Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Leonia grades A overall, 99th among New Jersey's 466 graded towns. It is among the most walkable places in the country. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 95% of the country and the median household earns $130K. The trade-off is money: homes are expensive, about $861K for a typical one and 8.7 times the New York metro’s $99K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 96% of U.S. towns, with 3 places on the National Register. 29% of the land in Leonia is conserved, where New Jersey’s towns sit at 11% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. On history, just 32 of New Jersey’s 530 towns do better. The biggest park or preserve is Henry Hobel Area, at 50 acres.
Where Leonia beats most towns.
Civil War Drill Hall and ArmoryIts founding year, 1668, comes before those of 97% of the New Jersey towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 804 in 1900, 9,304 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1786 and 7 maps from 1897 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Jersey), ordered by how far Leonia is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 99% of comparable towns) to D− for cost of living (better than 2%), so the A overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Leonia. Close and well known come first.
Big draw6 mi GardenCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw8 mi Stadium & arenaMadison Square Garden
Big draw6 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife Stadium
Big draw6 mi MuseumMetropolitan Museum of Art2.0M visitors a year
Big draw7 mi TheatreStudio 54
Big draw4 mi Stadium & arenaYankee StadiumCentral Park: Ed Yourdon from New York City, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Madison Square Garden: Ajay Suresh from New York, NY, USA, CC BY 2.0 · MetLife Stadium: babyknight, CC BY 2.0 · Metropolitan Museum of Art: Hugo Schneider, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Studio 54: Americasroof (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Yankee Stadium: Matt Boulton, CC BY-SA 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Leonia, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Leonia.
Leonia reports less crime than Palisades Park or any other graded neighbor and sends many workers across the state line, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of New Jersey.
Its widest gap with New Jersey is tooth loss: 4.7% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 9.6% statewide.
12% of Leonia adults have been diagnosed with depression, below both the New Jersey town median (16%) and the median of U.S. towns (23%). 21% of adults have obesity in Leonia. Leonia beats the New Jersey average on 21 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1.
| Leonia | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 16% | 23% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 28% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 15% | 17% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 16% |
| What stands out | Leonia | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 4.7% | 9.6% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 4.1% | 7% |
| More adults with high cholesterol | 43% | 39.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Leonia Public School District. Its three schools are below. The largest public high school is Leonia High School, with 802 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leonia Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 661 | B+ |
| Leonia High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 802 | A− |
| Anna C. Scott Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 517 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
At 8.7 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income, the typical home (about $861K) costs more against local pay than in 84% of New Jersey towns; that ratio is one input to its D− for cost of living.
Leonia’s median rent is $2,073 a month. Typical home values rose 5.6% in the year to September 2026.
| Leonia | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,073 a month | $1,778 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 70% | 77% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
1.6 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves. The trail density in Leonia is 1.0 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Henry Hobel Area | 0.2 mi | 50 |
| 2. Overpeck Park | — | 16 |
| 3. Sylvan Park | — | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A− tops all 5 graded towns on its borders; Palisades Park (A−) comes closest. At 7.5 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 71% of New Jersey’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
27% of working residents cross a state line to work.
Most working residents leave Leonia for work: only 5% work in town. The top destinations are New York (34%), Englewood (3%) and Fort Lee (3%). Half commute less than 14 miles.
| Leonia | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $130,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 17% | 16% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 5.1% | 6.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Leonia has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 24° and about 30 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 65% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 20 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Leonia.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
113 within 15 miles of the center of Leonia
About 7 of every 100 Leonia residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Jersey.
28.8% of the town is conserved land, across 6 parks and preserves.
3 places in Leonia on the National Register of Historic Places.
5 notable people were born in Leonia.
Borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, US
Leonia is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 9,304, an increase of 367 (+4.1%) from the 2010 census count of 8,937, which in turn reflected an increase of 23 (+0.3%) from the 8,914 counted in the 2000 census. The borough is a suburb of New York City, near the western approach to the George Washington Bridge. Leonia was formed as the result of a referendum passed on December 5, 1894, from portions of Ridgefield Township. The borough formed during the "boroughitis" phenomenon then sweeping Bergen County, in which 26 boroughs were formed in the county in 1894 alone. Portions of Leonia were taken on Febr…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Leonia.
It grades higher overall than all 5 graded towns on its borders; Fort Lee (A−) comes closest.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leonia | #99 | A | D− | A− | B+ | A+ |
| Palisades Park | #275 | B− | D− | A− | D | A |
| Englewood | #374 | C− | D− | C+ | C− | A− |
| Fort Lee | #160 | A− | D− | B | A− | A |
| Teaneck Township | #201 | B+ | D | B+ | C+ | A |
| Ridgefield Park | #274 | B− | D | B+ | B− | B+ |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Leonia grades A overall, better than 89% of U.S. towns and #99 of 466 in New Jersey. It grades A+ for health, A− for safety and B+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D−.
5 notable people were born here, including John Darrow and Dan Colen.
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