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.

Safety

C−ParamusSafer than 16% of U.S. towns A−River EdgeSafer than 82% of U.S. towns

Schools

B+ParamusBetter than 72% of districts in the state ARiver EdgeBetter than 94% of districts in the state

Health

AParamusHealthier than 93% of U.S. towns A+River EdgeHealthier than 99% of U.S. towns

8Paramus

17River Edge

Lists won, of 25 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

SafestSafety · 324 towns #303#102 Most activeHealth · 469 towns #213#43 Cheapest rentCost of living · 464 towns #442#280 Best schoolsSchools · 458 towns #187#29 Fastest growingGrowth · 469 towns #292#131 Shortest commuteGetting around · 469 towns #256#392 HealthiestHealth · 469 towns #162#30 Most walkableOutdoors · 469 towns #199#77

Left end = #1 in New Jersey. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Paramus’s rankings →

Monthly cost

A typical home costs $1,160 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.

Down paymentRate%

Paramus$6,760/mo

Typical home $1.08M (Zillow) · tax rate 1.23%+ · or rent about $3,032/mo · Housing →

River Edge$5,600/mo

Typical home $861K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.51%+ · or rent about $1,879/mo · Housing →

The difference: $1,160 a month, about $13,900 a year, between Paramus and River Edge.

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.

Where they are

Paramus and River Edge share a border

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

ParamusRiver Edge

Paramus ↔ River Edge2.2 miles apart · They share a border

Who commutes between them

270 River Edge residents work in Paramus (4.6% of its workers)

Work & commute in River Edge →

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

ParamusRiver Edge

Snow a year33″33″

January low23°F 23°F

July high86°F 86°F

Growing season (days)189d 189d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)48th 64th

Outdoors & history

ParamusRiver Edge

Trails18 mi 3 mi

Conserved land10.1%12.8%

Settled1922 1894

National Register places6 6

Archive photos—6

Community

ParamusRiver Edge

Library hours a week68 hrs 49 hrs

Colleges in town1 —

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

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.

Only big differences vs New Jersey average

ParamusRiver Edge

People

Population 26,568Highest 12,091Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +1.4%Lowest NJ: +5.7% +6.3%Highest NJ: +5.7%

Median age 49.1±2.8Highest 22% above NJ 43.6±2.8Lowest 9% above NJ

Paramus and River Edge are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 18.5%±1.8Lowest NJ: 21.8% 21.6%±3.5Highest NJ: 21.8%

River Edge and Paramus are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 26.2%±2.3Highest NJ: 17.2% 16.6%±2.7Lowest NJ: 17.2%

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 51.8%Lowest NJ: 43.6% 66.8%Highest NJ: 43.6%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 6.3%±1.2Highest NJ: 6.4% 4.5%±1.4Lowest NJ: 6.4%

Paramus and River Edge are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $144,349±$16kLowest 39% above NJ $159,028±$21kHighest 54% above NJ

River Edge and Paramus are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $813,900±$23kHighest 79% above NJ $660,300±$23kLowest 45% above NJ

Rentmedian gross, monthly $3,032±$340Highest 76% above NJ $1,879±$98Lowest 9% above NJ

Property taxmedian, yearly $10,000+ at least 4% above NJ $10,000+ at least 4% above NJ

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 57.8%±14.2Highest NJ: 51.6% 54.6%±14.2Lowest NJ: 51.6%

Paramus and River Edge are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 4.7%Highest NJ: 9.7% 4.4%Lowest NJ: 9.7%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 82.6%Highest NJ: 63.8% 76.2%Lowest NJ: 63.8%

Typical home builtmedian year 1963Highest 7 yrs older than NJ 1954Lowest 16 yrs older than NJ

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 31 minLowest about the NJ average 35 minHighest 16% above NJ

Work from home 21.7%±4Highest NJ: 16.8% 21.4%±6.3Lowest NJ: 16.8%

Paramus and River Edge are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 11.8%Highest 3.5%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 10.8 miLowest 12.8 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 3.09Highest 0.65Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town New York (20%)New York (26%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in River Edge5% work in Paramus

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 10.1%Lowest 12.8%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 18.1 miHighest 2.6 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 1.7 miHighest 1.4 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 20Highest 4Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 81.2Lowest 133Highest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #187 of 458 in NJ #29 of 458 in NJ

School district Bergen County Vocational Technical School District · Paramus Public School DistrictRiver Dell Regional School District · River Edge School District

High school in town Paramus High SchoolNone in town

Students per teacherat that high school 11.3 —

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.

River Edge neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to River Edge’s Town Square.

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Bordering Paramus

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Fair Lawn35,610 people · $565K homes

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Ridgewood26,308 people · $891K homes

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Washington Township9,323 people · $664K homes

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Point Pleasant19,334 people · $575K homes

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Pequannock Township15,641 people · $553K homes

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.

Paramus vs River Edge

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

River Edge places higher on 17 of 25 NJ lists

A typical home costs $1,160 more a month in Paramus

Paramus and River Edge share a border

What daily life feels like in each

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Paramus and River Edge

Bordering Paramus

Towns like Paramus

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