Best PlacesMahwah, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Mahwah, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Mahwah ranks 1,648th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on big-city access by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Mahwah
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Mahwah's strengths and weaknesses
Where Mahwah ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 99% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than 98% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than 97% of towns
- Household income$145,280 median, better than 97% of towns
- TransitBetter than 97% of towns
Where Mahwah ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,508 a month, better than only 3% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 60 pleasant days a year, better than only 8% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 11% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 12% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Mahwah
A household needs to earn about $194,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Mahwah home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $145,280, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Mahwah's effective rate of 1.47%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Mahwah
Mahwah runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Mahwah.
Who works in Mahwah, and how
Work in Mahwah centers on education and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 65%
- Work from home 26%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in Mahwah
Mahwah has more restaurants and bars per resident than 92% of towns and more parkland per resident than 87% of towns. The coast is about 37 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Mahwah and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Mahwah, month by month
Mahwah sees roughly 60 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 33° | 24° |
| April | 66° | 53° | 41° |
| July | 90° | 78° | 67° |
| October | 70° | 58° | 47° |
Flying in and out of Mahwah
The nearest airport, Westchester County, is about 23 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Laguardia, about 26 miles away.
The best schools in and around Mahwah
Schools across Mahwah average a B, better than 63% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Betsy Ross ElementaryB · 50% proficient
- George Washington SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Joyce Kilmer SchoolB− · 41% proficient
Top middle schools
- Ramapo RidgeB− · 41% proficient
Top high schools
- Mahwah High SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Mahwah school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Mahwah measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Mahwah against the other 50,332 towns.
Who Mahwah suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 93% of towns, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 26% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Mahwah
Is Mahwah a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Mahwah ranks 1,648th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on big-city access, population health, and an educated workforce, and lowest on state finances and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Mahwah expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $678,948. The overall cost of living runs about 18% above the national average. Set against a $145,280 median income, cost of living beats 93% of towns.
Is Mahwah safe?
Yes, Mahwah is safer than 88% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $145 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Mahwah?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 24. That works out to about 60 pleasant days a year, more than 8% of towns.
Is Mahwah good for families?
Schools beat 63% of towns, crime safety beats 88%, and childcare runs $1,508 a month.
Compare Mahwah with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Mahwah. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Mahwah represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Mahwah detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Mahwah: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Mahwah: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Mahwah: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Mahwah: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Mahwah detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.