Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Upper Saddle River grades A overall, 79th among New Jersey's 466 graded towns. It is among the healthiest towns in the country on CDC estimates. Its schools rank ahead of 96% of New Jersey towns and the median household earns $250K. What holds it back is price: the typical home is worth about $1.5 million, 14.9 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income. 77% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Upper Saddle River, above both New Jersey’s towns (45%) and U.S. towns (29%). Upper Saddle River is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 91% of U.S. towns. Only 4 of New Jersey’s 527 towns score higher on civic life.
Where Upper Saddle River beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Upper Saddle River | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.1% | 14.3% |
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Edith A. Bogert Elementary School | 3–5 | 368 |
| Robert D Reynolds Primary School | PK–2 | 355 |
| The Upper Saddle River Children's Academy | PK–K | 81 |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Jersey), ordered by how far Upper Saddle River is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 326 in 1900, 8,353 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1739 and 5 maps from 1910 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Upper Saddle River. Close and well known come first.
Big draw21 mi GardenCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw22 mi Stadium & arenaMadison Square Garden
Big draw17 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife Stadium
Big draw24 mi MuseumUnited States Military Academy
Big draw22 mi TheatreStudio 54
Big draw21 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 Upper Saddle River, 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 Upper Saddle River.
Upper Saddle River has schools in the top 5% of New Jersey and has less food insecurity than most of New Jersey, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of New Jersey.
At 14.9 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income, the typical home (about $1.48M) costs more against local pay than in 98% of New Jersey towns; that ratio is one input to its D− for cost of living.
Upper Saddle River’s median rent is $3,501 a month. Typical home values rose 7.5% in the year to September 2026.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its A+ ranks #7 of the 465 New Jersey towns we grade for schools. Its A+ for schools comes with a D− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $1.48M.
Its public schools are run by the Upper Saddle River School District. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emil A. Cavallini Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 389 | A+ |
| Edith A. Bogert Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades 3–5 | Grades 3–5 | 368 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with New Jersey is food insecurity: 6.1% of its 6,252 adults worry about having enough food, against 14.3% statewide. Against the 436 U.S. towns with household incomes like Upper Saddle River’s, it is healthier than 76%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
Upper Saddle River beats the New Jersey average on 20 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 23% of Upper Saddle River adults have obesity.
| Upper Saddle River | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 28% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.1% | 12% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 6.7% | 11% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 23% |
| What stands out | Upper Saddle River | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.1% | 14.3% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.1% | 11.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 8.7% | 7.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Upper Saddle River has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 21° and about 33 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Jobs based here fell from 4,410 in 2013 to 2,939. 36.8% of workers work from home, against 16.8% across New Jersey.
Only 7 of the 468 New Jersey towns we compare have a higher median household income than Upper Saddle River. 4.5% of residents live below the poverty line in Upper Saddle River. Jobs based in Upper Saddle River fell to 2,939 in 2023, 1,471 fewer than in 2013.
| Upper Saddle River | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $250,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 37 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 4.5% | 6.1% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.7% | 6.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Upper Saddle River's reported crime rate is well below New Jersey's. The property crime rate in Upper Saddle River is 3 per 1,000 residents. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts.
| Upper Saddle River | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3 per 1,000 residents | 7.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.1 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 57% of U.S. communities. Since 1983, 35 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Upper Saddle River.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
0.0 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lions Park | — | 19 |
| 2. Hess Field | — | 6 |
| 3. Liberty Pond Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
29 within 15 miles of the center of Upper Saddle River
About 7 of every 100 Upper Saddle River residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Jersey.
6 places in Upper Saddle River on the National Register of Historic Places.
Borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, US
Upper Saddle River 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 8,353, an increase of 145 (+1.8%) from the 2010 census count of 8,208, which in turn reflected an increase of 467 (+6.0%) from the 7,741 counted in the 2000 census. Upper Saddle River had a per capita income of $73,639 and was ranked 20th in New Jersey based on data from the 2006–2010 American Community Survey (ACS) from the United States Census Bureau, more than double the statewide average of $34,858. In the 2013–2017 ACS, Upper Saddle River had a median household income of $176,674 (ranked 8th in the state) and included 42.9% of households e…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Upper Saddle River.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Saddle River | #79 | A | D− | — | A+ | A+ |
| Ramsey | #57 | A | D− | B+ | A− | A+ |
| Saddle River | #145 | A− | D− | A− | A+ | A+ |
| Mahwah Township | #116 | A | D− | — | A− | A+ |
| Montvale | #78 | A | D | B+ | A− | A+ |
| Woodcliff Lake | #24 | A+ | D | A | A | A+ |
Upper Saddle River and Mahwah Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Upper Saddle River with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Upper Saddle River grades A overall, better than 90% of U.S. towns and #79 of 466 in New Jersey. It grades A+ for health 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−.
_-_Full_(48124330357).jpg){kind=link}
_-_Central_Park,_NYC.jpg){kind=link}