The new list of the 20 smallest towns in NJ

TRENTON – And then there were 564.

The roll call of New Jersey municipalities is about to shrink, as Pine Valley merges into Pine Hill at the start of 2022.

It's the first merger since 2011, when Princeton borough and township consolidated, though it more closely resembles the dissolution of Pahaquarry Township in Warren County, which had dwindled to a dozen residents by 1997.

With Pine Valley coming off the map, though its name will live on through its world-famous golf course, one of the smallest municipalities in the state disappears. But there remain plenty of places that make you wonder why they're their own town.

New Jersey's smallest towns by population

New Jersey's least populated municipalities, according to the 2020 Census. This list excludes Pine Valley, which would have been the third-smallest with 21 residents but voted to merge into Pine Hill at the start of 2022.

Gallery Credit: Michael Symons

Michael Symons is State House bureau chief for New Jersey 101.5. Contact him at michael.symons@townsquaremedia.com.