Oakland: Best Place to Live for Young Families

Located on the western edge of Bergen County, Oakland is woodsy and a bit remote, but its midsize homes, good schools and low crime rate make it popular with young families.

Located on the western edge of Bergen County, Oakland is woodsy and a bit remote, but its midsize homes, good schools and low crime rate make it popular with young families. Property taxes are reasonable for the area—the average 2012 tax bill was $10,318—while home prices increased 10 percent between 2010 and 2012. The median home sales price in 2012 was $462,500. “It’s a more affordable town, and you are getting excellent schools and excellent programs for the kids,” says Eileen Bassi, a RE/MAX real estate agent.

Many of the homes, Bassi says, are ranches and Cape Cod-style cottages, but newer, larger homes and townhomes are available as well. Students attend Indian Hills High School in Oakland or Ramapo High School in Franklin Lakes; both stand near the top of New Jersey Monthly’s 2012 ranking of public high schools.

Oakland, with a population of 12,873, lacks a walkable downtown, but there are strip malls and restaurants along its main stretch, Route 202. Popular shopping destinations—Willowbrook Mall in Wayne and Garden State Plaza in Paramus—are about a 20-minute drive. Drivers have easy access to Routes 208 and 287, but mass-transit options are limited to a couple of NJ Transit bus stops in town. The nearest train station is 10 miles away in Glen Rock.

Top 10 Towns for Young Families

RankMunicipalityCountyAverage Residential Tax Bill ($)Median Home Sales Price ($)HSPA % Proficiency% Households w/ Children Under 18, 2011
1OaklandBergen10,318.80462,500.0095%46%
2HillsboroughSomerset8,161.46380,000.0095%45%
3FanwoodUnion10,437.03385,000.0094%50%
4BethlehemHunterdon9,940.92365,000.0096%48%
5Long HillMorris11,087.86445,000.0094%43%
6Green BrookSomerset11,375.78375,000.0094%47%
7RaritanHunterdon9,093.68350,000.0096%41%
7RandolphMorris11,491.06487,500.0094%42%
9AlexandriaHunterdon9,259.93477,450.0091%42%
10Green TownshipSussex9,805.81410,000.0085%46%
* Includes only municipalities with median home price under $500,000. All data 2012, except where indicated

Read about our methodology.

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