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Towns / New Jersey

Guttenberg, New Jersey

Guttenberg is a suburb of about 11,900 people in Hudson County, New Jersey, in the New York area. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 5 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, New York, is about 10 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of New York

Population
11,910
down 0.8% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$379,000
Hudson County prices up 23% since 2022
Household income
$75,683
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, New York area
112.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Palisades Medical Center
To New York
10 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 12.6% above the U.S. average in the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 5 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood17 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1.4 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 8.4 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town15 public schools: 11 elementary, 1 middle, 2 high schools and 1 other.
  • A hospital close byPalisades Medical Center is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityNew York is about 10 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Guttenberg meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Guttenberg runs into the built-up area around New York (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$379,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 23%Hudson County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,677 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$75,683U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
40%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$8,765 a yearNew Jersey: $9,590
Homes built before 1940
13%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
11%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
112.6U.S. average = 100 (the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 23% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area, not Guttenberg alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
11,9102020: 12,003
Median age
40.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
15%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
20%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
45%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
6%U.S.: 6%
College students
7%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (22%); professional and business services (19%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (12%)
Unemployment rate
7%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
39 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
20%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
19%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Palisades Medical Center, North Bergen, NJ, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

15 public schools in Guttenberg, run by West New York School District and North Bergen School District.

Colleges in or next to town: CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice (10,000 to 19,999 students); American Musical and Dramatic Academy (1,000 to 4,999 students); The Juilliard School (1,000 to 4,999 students).

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on New Jersey's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
76%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
94%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
28°F
July average high
85°F
Days 90°F or hotter
17 a year
Nights at or below freezing
67 a year
Rain and melted snow
49.5 inches a year
Snow
30 inches a year
Elevation
191 feet

Weather station: New York Cntrl Pk Twr (2 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: West New York, New York.

Hudson County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • General Grant National Memorial3 miles
  • Hamilton Grange National Memorial3 miles
  • Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site4 miles
  • Stonewall National Monument4 miles
  • African Burial Ground National Monument5 miles

Campus life. Check CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Guttenberg's history on Wikipedia.

Know Guttenberg?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Llewellyn Park, NJ (unincorporated)560 people, 12 miles
  • Harbor Hills, NY (unincorporated)458 people, 13 miles
  • Saddle Rock Estates, NY (unincorporated)485 people, 14 miles
  • Pleasantdale, NJ (unincorporated)2,145 people, 14 miles
  • Kean University, NJ (unincorporated)1,362 people, 14 miles
  • Russell Gardens, NY900 people, 15 miles
  • William Paterson University of New Jersey, NJ (unincorporated)1,133 people, 15 miles
  • Great Neck Gardens, NY (unincorporated)1,492 people, 15 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.