Middletown is a bedroom community of New York City, located alongside of the Raritan Bay within the Raritan Valley region in the New York Metropolitan Area. Due to its affluence, low crime, access to cultural activities, public school system, proximity to the Jersey Shore and Raritan Bayshore, and central commuting location, Middletown was ranked in 2006, 2008, 2010, and 2014 Top 100 Best Places to Live. Time magazine listed Middletown on its list of "Best Places to Live in 2014".