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Towns / New Jersey

Northvale, New Jersey

Northvale is a suburb of about 5,000 people in Bergen County, New Jersey, in the New York area. It has grown about 4% since 2020. A typical home costs about 4.6 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 24 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of New York

Population
4,978
up 4.5% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$592,400
Bergen County prices up 28% since 2022
Household income
$127,625
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, New York area
112.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
4 miles
Westwood, NJ
To New York
24 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 4.6 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood0 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 4.6 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan, about 2 miles away.
  • A hospital close byHackensack Meridian Health Pascack Valley Medical in Westwood, about 4 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityNew York is about 24 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 Northvale 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

Northvale 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
$592,400U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 28%Bergen County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,932 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$127,625U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
76%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$10,000 or more 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
0%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 28% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area, not Northvale 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
4,9782020: 4,765
Median age
44.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
19%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
23%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
52%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
6%U.S.: 6%

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 (27%); professional and business services (16%); manufacturing (14%)
Unemployment rate
6%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
26 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
15%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
5%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Hackensack Meridian Health Pascack Valley Medical, Westwood, NJ, about 4 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 5 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

1 public school in Northvale, run by Northvale Public School District. The nearest public high school is Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan, about 2 miles away.

Colleges in or next to town: St. Thomas Aquinas College (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
82%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
97%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
23°F
July average high
86°F
Days 90°F or hotter
19 a year
Nights at or below freezing
109 a year
Rain and melted snow
51.2 inches a year
Snow
33 inches a year
Elevation
42 feet

Weather station: Dobbs Ferry-ardsley (6 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: Hackensack Meridian Health Pascack Valley Medical, Yonkers, New York.

Bergen 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

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Saint Paul's Church National Historic Site10 miles
  • Hamilton Grange National Memorial13 miles
  • General Grant National Memorial14 miles
  • Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park14 miles
  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail19 miles

Campus life. Check St. Thomas Aquinas College's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Northvale's history on Wikipedia.

Know Northvale?

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

  • Rockleigh, NJ399 people, 1 mile
  • Sparkill, NY (unincorporated)1,483 people, 1 mile
  • Grand View-on-Hudson, NY278 people, 4 miles
  • Ramapo College of New Jersey, NJ (unincorporated)2,018 people, 13 miles
  • William Paterson University of New Jersey, NJ (unincorporated)1,133 people, 14 miles
  • Hillburn, NY950 people, 14 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.