Photo: KForce at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Even on the area’s higher pay, Hackensack costs more to live in than 95% of U.S. towns
It ranks #384 of 468 in New Jersey for affordability. Up 3.8% in a year, 19% below the New Jersey typical home.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro area ($99K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade measures what housing costs against what households in the area earn. Hackensack’s area earns well above the typical U.S. town ($99K against $74K), but homes, rent and taxes here run higher still. Owners keep up better than renters: 38% of owners pay 30% or more of income for housing (typical U.S. town: 20%), against 51% of renters.
In dollars
- $463Ktypical home, 19% below the New Jersey typical homeZillow, September 2026
- $2,500a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 113prices across the New York metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 149)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 4.0 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$99K, New York-area income
- 23%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 51%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across New Jersey: 52%Census 2020–24
- 38%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
What Hackensack’s housing numbers say
Most Hackensack households rent
63% of households rent their home, 12,270 in all, against 36% across New Jersey. Renting ↓
Buyers have time and room to negotiate
At the pace homes sold in September, it would take about 6.3 months to sell everything listed (New Jersey: 3.5). The typical home took 73 days to sell and sold at 102% of asking. How fast homes sell ↓
Most new homes are apartments and condos
Of the 2,708 homes permitted in Hackensack’s past 10 years, 99% were in buildings with two or more homes, not single-family houses. New homes ↓
The least expensive town in its area
All seven neighboring towns with a Zillow value cost more than Hackensack. The closest is Ridgefield Park at $606K; Paramus tops the list at $1.06M. Vs. neighbors ↓
2026 has already passed 2025
Through August, Hackensack had permitted 145 new homes in 2026, more than the 75 in all of 2025. New homes ↓
Written from the data on this page. Home values are the Zillow Home Value Index, through September 2026; sales and supply are Redfin’s for September 2026; permits are Census figures through 2025; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Hackensack’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Hackensack is more affordable than 5% of U.S. towns, #384 of 468 in New Jersey. Property tax pulls the grade down most; home prices hold it up.
Values have lagged New Jersey: the typical Hackensack home is up 25.8% in five years, against 35.2% statewide (Zillow).
Up 25.8% in five years
Slower than New Jersey (35.2%).
Show as a table
| January | Hackensack | New Jersey |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | $267,000 | $313,000 |
| 2018 | $283,000 | $326,000 |
| 2019 | $301,000 | $339,000 |
| 2020 | $317,000 | $353,000 |
| 2021 | $346,000 | $389,000 |
| 2022 | $372,000 | $436,000 |
| 2023 | $384,000 | $466,000 |
| 2024 | $410,000 | $506,000 |
| 2025 | $444,000 | $544,000 |
| 2026 | $452,000 | $562,000 |
| September 2026 | $463,000 | $575,000 |
A typical Hackensack home worth $265K in October 2016 is worth about $463K today.
Zillow Home Value Index: the typical value of all homes (middle third), smoothed and seasonally adjusted, through September 2026.
A buyer's market
More homes are for sale than are selling — about 6 months of supply. Buyers have room to negotiate.
Under ~4 months of supply favors sellers; over ~6 favors buyers.
Redfin Data Center, all residential sales, September 2026.
A year’s rent takes 23% of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Hackensack’s own median, or type yours.
That’s $146K short of a typical Hackensack home.
A two-bedroom rents for about $2,500 a month here, $870 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Hackensack’s typical property tax (2.45% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $2,500
Renters already here pay a median of $1,911, so moving in tends to cost more than staying put.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Bergen-Passaic, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
75 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 75 new homes in Hackensack in 2025, all in buildings with two or more homes, worth about $3.7 million to build. That's 1.6 per 1,000 residents, slower than across New Jersey (3.1). Over the past 10 years, Hackensack has permitted 2,708 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Hackensack gained 3,020 residents while 2,180 new homes were permitted: about 1.4 new residents per new home. Building outpaced population growth, which usually means smaller households or homes used part of the year. Across New Jersey: 2 new residents per new home.
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 145 | 0 | 145 | $16.7 million |
| 2025 | 75 | 0 | 75 | $3.7 million |
| 2024 | 210 | 0 | 210 | $36 million |
| 2023 | 16 | 0 | 16 | $2.8 million |
| 2022 | 293 | 0 | 293 | $50.5 million |
| 2021 | 66 | 0 | 66 | $28.7 million |
| 2020 | 416 | 0 | 416 | $48.7 million |
| 2019 | 784 | 0 | 784 | $126 million |
| 2018 | 84 | 2 | 82 | $2.5 million |
| 2017 | 726 | 6 | 720 | $58.9 million |
| 2016 | 38 | 7 | 31 | $2.2 million |
| 2015 | 154 | 10 | 144 | $6.8 million |
| 2014 | 119 | 9 | 110 | $5.3 million |
| 2013 | 35 | 8 | 27 | $2.8 million |
| 2012 | 5 | 3 | 2 | $394,000 |
| 2011 | 228 | 0 | 228 | $26.5 million |
| 2010 | 7 | 2 | 5 | $546,000 |
| 2009 | 6 | 2 | 4 | $1.8 million |
| 2008 | 45 | 1 | 44 | $5.2 million |
| 2007 | 51 | 3 | 48 | $2.6 million |
| 2006 | 14 | 4 | 10 | $659,000 |
| 2005 | 104 | 3 | 101 | $11.7 million |
| 2004 | 147 | 6 | 141 | $10.5 million |
| 2003 | 19 | 12 | 7 | $1.9 million |
| 2002 | 31 | 2 | 29 | $2.3 million |
| 2001 | 35 | 17 | 18 | $1.6 million |
| 2000 | 323 | 24 | 299 | $34.4 million |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Property tax runs above the New Jersey norm
The median bill is $9,652 (New Jersey: $9,590), 2.45% of a home’s value a year, against 2.11% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
The rest of a budget near Hackensack
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro area, or New Jersey. Groceries follow the goods price level; nobody publishes them town by town.
| Cost | Here | Compared with | Area | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prices overall U.S. = 100 | 113 | NJ 109 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 110 | NJ 107 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 127 | NJ 114 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Other services U.S. = 100 | 106 | NJ 104 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
Price levels: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities 2024 (metro area and state). Electricity: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A.
Hackensack vs. its neighbors
Of the 8 towns here with a Zillow value, Hackensack has the lowest.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, September 2026 | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hackensack | D− | $463K | $394K | 2.45% | $2,500 |
| Maywood | D | $695K | $534K | 1.87%+ | $2,680 |
| River Edge | D | $867K | $660K | 1.51%+ | $2,460 |
| Paramus | D− | $1.1M | $814K | 1.23%+ | $3,490 |
| Teaneck Township | D | $690K | $546K | 1.83%+ | $2,400 |
| Bogota | D− | $621K | $502K | 1.99%+ | $2,380 |
| Ridgefield Park | D | $606K | $497K | 2.01%+ | $2,160 |
| South Hackensack Township | D− | $699K | $547K | 1.74% | $2,520 |
“+”: the Census reports the tax bill only as $10,000 or more, so the rate is at least that.
Questions about the cost of living in Hackensack
Is Hackensack expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Hackensack costs more than 95% of U.S. towns: a D− for cost of living, #384 of 468 in New Jersey. The typical home costs 4.0 years of the median household income of the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro area ($99K).
How much does a house cost in Hackensack?
About $463K, Zillow’s typical value for September 2026, up 3.8% in a year. The New Jersey typical home is $575K.
What salary do you need to live in Hackensack?
To buy the typical home with 20% down at 6.3%, about $145,000 a year, keeping the payment (about $3,370 a month with tax and insurance) at 28% of income. To rent a two-bedroom at 30% of income, about $100,000.
How much is rent in Hackensack?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $2,500 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $1,911 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Hackensack?
The median bill is $9,652 a year, 2.45% of the median home value (New Jersey: $9,590, 2.11%), from the Census 2020–24.
Are home prices in Hackensack going up?
Yes: up 3.8% in the past year and 25.8% in five years, against 35.2% across New Jersey (Zillow).
Neighbors talk housing
What Hackensack buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research, September 2026. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, September 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.