Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,144, settled in 1889.
Riverdale's standout: the median household earns $103K. Overall it grades B−, 265th among New Jersey's 466 graded towns. It is healthier than 90% of U.S. towns and it is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns. Its weakest subject is cost of living: homes are expensive, about $485K for a typical one and 4.9 times the New York metro’s $99K median household income. Riverdale’s median rent is $2,424 a month, where New Jersey’s towns sit at $1,778 a month and U.S. towns at $1,185 a month. Only 48 of New Jersey’s 530 towns score lower on hazard risk. Slater's Mill is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Riverdale beats most towns.
3,559 counted in 2010 and 4,107 in 2020; an estimated 4,144 in 2025.
Growth has leveled off: within 1% of 2020, after 15.4% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Jersey), ordered by how far Riverdale is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for jobs and income (better than 95% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 8%), so the B− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,052 in 1930, 4,107 in 2020. The archive holds 7 old photos and papers going back to 2007 and 8 maps from 1888 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Riverdale. Close and well known come first.
Big draw23 mi GardenCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw24 mi Stadium & arenaMadison Square Garden
Big draw18 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife Stadium
Big draw24 mi TheatreStudio 54
Big draw24 mi MuseumMetropolitan Museum of Art2.0M visitors a year
Big draw33 mi MuseumUnited States Military AcademyCentral 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 · United States Military Academy: USMA Public Affairs Office, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Riverdale, 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 Riverdale.
Riverdale draws workers from Paterson and beyond, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of New Jersey (mostly inland flooding) and reports more crime than Butler and its other graded neighbors.
3,596 jobs are based in Riverdale, 1.8 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
Most working residents leave Riverdale for work: only 4% work in town. 9.3% of workers work from home in Riverdale. Since 2013, Riverdale has added 189 jobs, to 3,596 in 2023.
| Riverdale | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 9.3% | 17% | 11% |
| Median household income | $103,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.3% | 6.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Riverdale School District. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverdale SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 273 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests
Within New Jersey it is healthier than 58% of the 468 graded towns: New Jersey sets a high bar. Its widest gap with New Jersey is food insecurity: 9.1% of its 3,481 adults worry about having enough food, against 14.3% statewide.
25% of Riverdale adults have obesity. Riverdale beats the New Jersey average on 9 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 17% of Riverdale adults have been diagnosed with depression.
| Riverdale | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 28% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 16% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 15% | 17% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 36% | 36% |
| What stands out | Riverdale | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.1% | 14.3% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 8% | 12.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.9% | 7.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 91% of New Jersey towns, with expected losses of about $694 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on. 102 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 19 properties have flooded more than once.
The FEMA risk score in Riverdale is 83 of 100. Since 1979, 102 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Riverdale.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Each of the 5 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from Butler (A−) to Kinnelon (A+). At 29 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 84% of New Jersey’s graded towns.
Riverdale’s property crime rate is 20 per 1,000 residents.
| Riverdale | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 20 per 1,000 residents | 7.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.5 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Riverdale has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 21° and about 28 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Its typical home is the least expensive on its borders; Pompton Lakes is next at $557K.
The typical Riverdale home is worth about $485,000, up 3% in a year, 16% below the New Jersey typical home.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
People 65 and older are 23% of residents (17% statewide); children under 18 are 16% of residents (22% statewide). 47% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 44% across New Jersey.
| Riverdale | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 50.2 years | 42 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 16% | 21% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 23% | 18% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 47% | 45% | 29% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.6 points. Across New Jersey, 50.8% of residents are women.
| Riverdale | NJ | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8.5% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.9% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.4% | 8.4% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.3% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.6% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 14.1% | 12.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 18.6% | 13.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.8% | 10% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.9% | 7.2% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3% | 9.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 28.2% | 25.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 13.3% | 15% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.4% | 6.7% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 29.4% | 26.1% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 17.7% | 17.6% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,100, single groups can be off by several points
| Riverdale | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.9% | 11% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Freedom Park | 0.3 mi | 10 |
| 2. Appelt Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
13 within 15 miles of the center of Riverdale
About 7 of every 100 Riverdale residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Jersey.
Where Riverdale’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Borough in Morris County, New Jersey, US
Riverdale is a borough in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 4,107, an increase of 548 (+15.4%) from the 2010 census count of 3,559, which in turn reflected an increase of 1,061 (+42.5%) from the 2,498 counted in the 2000 census. Riverdale was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 12, 1923, from portions of Pequannock Township, subject to the results of a referendum passed on April 17, 1923. Riverdale is situated in the northeasternmost part of Morris County bordering Passaic County along the Pequannock and Pompton rivers.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Riverdale.
All 5 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its B−; Bloomingdale (B) is closest.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riverdale | #265 | B− | D | C | B+ | A |
| Bloomingdale | #230 | B | D | A | C+ | A− |
| Pompton Lakes | #129 | A | C− | A | B+ | A |
| Pompton Plains | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Pequannock Township | #92 | A | D− | A | A− | A |
| Kinnelon | #48 | A | D− | A+ | A | A+ |
| Butler | #110 | A | C− | A− | B | A |
Pompton Plains isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Riverdale with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Riverdale grades B− overall, better than 54% of U.S. towns and #265 of 466 in New Jersey. It grades A for health, C 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.
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