Living in Bergen & Passaic Counties

This region covers Bergen County's dense, affluent inner suburbs alongside Passaic County's genuinely different pair of member places: historic, industrial Paterson and rural Ringwood. Fort Lee sits directly at the western terminus of the George Washington Bridge and is home to one of the largest, fastest-growing Korean-American communities outside Korea (roughly 43.6% of residents). Teaneck carries a real, historically significant distinction: in 1964, its Board of Education voted to voluntarily desegregate its public schools, the first town in the nation to do so by a white-majority vote without a court order. Ridgewood anchors this region's premium tier with top public schools and Midtown Direct rail access. Paterson, further west, preserves a genuinely significant piece of American industrial history at Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park, where Alexander Hamilton envisioned the nation's first planned industrial city in 1792 -- Paterson later became known as 'Silk City,' producing roughly half the world's silk at its peak. Ringwood, tucked into the Ramapo Mountains along the New York border, offers this region's most rural, forested alternative.

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Last reviewed: 2026-09-05. Independent research; see individual place pages for metric-level source attribution. This is not financial, tax, or legal advice -- confirm current figures with a local professional before making a decision.