Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Ramsey’s best grade is for health: it is healthier than 98% of U.S. towns. It is strong on incomes as well — the median household earns $161K. The drawback is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $884K, 8.9 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income. Put together, the subjects come to an A overall, ranking 57th of 466 in New Jersey. Set against the rest, it does better than 93% of U.S. towns. The town is home to Eastwick College-Ramsey. 67% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more locally, above both the New Jersey town median (45%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%). This New Jersey town is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · home values, Zillow.
Where Ramsey beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Jersey), ordered by how far Ramsey is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,074 in 1900, 14,798 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1940 and 5 maps from 1910 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Ramsey. Close and well known come first.
Big draw22 mi City parkCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw23 mi Stadium & arenaMadison Square Garden
Big draw18 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife Stadium
Big draw25 mi MuseumUnited States Military Academy
Big draw22 mi TheatreStudio 54
Big draw22 mi MuseumMetropolitan Museum of Art2.0M visitors a yearCentral 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 · United States Military Academy: USMA Public Affairs Office, Public domain · Studio 54: Americasroof (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Metropolitan Museum of Art: Hugo Schneider, CC BY-SA 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ramsey, 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 Ramsey.
Ramsey carries less natural-hazard risk than most of New Jersey (mostly inland flooding), but it has seen reported crime rise by a fifth or more and has homes that cost more against local pay than most of New Jersey.
Its widest gap with New Jersey is food insecurity: 7% of its 11,422 adults worry about having enough food, against 14.3% statewide.
Just over one in ten adults say their health is fair or poor in Ramsey. Of 32 CDC measures, Ramsey beats the New Jersey average on 18 and trails it on 1. In Ramsey, 7.5% of adults smoke cigarettes, and 9.8% report frequent physical distress.
| Ramsey | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 28% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 7.5% | 11% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.8% | 12% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 16% | 23% |
| What stands out | Ramsey | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7% | 14.3% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.1% | 11.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9% | 7.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its A− for schools comes with a D− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $884K.
The largest public high school is Ramsey High School, with 739 students. The Ramsey School District runs its public schools. Three of its 7 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eric S. Smith Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 613 | A− |
| Ramsey High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 739 | A− |
| Mary A. Hubbard Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–3 | Grades PK–3 | 331 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
At 8.9 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income, the typical home (about $884K) costs more against local pay than in 85% of New Jersey towns; that ratio is one input to that grade.
Ramsey’s rent at the middle of the market is $2,245 a month. Typical home values rose 10% in the year to September 2026. Among households here, 79% own their home.
| Ramsey | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,245 a month | $1,778 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 79% | 77% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The biggest park or preserve is Darlington County Park, at 34 acres. There are 5.0 miles of trail across 11 parks and preserves. In Ramsey, the trail network density is 0.9 miles per square mile.
| Ramsey | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.9 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 9.4% | 11% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Deer Trail North Property | 1 mi | 27 |
| 2. H & T Property | 0.6 mi | 30 |
| 3. Royale Tract | 0.5 mi | 32 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 87% of New Jersey towns, with expected losses of about $275 per resident a year; that rating is what its A− for hazard risk is built on.
FEMA puts 72% of Ramsey’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 9% to earthquakes. In Ramsey, the FEMA risk score is 22 of 100. Households here have drawn federal disaster aid in 11 declared disasters, most recently in 2021.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Reported crimes rose from 130 to 170 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. At 10.8 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 58% of New Jersey’s graded towns.
Ramsey’s level of violent crime comes in at 0.3 per 1,000 residents.
| Ramsey | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.3 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 11 per 1,000 residents | 7.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Ramsey brings chilly, snowy winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Summer afternoons peak near 85° in July, and January nights bottom out around 21°; snowfall runs to about 33 inches a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
In Ramsey, 23% of workers work from home. Most people who work leave Ramsey to do it: just 10% work in town. Its mean commuting time stands at 32 minutes. For half of commuters, work is under 14 miles away.
| Ramsey | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $161,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 23% | 16% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 4.3% | 6.1% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
28 within 15 miles of the center of Ramsey
About 5 of every 100 Ramsey residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Jersey.
2 places in Ramsey on the National Register of Historic Places.
5 notable people were born in Ramsey.
Borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, US
Ramsey is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a suburb of New York City, located 26 miles (42 km) northwest of Midtown Manhattan. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 14,798, an increase of 325 (+2.2%) from the 2010 census count of 14,473, which in turn reflected an increase of 122 (+0.9%) from the 14,351 counted in the 2000 census. Ramsey was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 10, 1908, from portions of Hohokus Township (whose remnants are now Mahwah Township). Additional territory was annexed from Waldwick in 1921, and portions of the borough were ceded to Saddle River in 1925.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Ramsey.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ramsey | #57 | A | D− | B+ | A− | A+ |
| Mahwah Township | #116 | A | D− | — | A− | A+ |
| Allendale | #3 | A+ | D− | A | A+ | A+ |
| Upper Saddle River | #79 | A | D− | — | A+ | A+ |
Mahwah Township and Upper Saddle River report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Ramsey with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Ramsey grades A overall, better than 93% of U.S. towns and #57 of 466 in New Jersey. It grades A+ for health, B+ 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−.
5 notable people were born here, including Ryan McGinley and Jeremiah Fraites.
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