Living in Tenafly, New Jersey: homes, schools and costs

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 4.8 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Tenafly itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
Schools in town13 public schools: 10 elementary, 1 middle and 2 high schools.
A hospital close byEnglewood Hospital and Medical Center in Englewood, about 2 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityNew York is about 18 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 Tenafly 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

Tenafly 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: $1,002,600U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 28%Bergen County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $3,500 or more a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $208,200U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 72%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $10,000 or more a yearNew Jersey: $9,590
Homes built before 1940: 25%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 12%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 Tenafly 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: 15,2372020: 15,352
Median age: 42.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 14%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 31%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 79%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 7%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: Professional and business services (25%); schools, health care and social services (24%); finance, insurance and real estate (16%)
Unemployment rate: 7%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 40 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 30%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 4%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, Englewood, NJ, about 2 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 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

13 public schools in Tenafly, run by Tenafly Public School District and Englewood Public School District.

Colleges in or next to town: University of Mount Saint Vincent (1,000 to 4,999 students); Yeshiva of the Telshe Alumni (under 1,000 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: 93%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 99%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: 277 feet

Weather station: Dobbs Ferry-ardsley (9 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

Englewood Hospital and Medical CenterEmergency room2

Yonkers, NYCity of 213,0005

New York, NYMetro of 20.1 million18

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: Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, 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

5 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Elizabeth Cady Stanton House. One is a National Historic Landmark, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Saint Paul's Church National Historic Site7 miles
General Grant National Memorial7 miles
Hamilton Grange National Memorial7 miles
Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park12 miles
Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site13 miles

Campus life. Check University of Mount Saint Vincent's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Tenafly's history on Wikipedia.

Know Tenafly?

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

Cresskill, NJ9,300 people, 2 miles
Englewood Cliffs, NJ5,400 people, 2 miles
Demarest, NJ4,900 people, 2 miles
Dumont, NJ18,500 people, 3 miles
New Milford, NJ17,100 people, 4 miles
Closter, NJ8,700 people, 4 miles

Smaller places

Rockleigh, NJ399 people, 6 miles
Sparkill, NY (unincorporated)1,483 people, 8 miles
Grand View-on-Hudson, NY278 people, 10 miles
William Paterson University of New Jersey, NJ (unincorporated)1,133 people, 13 miles
Harbor Hills, NY (unincorporated)458 people, 14 miles
Saddle Rock Estates, NY (unincorporated)485 people, 14 miles
Great Neck Gardens, NY (unincorporated)1,492 people, 15 miles

Sources

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.