Cost of Living & Housing in Bergen & Passaic Counties
Bergen County's five member places run a genuinely tight, comparatively affluent price band, while Paterson -- Passaic County's largest city -- and rural Ringwood, further north in Passaic County, both sit apart from that Bergen County pattern in very different ways.
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Learn moreBergen County's Affluent, Fairly Tight Band
Hackensack, the Bergen County seat, runs approximately $473,422 (Zillow, up 3.2% year-over-year) against a Redfin median of $465,000 (essentially flat) -- this region's most accessible Bergen County price point. Fort Lee runs a real, disclosed cross-source spread from approximately $365,000 (Redfin median sale, October 2025) up to $463,000 (a 2026 market figure), with a separately-cited 2024 median property value of $448,000. Englewood runs approximately $609,000-$678,000 depending on source. Teaneck runs approximately $575,926. Ridgewood tops this cluster at approximately $1,249,746 (up 8.2% YoY), with a Redfin median of $1,100,000 -- genuinely one of Bergen County's premium markets.
Paterson: A Real, Wide Cross-Source Spread
Paterson's housing figures carry an unusually wide, disclosed spread across sources reviewed: one figure cites approximately $257,305, described as 'relatively accessible for the New York metro area,' while a separate source cites a notably higher $528,882 -- this record does not resolve that gap to one number, and movers evaluating Paterson specifically should confirm current listings directly given how wide this spread runs relative to every other member place in this region.
Ringwood: A Rural Passaic County Outlier
Ringwood, in northern Passaic County bordering New York State, runs a Passaic-County-wide typical home value of approximately $492,033 (up 3.8% YoY), with a specifically Ringwood-focused ZIP 07456 figure of approximately $449,800 and a separately-cited, lower average of $371,205 -- a real, disclosed cross-source spread reflecting Ringwood's more rural, lower-density character relative to the rest of this region.
Key takeaways
- Bergen County's five member places (Hackensack ~$473K, Fort Lee ~$365K-$463K, Englewood ~$609K-$678K, Teaneck ~$576K, Ridgewood ~$1.1M-$1.25M) run a genuinely affluent, fairly tight band, with Ridgewood as the clear premium outlier.
- Paterson carries this region's widest, least-resolved cross-source housing spread ($257K-$529K) -- confirm current listings directly rather than relying on a single cited figure.
- Ringwood, rural northern Passaic County, runs meaningfully below the Bergen County cluster (~$371K-$492K), reflecting its lower-density, more rural character.
- Fort Lee's own disclosed spread ($365K-$463K) is real and worth confirming directly -- it may reflect a genuine, fast-moving market rather than pure data inconsistency.
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