Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town, settled in 1894, counts 6,686 residents.
Old Tappan’s strongest subject is health (A+). It is strong on incomes as well: the median household earns $205K. The catch is cost of living (D−): the typical home is worth about $1.3 million, 13.5 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income. Overall, that makes an A+, better than almost every U.S. town. In the ranking it comes 7th of 466 in New Jersey. The town has 4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Teunis Haring House and Haring-DeWolf House. 77% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more locally, above both New Jersey’s towns (45%) and U.S. towns (29%). This New Jersey town is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · home values, Zillow · National Register of Historic Places.
Where Old Tappan beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Old Tappan | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 2.8% | 9.6% |
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| T. Baldwin Demarest Elementary School | PK–4 | 374 |
| Mindful Montessori | PK–K | 34 |
| Charles DeWolf Middle School | 5–8 | 370 |
Where Old Tappan’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Jersey), ordered by how far Old Tappan is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 269 in 1900, 5,888 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 5 maps from 1937 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Old Tappan. Close and well known come first.
Big draw17 mi City parkCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw19 mi Stadium & arenaMadison Square Garden
Big draw15 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife Stadium
Big draw18 mi TheatreStudio 54
Big draw17 mi MuseumMetropolitan Museum of Art2.0M visitors a year
Big draw14 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 · Studio 54: Americasroof (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Metropolitan Museum of Art: Hugo Schneider, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Yankee Stadium: Matt Boulton, CC BY-SA 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Old Tappan, 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 Old Tappan.
Old Tappan sends many workers across the state line to Orangetown and has less tooth loss than most of New Jersey, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of New Jersey.
At 13.5 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income, the typical home (about $1.34M) costs more against local pay than in 97% of New Jersey towns; that ratio is one input to that grade. Its typical home is the priciest on its borders; Harrington Park is next at $1.01M.
On the market in Old Tappan: a median 82 days to sell. In the year to September 2026, typical home values climbed 8%. The town’s median rent stands at $3,501 a month.
| Old Tappan | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $3,501 a month | $1,778 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 94% | 77% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its A for schools comes with a D− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $1.34M.
Its public schools are run by the Northern Valley Regional High School District. The largest public high school is Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan, with 1,086 students. Public school enrollment in the town: 1,830 students across 3 schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| T. Baldwin Demarest Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 374 | A |
| Northern Valley Regional High School at Old TappanLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,086 | A |
| Charles DeWolf Middle SchoolTop results in townGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 370 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with New Jersey is tooth loss: 2.8% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 9.6% statewide.
Among 468 New Jersey towns, just 8 have a lower share of adults who report frequent mental distress than Old Tappan. In Old Tappan, 13% of adults have been diagnosed with depression. On the CDC’s 32 measures, Old Tappan is ahead of New Jersey on 22 and behind on 2.
| Old Tappan | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 15% | 17% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 28% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 23% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 8.5% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Old Tappan | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 2.8% | 9.6% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 5.6% | 14.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 8.9% | 7.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Violent crime is rare: 2 reported in 2025, 0.3 per 1,000 residents.
In Old Tappan, the violent crime rate is 0.3 per 1,000 residents. Its property crime rate comes in at 1.7 per 1,000 residents.
| Old Tappan | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.7 per 1,000 residents | 7.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.3 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
In 5 parks and preserves, walkers have 3.5 miles of trail. Old Tappan’s concentration of trails is 0.9 miles per square mile. Parks and preserves in the town: 5, covering 27 acres.
| Old Tappan | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 3.5% | 11% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.9 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Stone Point Park | 0.3 mi | 11 |
| 2. Stanaland Park | 0.1 mi | 6 |
| 3. Oaks' Park | — | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
25% of working residents cross a state line to work, Orangetown among the top destinations. Jobs based here fell from 2,011 in 2013 to 1,352.
Since 2013, Old Tappan has lost 659 jobs, to 1,352 in 2023. In Old Tappan, the average trip to work is 34 minutes. Half commute less than 14 miles. Old Tappan: 2.3% of residents live below the poverty line.
| Old Tappan | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $205,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 34 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 2.3% | 6.1% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.3% | 6.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
FEMA expects less storm and flood damage in Old Tappan than in 71% of U.S. communities. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Old Tappan after 10 declared disasters, most recently in 2021. Since 1978, Old Tappan has seen 27 flood insurance claims paid out.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
A winter brings about 33 inches of snow, with January nights at 22° and July afternoons at 86°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
55 within 15 miles of the center of Old Tappan
About 3 of every 100 Old Tappan residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Jersey.
4 places in Old Tappan on the National Register of Historic Places.
3 notable people were born in Old Tappan.
Borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, US
Old Tappan (English pronunciation: /tæˈpæːn/ ) is a borough in northern Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 5,888, an increase of 138 (+2.4%) from the 2010 census count of 5,750, which in turn reflected an increase of 268 (+4.9%) from the 5,482 counted in the 2000 census. Old Tappan was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on October 18, 1894, from portions of Harrington Township, based on the results of a referendum held two days earlier. The borough was formed during the "Boroughitis" phenomenon then sweeping through Bergen County, in which 26 boroughs were formed in the county in 18…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Old Tappan.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Old Tappan | #7 | A+ | D− | A | A | A+ |
| River Vale Township | #6 | A+ | C− | A+ | A− | A+ |
| Northvale | #49 | A | D | A | A− | A |
| Harrington Park | #4 | A+ | D | A+ | A | A+ |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Old Tappan grades A+ overall, among the top 2% of U.S. towns and #7 of 466 in New Jersey. It grades A+ for health, A for safety and A 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−.
3 notable people were born here, including Sophia Hennion Eckerson and David Berkowitz.
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