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Paramus vs Hackensack

Next-door neighbors. The biggest differences: home values (2.1× in Paramus) and household income (+71% in Paramus).

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Paramus, NJHomes around $1.08MNew Jersey · 26,568 people
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Hackensack, NJA colonial town, settled 1665New Jersey · 46,057 people
Where each one shines

Two towns, two different strengths

What each town does better than most of its state (not better than each other). Tap one to see the page behind it.

The biggest differences

Where they part ways

The rows below where the towns are furthest apart, beyond the Census margin of error. The full table is further down.

★ What stands out · Monthly cost

A typical home costs $3,300 more a month in Paramus

A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Paramus$6,760/mo
Typical home $1.08M (Zillow) · tax rate 1.23%+ · or rent about $3,032/mo · Housing →
Hackensack$3,460/mo
Typical home $475K (Zillow) · tax rate 2.45% · or rent about $1,911/mo · Housing →

The difference: $3,300 a month, about $39,700 a year, between Paramus and Hackensack.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value; “+” means the Census top-codes that town’s bill at $10,000, so its real rate is higher.

Report cards

Paramus places higher on 16 of 25 NJ lists

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every New Jersey ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Where they are

Paramus and Hackensack share a border

And the people who already live in one and work in the other.

ParamusHackensackParamusHackensack
Paramus ↔ Hackensack4.2 miles apart · They share a border
Who commutes between them
951 Hackensack residents work in Paramus (4.3% of its workers)
526 Paramus residents work in Hackensack (4% of its workers)
Work & commute in Hackensack →
Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons
ParamusHackensack
Snow a year33″28″
January low23°F25°F
July high86°F87°F
Growing season (days)189d216d
Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)48th54th
Outdoors & history
ParamusHackensack
Trails18 mi5 mi
Conserved land10.1%3.5%
Settled19221665
National Register places66
Archive photos—24
Famous people born here—71
Community
ParamusHackensack
Library hours a week68 hrs64 hrs
Colleges in town11
Posts this month00
Neighbors joined00

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

ParamusHackensack
People
Population 26,568Lowest 46,057Highest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +1.4%Lowest NJ: +5.7% +7%Highest NJ: +5.7%
Median age 49.1±2.8Highest 22% above NJ 41.8±2.1Lowest 4% above NJ
Kids under 18 18.5%±1.8Highest NJ: 21.8% 14.7%±1.5Lowest NJ: 21.8%
Age 65+ 26.2%±2.3Highest NJ: 17.2% 18.1%±1.6Lowest NJ: 17.2%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 51.8%Highest NJ: 43.6% 42.1%Lowest NJ: 43.6%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 6.3%±1.2Lowest NJ: 6.4% 6.5%±1.2Highest NJ: 6.4%
Hackensack and Paramus are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian $144,349±$16kHighest 39% above NJ $84,277±$5kLowest 19% below NJ
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $813,900±$23kHighest 79% above NJ $393,700±$24kLowest 13% below NJ
Rentmedian gross, monthly $3,032±$340Highest 76% above NJ $1,911±$50Lowest 11% above NJ
Property taxmedian, yearly $10,000+Highest at least 4% above NJ $9,652Lowest about the NJ average
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 57.8%±14.2Highest NJ: 51.6% 51.4%±4.9Lowest NJ: 51.6%
Paramus and Hackensack are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line 4.7%Lowest NJ: 9.7% 12.1%Highest NJ: 9.7%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes 82.6%Highest NJ: 63.8% 36.6%Lowest NJ: 63.8%
Typical home builtmedian year 1963Lowest 7 yrs older than NJ 1969Highest 1 yr older than NJ
Getting to work
Average commuteone way 31 minHighest about the NJ average 29 minLowest 5% below NJ
Work from home 21.7%±4Highest NJ: 16.8% 14.4%±2Lowest NJ: 16.8%
Work in townworking residents 11.8%Highest 11.7%Lowest
Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 10.8 miHighest 9.8 miLowest
Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 3.09Highest 1.71Lowest
Top workplaceoutside town New York (20%)New York (21%)
Between these townsresidents who work in the others 4% work in Hackensack4% work in Paramus
Outdoors
Conserved landshare of the town 10.1%Highest 3.5%Lowest
Trailsmapped miles 18.1 miHighest 4.7 miLowest
Trail densitymiles per sq mi 1.7 miHighest 1.1 miLowest
Parks & preservesnamed on the map 20Highest 15Lowest
Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 81.2Lowest 150Highest
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #187 of 458 in NJ#228 of 458 in NJ
School district Bergen County Vocational Technical School District · Paramus Public School DistrictBergen County Vocational Technical School District · Hackensack School District
High school in town Paramus High SchoolHackensack High School
Students per teacherat that high school 11.3Lowest 13.2Highest
New Jersey average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024
Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Paramus neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Paramus’s Town Square.

Hackensack neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Hackensack’s Town Square.

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Bordering Paramus

Towns like Paramus

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

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