Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of contrasts. On health it is strong — residents are healthier than 89% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. It also does well on walkability (A+). Cost of living is its weak spot: the typical home is worth about $994K, 10 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income. Schools are weaker too (D): its public schools trail 89% of New Jersey towns on state tests and graduation. The overall grade lands at B−, 275th of 466 in New Jersey. Set against the rest, it does better than 53% of U.S. towns. Palisades Park’s concentration of trails is 1.4 miles per square mile, against 0.7 in New Jersey’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · schools, state test and graduation results · OpenStreetMap.
Where Palisades Park beats most towns.
Where Palisades Park’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 Palisades Park 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 B− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 644 in 1900, 20,292 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1909 and 4 maps from 1956 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Palisades Park. Close and well known come first.
Big draw5 mi City parkCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw7 mi Stadium & arenaMadison Square Garden
Big draw5 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife Stadium
Big draw5 mi MuseumMetropolitan Museum of Art2.0M visitors a year
Big draw6 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 Palisades Park, 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 Palisades Park.
Palisades Park sends many workers across the state line and is safe by national standards but not by New Jersey’s; it also has homes that cost more against local pay than most of New Jersey.
At 10 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income, the typical home (about $994K) costs more against local pay than in 88% of New Jersey towns; that ratio is one input to that grade. Its typical home is the priciest on its borders; Leonia is next at $861K.
The typical home value in Palisades Park is about $994,000, up 9.9% in a year, 73% above the New Jersey typical home. 36% of Palisades Park households are owner-occupiers. The town’s going rate for rent is $2,009 a month.
| Palisades Park | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 36% | 77% | 73% |
| Median rent | $2,009 a month | $1,778 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Each of its 4 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than that grade, Fort Lee highest at A−.
The public schools here belong to the Palisades Park School District. Two of its 4 schools are shown below, with the reason for each. The largest public high school is Palisades Park Jr-Sr High School, with 747 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lindbergh Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades 1–6 | Grades 1–6 | 762 | C |
| Palisades Park Jr-Sr High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 747 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
| Palisades Park | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.4 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 11% | 11% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Columbus Park | 0.1 mi | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Within New Jersey it is healthier than 55% of the 468 graded towns: New Jersey sets a high bar. Its widest gap with New Jersey is cancer: 4.6% of its 16,938 adults have had cancer, against 7.5% statewide.
Of the 468 New Jersey towns we compare, none has a lower share of adults who have been diagnosed with depression than Palisades Park. The share of adults in Palisades Park who have high blood pressure: 30%. This New Jersey town beats the New Jersey average on 16 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1.
| Palisades Park | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 16% | 23% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 28% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 16% | 16% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 15% | 17% |
| What stands out | Palisades Park | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 4.6% | 7.5% |
| Fewer adults with COPD | 3.4% | 5.1% |
| More adults lacking emotional support | 29.7% | 24% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 8.1 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 69% of New Jersey’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 167 to 110 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The violent crime rate in Palisades Park is 0.3 per 1,000 residents. The property crime rate here is 5 per 1,000 residents.
| Palisades Park | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5 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
21% of working residents cross a state line to work.
For half of commuters, work is under 12 miles away. Jobs based in Palisades Park grew to 3,350 in 2023, 360 more than in 2013. The top destinations are New York (27%), Fort Lee (4%) and Englewood Cliffs (3%). The median household income for Palisades Park comes to $95,000.
| Palisades Park | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $95,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 13% | 17% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 9.4% | 6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
A winter brings about 30 inches of snow, with January nights at 24° and July afternoons at 86°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Only 35.5% of households own their home, against 63.8% across New Jersey.
51% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Palisades Park. Children under 18 are 15% of residents (22% statewide). For Palisades Park, the midpoint age is 42.9 years.
| Palisades Park | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 15% | 21% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 51% | 45% | 29% |
| Median age | 42.9 years | 42 years | 40.5 years |
53% women, 47% men
About 88 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±2.6 points). Across New Jersey, 50.8% of residents are women.
| Palisades Park | NJ | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.9% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 6.8% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.5% | 8.4% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 17.5% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.1% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.2% | 12.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.5% | 13.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.6% | 10% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9% | 7.2% | 7% |
| No diploma | 11.8% | 9.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 19.7% | 25.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 12.1% | 15% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 5.4% | 6.7% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 38% | 26.1% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12.9% | 17.6% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Expected losses in Palisades Park break down as 69% from inland flooding and 6% from hurricanes. Compared with 61% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage here is lower. Paid flood insurance claims in the town since 1981: 21.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
126 within 15 miles of the center of Palisades Park
About 5 of every 100 Palisades Park residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Jersey.
Borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, US
Palisades Park 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 20,292, an increase of 670 (+3.4%) from the 2010 census count of 19,622, which in turn reflected an increase of 2,549 (+14.9%) from the 17,073 counted in the 2000 census. The borough of Palisades Park was created by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 22, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township. A portion of its area was annexed by the neighboring borough of Fort Lee in April 1909. The borough was named for its location atop the New Jersey Palisades. It is one of the largest and fastest-growing ethnic Korean enclaves outside of Korea. …
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Palisades Park.
All 4 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its B−; Ridgefield Park (B−) is closest.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palisades Park | #275 | B− | D− | A− | D | A |
| Leonia | #99 | A | D− | A− | B+ | A+ |
| Fort Lee | #160 | A− | D− | B | A− | A |
| Ridgefield Park | #274 | B− | D | B+ | B− | B+ |
| Ridgefield | #196 | B+ | D− | A− | B− | A |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
It grades A for health, A− for safety and D 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−.
2 notable people were born here, including Barbara Bennett and Barbara McLean.
_-_Full_(48124330357).jpg){kind=link}
_-_Central_Park,_NYC.jpg){kind=link}
