle class that most of America has no idea exists.

It's a good read:

https://www.amazon.com/Our-Kind-Peop.../dp/B000GCFWVY

[AnesthesiaMD]

Originally Posted by Leps12

Wikipedia shows Sag Harbor as 8% black. Maybe it’s more diverse than similarly wealthy towns, but it’s less black than the U.S. as a whole (13%).

Sag Harbor is reasonably priced compared to the rest of the Hamptons. It has a lot more year round residents than the rest of the Hamptons (at least before COVID), making it more like a suburb than a vacation town, which also gives it a different vibe than the surrounding towns. The Main St. itself has a vacation vibe to it, but once you leave that immediate area, it gets suburb-ish.

It has long been known for being inclusionary for black people, back when most of the area was not. But in the dozens of times I have walked around Sag Harbor, as well as the hundreds of times I have driven through it, never once have I said to myself, "Wow, Sag Harbor is so diverse!" It's almost all white people walking around.

[Eristic1]

Originally Posted by agirl22

Are there any definitively upper or middle class (not working class) majority Black suburbs in NJ? What are they? Which would you say is the best/most desirable?

Who cares what race people are? Why does race even matter?

If you want to live in an upper or middle class neighborhood, live wherever you like without concern about how much melanin the populace has.

Wtf?!?