If you’re weighing a move to Bergen County, drive through Harrington Park on a Sunday morning in September. You’ll pass a farmers market at Hoelscher Field, a rec soccer game or two, and glimpses of the Oradell Reservoir through the trees on the west side of town. That’s more or less the whole borough — two square miles, under 5,000 people, one school. Here’s what an ordinary week actually looks like.
Hoelscher Field is where the town shows up
There’s no main street here, so Hoelscher Field does the work a downtown would do somewhere else. From August into October the field hosts a farmers market every Sunday from 10 to 2, organized through the local business alliance. The rest of the year it belongs to recreation soccer, baseball, and softball, which between them pull most families in town out of the house on weekends.
The borough also runs a community garden you can apply for a plot in, and Recreation Commission meetings are open to the public on the second Wednesday of most months at Borough Hall on Harriot Avenue. If you want to know how a town works before you buy in it, sit in on one.
One school, and everyone goes through it
Harrington Park has a single public school — Harrington Park School on Harriot Avenue, PreK through eighth grade, roughly 627 students. That structure matters more than people expect. Your kindergartner’s classmates are the same kids graduating eighth grade nine years later, and parents here talk about teachers by name rather than by grade level.
The numbers hold up too. The district ranks 51st of 609 New Jersey districts, better than about 92% of the state (SchoolDigger). In 2024–25, 65.5% of third graders were proficient or better in English language arts against a 44.9% state average, and 89.2% hit proficiency in math against a 49.8% state average. The student–teacher ratio sits around 11 to 1.
For high school, students head to Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan, shared with Northvale, Norwood, Old Tappan, and Rockleigh. It’s a bigger world after a very small one, which some families love and some think about carefully.
The reservoir changes how the town feels
Close to a tenth of Harrington Park’s area is water, and almost all of it is the Oradell Reservoir, fed by the Hackensack River, Pascack Brook, and Dwars Kill. It runs along the western boundary and it’s the reason the streets on that side of town feel wooded rather than suburban.
One thing to set expectations on: it’s a working drinking-water reservoir, not a lake with a boat launch. What you get is the view, the tree line, and a surprising amount of birdlife — not a swimming beach.
Where you actually shop and eat
Nobody buys in Harrington Park for the restaurants, because they’re in the next town over. Closter Plaza, with its Whole Foods and a row of restaurants and shops, is about ten minutes away. Norwood covers the everyday errands. Westwood, ten or fifteen minutes west, is where people go when they want an actual dinner-and-walk-around evening.
That’s the trade: you give up walkable dining and you get quiet streets and no through-traffic. Most people who move here consider that a bargain.
The commute, honestly
The average commute for Harrington Park residents is 35.6 minutes, and households here average about two cars (Data USA). Driving to Midtown, you’ll typically use County Route 502 or 505 to reach the Palisades Interstate Parkway and the George Washington Bridge — a little over 20 miles all in.
If you’d rather not drive, NJ Transit route 167 and Rockland Coaches 20/20T both serve the Port Authority Bus Terminal. For rail, the nearest Pascack Valley Line stations are a few minutes west in Emerson, Westwood, and Hillsdale.
Coming from Manhattan or Hoboken and hoping to stay a one-car household? It’s possible if one of you takes the bus, but plan honestly for two.
The small stuff that makes a difference
The Harrington Park Public Library is part of the BCCLS network, so one card gets you into libraries across Bergen County. Borough Hall sits at 85 Harriot Avenue and the office is genuinely reachable by phone at (201) 768-1700 — a small-town detail that becomes very relevant when you’re pulling permits for a renovation.
Speaking of renovations: much of the town was built out in the 1950s and ’60s, when the population nearly doubled in a decade. Expect split-levels, ranches, and expanded capes, most already renovated once, alongside center hall colonials and a handful of newer custom builds toward the reservoir.
Why this matters for buyers
Harrington Park has a 92.3% homeownership rate in a two-square-mile borough. Translated: very few homes come up for sale, and the ones that do tend to go to buyers who were already watching. The median home value was $776,900 in 2024, up 9.6% from $709,200 the year before (Data USA).
If this is your town, don’t wait until a listing appears to get your financing and your search criteria sorted. And if you already own here and you’re curious what the last year did to your equity, that’s a quick conversation.
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FAQs
What is Harrington Park, NJ known for?
A single top-ranked PreK–8 school, the Oradell Reservoir along its western edge, and being almost entirely residential — no highway through town and no commercial strip.
Where is the Harrington Park farmers market?
At Hoelscher Field, Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., running from August into October.
How good are Harrington Park schools?
The district ranks 51st out of 609 in New Jersey. Third-grade proficiency in 2024–25 was 65.5% in ELA and 89.2% in math, against state averages of 44.9% and 49.8%.
Can you swim or boat in the Oradell Reservoir?
No — it’s a public drinking-water supply, so recreational access is restricted. It’s scenery, not a lake day.
How do you get to Manhattan from Harrington Park?
By car via County Route 502 or 505 to the Palisades Interstate Parkway and the George Washington Bridge, or by NJ Transit 167 or Rockland Coaches 20/20T to the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Average resident commute: 35.6 minutes.
Is Harrington Park walkable?
Walkable to the school, the field, and the library — not to shopping or dining. Those are in Closter, Norwood, and Westwood.
How much do homes cost in Harrington Park?
The median home value was $776,900 in 2024. Asking prices land well above and below that depending on the street, the lot, and how recently the house was updated.
Thinking about Harrington Park?
I work throughout the Northern Valley and I’m happy to tell you what I’m actually seeing here — including when I think a different town is the better fit for you.
Lana Henriques | REALTOR®
Call or text (201) 310-6560
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