Leonia has approximately 9,000 inhabitants in a 1.5 square mile area. New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked it as the 31st best place to live in its 2008 rankings of the "Best Places To Live" in New Jersey. It is one of the oldest towns in the state and county and features tree-lined streets, an excellent school system, seven parks, modern library, community theater, recreational programs for all ages and a shopping district. During the early part of the twentieth century, many distinguished academics arrived, earning the town's nickname of the "Athens of New Jersey". Many twentieth-century artists emerged from Leonia as well as many creative thinkers, including five Nobel Prize winners.