Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 30/100
F
Median home value$475,500
New York $614,200
Median rent$1,688/mo
New York $1,830/mo
Cost-burdened households48%
New York 42%
Garfield
Bergen County32,783 residentsGarfield Public School District
50
D+
Suburbgrade score
33rd of 60 New York suburbs. Strongest on amenities, held back by housing & affordability.
50
New York median 52
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Garfield yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 50 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Garfield is like to live in, by category
Bars show Garfield against New York. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 57/100
C−
Within-state proficiency32nd pct
New York median 35th pct
Student–teacher ratio11.7
New York median 11.6
Graduation rate88%
New York median 88%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 58/100
C
Housing cost index90
New York 100
Eff. tax rate1.75%
New York 1.37%
Local sales tax6.60%
New York median 8.54%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 43/100
D
Mean commute28.0 min
New York 35.6 min
Under 30 minutes59%
New York 44%
Transit stops / sq mi0.6
New York median 2.5 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 76/100
B
Restaurants & cafés80
New York median 59 · within 2 miles
Groceries12
New York median 8 · within 2 miles
Parks57
New York median 61 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 40/100
D−
Median household income$79,700
New York $99,155
Unemployment6.7%
New York 6.8%
Professional occupations32%
New York 48%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
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No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Garfield yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
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Do you feel safe walking after dark?
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Can you walk to a grocery store?
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Is it good for young children?
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Are yards and streets well kept?
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Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Garfield on housing & affordability
Garfield's weakest grade is F. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbHousingOverall
Westfield20 mi from GarfieldB− 70 B− Harrison23 mi from GarfieldC 59 C Hoboken10 mi from GarfieldC 69 B− New City20 mi from GarfieldC 54 C− Fair Lawn4 mi from GarfieldC− 65 C+ Elmont24 mi from GarfieldC− 55 C− Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Ownership rate: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Garfield
Is Garfield, NJ a good place to live?
Garfield scores 50 out of 100, 33rd of 60 New York suburbs. It is strongest on amenities and weakest on housing & affordability. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Garfield expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades C. The median home is $475,500, 23% below the New York median, and the effective property tax rate is 1.75%. $1,688/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Garfield?
Schools grade C−. The districts serving Garfield sit at the 32nd pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 88% graduation rate and a 11.7 student–teacher ratio. Garfield is served by Garfield Public School District. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Garfield?
The mean commute is 28.0 min, with 59% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 6.7% working from home. Transit density is 0.6 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Garfield?
Within two miles there are 12 groceries, 80 restaurants and cafés and 57 parks, which grades B on amenities.
Are the homes in Garfield old or new?
The median home in Garfield was built in 1954 — older than the New York median of 1960. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 28% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.