What does a 1.067 tax rate tell a buyer who is comparing Saddle River with Ridgewood's 2.890? Saddle River's figure is close to a third of Ridgewood's, so it reads like a bargain. But in the State of New Jersey's 2025 figures, the average Saddle River homeowner paid $20,339 in property tax and the average Ridgewood homeowner paid $20,596. That is a gap of about $257 a year.
The rates are far apart and the bills are nearly the same. The difference lies in the house behind each bill. Saddle River's low rate does not discount the tax. It measures how much assessed property the borough spreads its budget across, and that property is worth a great deal.
Where the rate goes wrong on a listing sheet
The most common error happens before an offer is written. A buyer multiplies the purchase price by the town's general tax rate and treats the result as the future bill. That works only if the town assesses homes at full market value. Most Bergen County towns do not.
New Jersey publishes two rates for each municipality. The general tax rate is the one applied to a home's assessed value to produce the bill. The effective tax rate adjusts for how far a town's assessments sit from market value. The New Jersey Division of Taxation describes effective rates as comparison statistics, not rates for calculating a bill. Here is how that played out in 2025 across the towns Saddle River buyers tend to compare:
| Municipality | 2025 general rate | 2025 effective rate | 2026 Chapter 123 average ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine | 0.837 | 0.794 | 96.24% |
| Saddle River | 1.067 | 1.030 | 87.56% |
| Paramus | 1.499 | 1.434 | 93.30% |
| Franklin Lakes | 1.904 | 1.400 | 72.72% |
| Ho-Ho-Kus | 2.501 | 1.706 | 62.09% |
| Upper Saddle River | 2.590 | 1.750 | 59.81% |
| Ridgewood | 2.890 | 1.944 | 60.52% |
The ratio column matters most. In the state's 2026 Chapter 123 table, which applies to tax appeals for tax year 2026, Upper Saddle River's assessments averaged about 60% of market value. Saddle River's averaged about 88%. When a town's assessments run well below market, its general rate looks inflated next to a town whose assessments run close to market. Once the effective rates correct for this, the spread between Saddle River and Upper Saddle River narrows from more than 1.5 points to about 0.72. Saddle River still comes out lower. In the 2025 General Tax Rates table, its general rate was the fourth-lowest in Bergen County, behind Alpine at 0.837, Rockleigh at 0.839 and Teterboro at 1.050.
The arithmetic behind Saddle River's rate
A municipal tax rate is set by division. The total amount to be raised goes on top, and the total taxable value of the town goes on the bottom. Saddle River's own filings show both numbers.
According to the borough's 2026 user-friendly budget, calendar 2025 property tax levies broke down as follows:
- Municipal purposes: $11,225,475.64, or 40.66%
- Local school district: $10,134,349, or 36.71%
- County purposes: $5,982,334.94, or 21.67%
- County open space: $268,080.81, or 0.97%
Those four lines add up to roughly $27.6 million. The 2025 Bergen County abstract of ratables lists Saddle River's net taxable valuation at $2,588,133,250. Divide the first figure by the second and you get about 1.067 per $100 of assessed value, which is the published 2025 general rate.
The rate is low because the denominator is so large. The State's 2025 statistics show 1,285 residential line items in Saddle River with an average assessment of $1,906,146. Upper Saddle River had 2,879 line items averaging $788,891. Saddle River has fewer homes, but each one carries more than twice the assessed value. Its budget is spread across a larger base, so each $100 of assessment carries less of it.
The bills converge, and the houses do not
The State's 2025 Average Residential Statistics table also reports the number of sales and the average sale price in each municipality. Comparing the average bill with the average sale price shows what a buyer gets for roughly $20,000 a year in each town.
| Municipality | 2025 avg. tax bill | Sales in table | Avg. sale price | Bill as share of avg. sale |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine | $23,291 | 17 | $4,199,588 | about 0.55% |
| Saddle River | $20,339 | 40 | $2,246,188 | about 0.91% |
| Paramus | $13,061 | 99 | $1,222,160 | about 1.07% |
| Franklin Lakes | $20,718 | 74 | $1,690,670 | about 1.23% |
| Upper Saddle River | $20,432 | 109 | $1,515,102 | about 1.35% |
| Ridgewood | $20,596 | 204 | $1,345,963 | about 1.53% |
| Ho-Ho-Kus | $19,834 | 51 | $1,285,829 | about 1.54% |
Five of these towns cluster between $19,834 and $20,718. Within that band, the average sale price runs from about $1.29 million in Ho-Ho-Kus to about $2.25 million in Saddle River. Per dollar of average sale price, Saddle River's average bill is about 40% lighter than Ridgewood's or Ho-Ho-Kus's.
The final column is a ratio of two averages. It does not predict any one home's bill. The average sale price covers only the homes that sold, and the State's table does not print the period those sales cover. Forty sales in a borough of 1,285 residential line items is a thin sample, and one large estate closing can move it. The pattern is consistent across the table, though. The same annual tax figure sits on a larger asset in Saddle River than in most of the towns it is compared with.
The 2026 version of the table, on a state page updated October 1, 2026, lists 34 Saddle River sales averaging $3,007,217.29. Its average-tax-bill column is not yet filled in, and the State had not published certified 2026 general or effective rates as of that update. The same 2026 table shows Ho-Ho-Kus's average assessment at $1,372,911, up from $793,060 a year earlier. A jump that large changes the denominator. That is why comparing one town's rate against another's over time can mislead even when neither town's spending has changed much.
What can move a Saddle River bill from here
Since the rate is a quotient, a bill can change in two ways. The levy can grow, or the assessment base can be reset. In Saddle River, both are on the record right now.
The municipal share. Saddle River adopted its 2026 municipal budget on April 20, 2026. The borough reports the municipal-purpose rate rising from 0.433 to 0.445 and the municipal levy increasing 3.61%, or $404,940.61. For the average residential assessment, the municipal portion of the bill goes from $8,253.61 to $8,565.65, an increase of $312.04. The borough's budget estimates total taxes to be raised in 2026 at $28,780,416.25. Of that, $17,150,000 is the non-municipal levy covering the school and county shares.
The school levy. This is the open question. NorthJersey.com reported that on Aug. 19, 2026, the Board of Education voted to postpone until spring a proposed referendum that would permanently increase the school tax levy by $4.45 million, after residents raised concerns about its cost, timing and lack of prior public disclosure. An earlier NorthJersey.com story explained the mechanism. The state's 2% levy cap would have allowed only a $200,700 increase on the district's $14.6 million budget, and an operating referendum is the route to raising more than that. For scale, the local school levy in calendar 2025 was $10,134,349. The district's August 31 community update said town halls and information sessions were postponed while a spring vote was considered. Its Q&A page, updated September 13, 2026, describes a possible spring operational question but gives no election date or amount.
The assessment base. According to a 2019 borough audit, Saddle River's last revaluation took effect in 2018. Bergen County's schedule, current as of January 7, 2026, does not list the borough for a revaluation or reassessment in 2026 or 2027. Appeals also wear down the base at the edges. The borough's 2026 budget reports 2 County Tax Board appeals and 8 State Tax Court appeals filed in 2025, 35 State Tax Court appeals pending, and $34,463.59 paid out for appeals that year. When assessed value comes off the rolls, the same levy is divided across a slightly smaller total.
For a buyer comparing Saddle River with its neighbors, the figures to request for any specific property are its current assessment, its most recent actual tax bill, and the borough's municipal and school budget documents for the year ahead.
At Christian Di Stasio Group, we pull the assessment, the actual bill history and the borough's current budget filings for any Saddle River property you are considering, so your annual carrying cost reflects the house itself and not the headline rate. Schedule a white‑glove consultation to review the numbers on a home you have in mind.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
