New Jersey is a pretty brainy state.

More than 23 percent of the state's residents who are 25 years and older have at least a bachelor's degree, ranking us 7th in the nation.

However, the distribution of higher education is not even across the state.

Wealthier towns stand out with a greater percentage of educated residents, which tracks both the high cost of higher education, as well as the greater earning power of people with degrees.

According to the Brookings Institute, people with bachelor's degrees or higher end up earning $580,000 more over their entire career than their less-educated peers.

Here are the 25 towns that are home to the most residents with bachelor's degrees or greater.

A note about the data: Ranking based on educational attainment of population age 25 years and above according to the 2017 American Community Survey by the Census Bureau. The ranking only includes towns with populations above 10,000, as lower population areas tend to skew rates with high margins of error. Towns where the margin of error was higher than 10 percent were also excluded.

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25. Medford township, Burlington County

Percent of residents with bachelor's degree or higher: 34.9

Percent with graduate or professional degree: 21.4

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23. (TIE) Verona township, Essex County

Percent of residents with bachelor's degree or higher: 35.3

Percent with graduate or professional degree: 25.5

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23. (TIE) Millburn township, Essex County

Percent of residents with bachelor's degree or higher: 35.3

Percent with graduate or professional degree: 49.1

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22. Bernards township, Somerset County

Percent of residents with bachelor's degree or higher: 35.5

Percent with graduate or professional degree: 37.6

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21. South Brunswick township, Middlesex County

Percent of residents with bachelor's degree or higher: 36

Percent with graduate or professional degree: 25.6

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20. Sparta township, Sussex County

Percent of residents with bachelor's degree or higher: 36.4

Percent with graduate or professional degree: 19.2

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17. (TIE) Livingston township, Essex County

Percent of residents with bachelor's degree or higher: 36.5

Percent with graduate or professional degree: 32.5

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17. (TIE) Fort Lee borough, Bergen County

Percent of residents with bachelor's degree or higher: 36.5

Percent with graduate or professional degree: 23.1

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17. (TIE) Florham Park borough, Morris County

Percent of residents with bachelor's degree or higher: 36.5

Percent with graduate or professional degree: 30.4

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16. Montclair township, Essex County

Percent of residents with bachelor's degree or higher: 36.7

Percent with graduate or professional degree: 33.3

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15. Plainsboro township, Middlesex County

Percent of residents with bachelor's degree or higher: 36.8

Percent with graduate or professional degree: 39.2

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14. Westfield town, Union County

Percent of residents with bachelor's degree or higher: 37

Percent with graduate or professional degree: 34

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13. South Orange Village township, Essex County

Percent of residents with bachelor's degree or higher: 37.2

Percent with graduate or professional degree: 32

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11. (TIE) Robbinsville township, Mercer County

Percent of residents with bachelor's degree or higher: 37.7

Percent with graduate or professional degree: 22.7

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11. (TIE) River Vale township, Bergen County

Percent of residents with bachelor's degree or higher: 37.7

Percent with graduate or professional degree: 23.2

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10. Wyckoff township, Bergen County

Percent of residents with bachelor's degree or higher: 38.7

Percent with graduate or professional degree: 26.4

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8. (TIE) Haddonfield borough, Camden County

Percent of residents with bachelor's degree or higher: 39

Percent with graduate or professional degree: 35.7

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8. (TIE) Chatham township, Morris County

Percent of residents with bachelor's degree or higher: 39

Percent with graduate or professional degree: 37

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7. Franklin Lakes borough, Bergen County

Percent of residents with bachelor's degree or higher: 39.1

Percent with graduate or professional degree: 28.2

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6. New Providence borough, Union County

Percent of residents with bachelor's degree or higher: 39.4

Percent with graduate or professional degree: 28.6

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5. Ridgewood village, Bergen County

Percent of residents with bachelor's degree or higher: 39.8

Percent with graduate or professional degree: 36.3

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4. Ramsey borough, Bergen County

Percent of residents with bachelor's degree or higher: 40.3

Percent with graduate or professional degree: 26.6

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3. Glen Rock borough, Bergen County

Percent of residents with bachelor's degree or higher: 41.9

Percent with graduate or professional degree: 31

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2. Edgewater borough, Bergen County

Percent of residents with bachelor's degree or higher: 43.9

Percent with graduate or professional degree: 23.7

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1. Hoboken city, Hudson County

Percent of residents with bachelor's degree or higher: 50.2

Percent with graduate or professional degree: 28.1

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