Best PlacesPassaic Junction, Saddle Brook, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Passaic Junction, Saddle Brook, 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.
Passaic Junction, Saddle Brook ranks 2,306th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Passaic Junction, Saddle Brook
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.
Passaic Junction, Saddle Brook's strengths and weaknesses
Where Passaic Junction, Saddle Brook ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than 85% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than 85% of neighborhoods
Where Passaic Junction, Saddle Brook ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 58 pleasant days a year, better than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$1,508 a month, better than only 20% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Passaic Junction, Saddle Brook
A household needs to earn about $153,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Passaic Junction, Saddle Brook home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $125,060, 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 Passaic Junction, Saddle Brook's effective rate of 1.92%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Passaic Junction, Saddle Brook
Passaic Junction, Saddle Brook's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Passaic Junction, Saddle Brook.
Who works in Passaic Junction, Saddle Brook, and how
Work in Passaic Junction, Saddle Brook centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Passaic Junction, Saddle Brook
The coast is about 24 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Passaic Junction, Saddle Brook, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Passaic Junction, Saddle Brook, month by month
Passaic Junction, Saddle Brook sees roughly 58 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 34° | 26° |
| April | 65° | 53° | 42° |
| July | 90° | 79° | 69° |
| October | 71° | 59° | 48° |
Flying in and out of Passaic Junction, Saddle Brook
Laguardia sits about 15 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 16.3 million passengers in 2025, with 118 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Passaic Junction, Saddle Brook
Schools across Passaic Junction, Saddle Brook average a C−, better than 27% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Midland School #1C− · 29% proficient
- Salome H. Long Memorial SchoolD+ · 23% proficient
- Helen I. Smith SchoolD+ · 23% proficient
Top middle schools
- Memorial Middle SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
Top high schools
- Saddle Brook Middle/high SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Memorial Senior High SchoolD · 21% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Passaic Junction, Saddle Brook school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Passaic Junction, Saddle Brook 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 Passaic Junction, Saddle Brook against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Passaic Junction, Saddle Brook
Is Passaic Junction, Saddle Brook a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Passaic Junction, Saddle Brook ranks 2,306th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on few empty homes, fast internet, and big-city access, and lowest on state finances and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Passaic Junction, Saddle Brook expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $508,215. The overall cost of living runs about 17% above the national average. Set against a $125,060 median income, cost of living beats 78% of neighborhoods.
Is Passaic Junction, Saddle Brook safe?
Yes, Passaic Junction, Saddle Brook is safer than 63% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $273 per resident a year.
Compare Passaic Junction, Saddle Brook with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Passaic Junction, Saddle Brook. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Passaic Junction, Saddle Brook 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.
Passaic Junction, Saddle Brook detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Passaic Junction, Saddle Brook: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Passaic Junction, Saddle Brook: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Passaic Junction, Saddle Brook: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Passaic Junction, Saddle Brook: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Passaic Junction, Saddle Brook 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.