Palisades Park, New Jersey

Area Profile

20,290 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Palisades Park, in Bergen County.

58out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 47% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
OpportunityTop 9% of 4,199 cities measured79
Schools2,739th of 4,162 cities measured38
Growth2,918th of 4,224 cities measured41
Housing affordability3,610th of 4,218 cities measured44
ClimateTop 47% of 4,225 cities measured71
Physical resilience2,577th of 4,226 cities measured47
AccessTop 36% of 4,226 cities measured96
Economic stabilityTop 31% of 4,226 cities measured67
The quick read

Palisades Park ranks in the top 9% of cities measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.9% and median household income of $94,743. The unemployment rate is published for Bergen County, NJ, which contains Palisades Park, rather than for Palisades Park alone.

In the public schools here, 31% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 11.4 students for every teacher.

24 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 4% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
20,290
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$94,743
Top 21% nationally
Density
16,376/sq mi
1.2 sq mi of land
Median age
42.9
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
New Jersey
Nearest major airport
EWR
14 mi · Newark Liberty Intl
Median home value
$719,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Bergen County, NJ, which contains Palisades Park, is 3.9%, lower than in 65% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Bergen County, NJ, which contains Palisades Park, grew 2.5% over the past year, to 527,798 employed residents.

51% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 89% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsBergen County, NJ’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$115,23690th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftBergen County, NJ’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$113,33190th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$9,4302024 ACS 5-Year$94,743Top 21%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$4,5152024 ACS 5-Year$46,914Top 21%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year9.1%Top 43%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±2.4 min2024 ACS 5-Year34.2 minBottom 18%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year51.0%Top 11%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year54.9%9th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentBergen County, NJ’s figureJuly 2026527,798Top 14%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Bergen County, NJ’s figureJuly 2026+1.7%Top 24%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Bergen County, NJ’s figureJuly 2026+2.5%Top 5%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceBergen County, NJ’s figureJuly 2026549,35386th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year83.2%Top 31%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageNew York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$86,310Top 17%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageNew York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$61,430Top 19%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year14.1%99th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Bergen County, NJ’s figureJuly 2026−1.1%Top 10%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateBergen County, NJ’s figureJuly 20263.9%Top 35%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year12.6%70th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

2021202220232024101k76k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $94,743 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides644,700$39,680
Retail Salespersons202,080$38,280
Registered Nurses197,740$119,720
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners183,030$42,840
General and Operations Managers177,850$157,000
Cashiers173,830$35,950

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Bergen County, NJ, which contains this city.

31% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 50% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 11.4 students for every full-time teacher across 3 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
3
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
11.4
across all schools here
Math proficiency
31.0%
Bottom 21% in New Jersey
Reading proficiency
50.0%
Bottom 27% in New Jersey
All 3 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Lindbergh Elementary SchoolPalisades Park School District76212.135%50%
Palisades Park Jr-Sr High SchoolPalisades Park School District74713.827%50%
Charles R Smith Early Chilhood CenterPalisades Park School District2776.9——

74.6% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against New Jersey’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 13% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 112.6, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division is up 45% over five years, and up 5.7% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $2,590, some 29% above the $2,009 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $2,590 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $103,600 a year, about 109% of the median household income here of $94,743.

The typical renter household here spends 32% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $2,009 a month.

A median home at $719,600 costs 5.5 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $131,719, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Cost of living
112.6

Prices here run about 13% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
31.6%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
5.5×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$2,590
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$2,009
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$719,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Palisades Park’s median household income of $94,743, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ Metro Area’s figure2023112.6Bottom 16%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+5.7%84th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+45.1%57th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+81.4%29th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.82024 ACS 5-Year5.5Bottom 6%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year35.5%3rd percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4062024 ACS 5-Year7,61492nd percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$2,260Bottom 12%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$3,160Bottom 16%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$2,590Bottom 14%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1492024 ACS 5-Year$2,009Bottom 8%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$61,1732024 ACS 5-Year$719,60095th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes2024 ACS 5-Year$10,000+—2024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$16,4982024 ACS 5-Year$131,719Top 11%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year31.6%Bottom 33%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±262024 ACS 5-Year01st percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year1.9%21st percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1122024 ACS 5-Year14272nd percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

41/ 100
Ranks 2,918 of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been falling for the last 2 years of a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 1% since 2020, reaching 20,520 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 24 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show that people moving in from elsewhere in the US and people moving out roughly balanced across Bergen County, which contains Palisades Park, in the most recent year. Households that moved in reported an average income of $115,236, close to the $113,331 of households that moved out.

At 1.2 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
24
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.2
Bottom 29% nationally
Year over year
−4%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202421k20k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 2 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.1%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
54%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$115,236
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$113,331
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Hudson County, NJ 6,721 people · 18% of arrivals
  2. Passaic County, NJ 4,930 people · 13% of arrivals
  3. New York County, NY 3,133 people · 8.3% of arrivals
  4. Queens County, NY 2,637 people · 7.0% of arrivals
  5. Bronx County, NY 1,991 people · 5.2% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Passaic County, NJ 4,509 people · 12% of departures
  2. Hudson County, NJ 3,312 people · 8.5% of departures
  3. New York County, NY 2,078 people · 5.3% of departures
  4. Essex County, NJ 1,980 people · 5.1% of departures
  5. Morris County, NJ 1,909 people · 4.9% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Bergen County, NJ. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2020202120222023202420258328
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−66%).

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 87°F and January a low of 26°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 46.3 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 40, in the Good band, and about 10 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station TETERBORO AP, 3.4 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.5"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year632024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals46.3"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals26°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals87°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year102024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year402024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals45°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
40
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
63
90th percentile index
Days above 100
10
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

47 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, coastal flooding and earthquake, with inland flooding alone responsible for 67% of it.

Coastal floodingHigh
Inland floodingModerate
EarthquakeElevated
HurricaneModerate
DroughtModerate

Low or minimal exposure: winter weather, strong wind, heat wave, lightning, tornado, cold wave, ice storm, landslide, wildfire, hail, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
34
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
501
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Palisades Park's police department reported 34 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, lower than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 501.

Bergen County has a modeled homicide rate of about 1.0 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 1.5 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 8.0 per 100,000 residents in Bergen County.

Homicide
1.0
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
1.5
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
8.0
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
5.3
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Palisades Park’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Palisades Park (Bergen County) rather than Palisades Park itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Newark Liberty Intl at 14 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year92.7%Top 36%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle14 miTop 39%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Bottom 38%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year5.6%Top 40%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Newark Liberty IntlEWR14 mi9,999 ft
John F Kennedy IntlJFK18 mi14,511 ft
New York Stewart IntlSWF46 mi11,817 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
58
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—

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Other cities in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
New YorkNew York County8,483,84461New York vs Palisades Park
NewarkEssex County310,17853Newark vs Palisades Park
Jersey CityHudson County294,07863Jersey City vs Palisades Park
YonkersWestchester County209,97861
PatersonPassaic County158,73545
ElizabethUnion County137,30255
Toms RiverOcean County94,95658
CliftonPassaic County89,37958
New RochelleWestchester County82,76968
Mount VernonWestchester County72,42756
BayonneHudson County71,55355
East OrangeEssex County70,09052

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Palisades Park side by side with a similar place.

Palisades Park vs EnglewoodPalisades Park vs Elmwood Park

Moving to Palisades Park from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Palisades Park

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Palisades Park with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Palisades Park closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
0765020,290$94,743$719,600—