Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety98#258/15,637
Economy92#1,316/15,631
Housing19#12,080/14,977
Health100#27/15,609
Healthcare99#112/15,650
Environment31#10,563/15,453
Education97#469/15,649
Infrastructure95#767/15,650
Community94#978/15,651
Leisure & amenities90#1,608/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where River Edge, New Jersey ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Bergen County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Dentists · high134 /100k
99/100New Jersey 88 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBergen County value
Reading scores · high3.57
99/100New Jersey 3.22United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBergen County value
Depression · low13.9%
99/100New Jersey 15.6%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Adult smoking · low6.4%
99/100New Jersey 11.3%United States 16.1%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Premature death · low3,958 /100k
99/100New Jersey 6,017 /100kUnited States 8,123 /100k2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBergen County value
Suicide rate · low5.3 /100k
99/100New Jersey 8.0 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataBergen County value

Weaknesses

Effective property tax rate · high2.28%
3/100New Jersey 1.88%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Average commute time · high35.3 min
4/100New Jersey 30.5 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Comfortable days · low23.6%
15/100New Jersey 24.9%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationBergen County value
Rent as share of income · high31.7%
23/100New Jersey 30.9%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Rent-burdened households · high54.6%
26/100New Jersey 51.6%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Job growth · low-0.9%
29/100New Jersey 0.0%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataBergen County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
11,500 (2015-2019) → 12,091 (2020-2024)
+5.1%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
40.2% (2015-2019) → 54.6% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
New homes permittedWorsening
7.0 /1k (2021) → 3.9 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−44%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Median household incomeImproving
$124,598 (2015-2019) → $159,028 (2020-2024)
+28%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
93.4% (2015-2019) → 98.4% (2020-2024)
+5 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Public transit commutersWorsening
16.3% (2015-2019) → 12.1% (2020-2024)
−4.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B08301US 5.0% → 3.2%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, River Edge, New Jersey improved on 2 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 11 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Household income+28%$124,598 → $159,028
Broadband+5 points93.4% → 98.4%

Declined1

Inequality+0.0680.377 → 0.445

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of River Edge, New Jersey between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	35.8 min2015-2019	35.3 min2020-2024	−0.5 min	Within the margin of error	54%
Bachelor's degree or higher	63.2%2015-2019	66.8%2020-2024	+3.5 points	Within the margin of error	56%
Broadband subscriptions	93.4%2015-2019	98.4%2020-2024	+5 points	Improved	32%
Effective property tax rate	2.57%2015-2019	2.28%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	73%
High school diploma or higher	95.1%2015-2019	95.9%2020-2024	+0.8 points	Within the margin of error	43%
Home price to income ratio	4.2×2015-2019	4.2×2020-2024	−0.0×	Within the margin of error	80%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3772015-2019	0.4452020-2024	+0.068	Declined	10%
Median household income	$124,5982015-2019	$159,0282020-2024	+28%	Improved	50%
Poverty rate	4.4%2015-2019	4.4%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	44%
Public transit commuters	16.3%2015-2019	12.1%2020-2024	−4.1 points	Within the margin of error	8%
Rent as share of income	27.7%2015-2019	31.7%2020-2024	+4 points	Within the margin of error	27%
Rent-burdened households	40.2%2015-2019	54.6%2020-2024	+14 points	Within the margin of error	15%
Unemployment rate	2.6%2015-2019	4.7%2020-2024	+2 points	Within the margin of error	16%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	4.6%2015-2019	2.6%2020-2024	−2.1 points	Within the margin of error	69%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like River Edge, New Jersey five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of River Edge, New Jersey in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, River Edge, New Jersey itself moved −9.6 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

12,091 residents (±25)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59
40–49
30–39†
20–29†
10–19
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 20–29 women (−3.2 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

12,091 residents (±25)

River Edge, New Jersey
New Jersey share

White50%6,080
Black4.7%†564
Hispanic or Latino11%†1,383

Education

8,559 residents (±309)

River Edge, New Jersey
New Jersey share

No high school diploma4.1%†350
High school or GED12%999
Some college13%1,101

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

4,503 households (±230)

River Edge, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Under $25k7.7%†346
$25k–50k7.0%†315
$50k–75k9.2%†413
$75k–100k7.6%†342
$100k–150k17%†752
$150k–200k12%522
$200k or more40%1,813

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $200k or more (+14.9 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

4,503 households (±230)

River Edge, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Own76%3,432
Rent24%1,071

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

1,071 households (±213)

River Edge, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Under $7505.4%†58
$750–1,0001.0%†11
$1,000–1,5005.5%†

Home values

3,432 homes (±259)

River Edge, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Under $150k0.3%†9
$150k–250k0.0%0
$250k–400k4.5%†155

Age of homes

4,590 homes (±219)

River Edge, New Jersey
New Jersey share

2010 or later5.0%†231
2000–20094.7%†214
1980–19997.9%†

Size of homes

4,590 homes (±219)

River Edge, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom14%648
2 bedrooms16%755

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

6,209 workers (±477)

River Edge, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Drive alone58%3,615
Carpool6.6%†411
Public transit12%754
Walk0.0%0
Bike0.0%0
Work from home21%†1,326
Other1.7%†103

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Work from home (+16.5 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

4,883 workers (±466)

River Edge, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Under 15 min12%†598
15–29 min39%1,918
30–44 min15%742

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Bergen County, the county holding most of River Edge's residents.

Bergen County has 31,818 employer establishments, 330 for every 10,000 residents (1.33× the US rate of 248; 1.30× New Jersey's), with 441,870 paid employees at an average annual pay of $74,257. The Census Bureau also counts 120,489 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 31,818; 120,489 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 330; US 248 · New Jersey 253
Paid employees: 441,870
Average annual pay: $74,257; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Bergen County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	3,434	35.6	1.71×More than typical	39,332	$75,459	7,066
Restaurants and other eating places	2,408	25	1.36×More than typical	28,521	$28,410	769
Specialty trade contractors	1,645	17.1	1.10×About typical	12,758	$78,966	4,471
Lessors of real estate	1,389	14.4	1.17×About typical	8,265	$70,444	18,127
Offices of physicians	1,202	12.5	1.93×More than typical	11,165	$125,686	1,583
Personal care services	1,104	11.5	2.40×More than typical	5,653	$28,119	2,466
Full-service restaurants	1,040	10.8	1.40×More than typical	15,013	$32,341	328
Construction of buildings	997	10.3	1.37×More than typical	4,420	$82,982	3,078
Services to buildings and dwellings	966	10	1.49×More than typical	8,260	$42,523	3,811
Limited-service restaurants	943	9.8	1.22×About typical	9,594	$24,438	291
Offices of other health practitioners	907	9.4	1.55×More than typical	4,566	$50,201	3,718
Management, scientific and technical consulting	897	9.3	1.39×More than typical	4,707	$90,044	5,786

Rank places for an industry Open Bergen County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 964,156 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in River Edge, New Jersey: $0 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,995
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

37.7KFY2017
24.8KFY2019
35KFY2021
99.6KFY2022

What was bought

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 6, 2026, loaded Oct 6, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in River Edge, New Jersey, so they do not add up across cities.

River Edge, New Jersey's figures are part of those of Bergen County, NJ ($182.4M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: River Edge is mostly in Bergen County.

See federal money in Bergen County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

River Edge, New Jersey is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).