Old Tappan
Big lots, the lowest tax rate, and the high school five towns attend
Old Tappan is 4.16 square miles of mostly large lots, and it carries the lowest effective tax rate of the eight at 1.785%. It owns its own golf course, nine holes on DeWolf Road, opened on the Fourth of July in 1969 and reported to be the first community-owned course in New Jersey. Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan is here too, taking students from five of the eight towns.
- The lowest effective tax rate of the eight at 1.785%
- A nine-hole golf course owned by the borough, open since 1969
- Larger lots than most of Bergen County, spread over 4.16 square miles
- Lake Tappan and the Hackensack River run along the western edge
Getting to the city
Montvale, Pascack Valley Line (~2.6 mi)
There is no passenger rail in Old Tappan. The nearest NJ Transit station is Montvale, Pascack Valley Line (~2.6 mi).
No NJ Transit bus route serves the borough.
Commuter bus: Rockland Coaches Route 14 — listed as NO SERVICE until further notice.
What you will find
The average residential assessment is $825,978 and the average tax bill $19,377 (2025), an effective rate of 1.785%.
Census ACS puts the median home value at $951,300, with 94.1% of households owning their home.
Northern Valley Regional
- K-8
- Old Tappan Public School District (T. Baldwin Demarest PK-4, Charles DeWolf 5-8)
- High school
- Northern Valley Regional HS at Old Tappan
Old Tappan high schoolers attend Northern Valley Regional HS at Old Tappan, part of the Northern Valley Regional High School District. In 2024-25 it recorded 76.0% proficiency in grade 9 English and 56.6% in Algebra I, with a 98.0% graduation rate and mean SAT scores of 619 math / 619 reading. The state means were 50.0% grade 9 English, 38.1% Algebra I and 519 math / 533 reading. K-8 is Old Tappan Public School District (T. Baldwin Demarest PK-4, Charles DeWolf 5-8), which recorded 80.7% proficiency in English and 74.7% in maths district-wide.
What people wish they knew
- Lowest effective rate of the eight, but the average bill is still $19,377, because the assessments are high.
- Its own commuter bus, Rockland Coaches Route 14, is listed as no service until further notice. Check before you count on it.
- No NJ Transit bus either. Nearest train is Montvale, about 2.6 miles, on the Pascack Valley Line.
- The borough's resident handbook still says NJ Transit serves Old Tappan. As of October 2026, no NJ Transit route does.
- Northern Valley Regional at Old Tappan serves Harrington Park, Northvale, Norwood, Old Tappan and Rockleigh.