Kearny, NJ Real Estate Guide: Buy, Sell & Rent

Kearny is a Hudson County town of about 42,000 residents as of the 2020 Census, set on the land between the Passaic and Hackensack rivers just across from Newark. It's an unusual mix: an established residential side along Kearny Avenue, a large stretch of Meadowlands, and the industrial district of South Kearny, with major highways and the Pulaski Skyway running through. Here's what to know before you buy, sell, rent or invest in Kearny.

Why People Choose Kearny

Location comes first. Kearny sits between Newark, Jersey City and the Meadowlands, and Interstate 280, the New Jersey Turnpike, Route 7 (the Belleville Turnpike) and Routes 1&9 all pass through or along the town. That's a practical base for work in Newark, the Hudson County waterfront or the Meadowlands.

Kearny also has a real downtown. The town's master plan calls Kearny Avenue its main street and central business district, a long corridor of shops, restaurants and services that also holds Town Hall and the public library.

And it's a job center in its own right. Warehousing and distribution are major employers, and Kearny Point, a former shipyard on the Hackensack River, has been reworked into a business campus of roughly 130 acres with office, coworking and studio space for more than 200 businesses.

Getting Around: Commuting from Kearny

• Bus: NJ Transit Routes 30 and 76 run along Kearny Avenue toward Newark, and Route 40 serves Kearny with a stop at the PATH station in neighboring Harrison. Check NJ Transit's current schedules for service to Manhattan.
• PATH: From Harrison, the PATH runs to Newark Penn Station in one direction and Jersey City and Lower Manhattan in the other.
• Rail: Kearny has no NJ Transit passenger station today. The town's master plan calls for a future station near Bergen and Schuyler avenues, with transit-oriented development around it.
• Car: I-280 runs through town to the New Jersey Turnpike. Routes 1&9 cross South Kearny on the Pulaski Skyway, and the Belleville Turnpike (Route 7) runs along the northern edge of town.

Neighborhoods and Housing Types

Kearny's geography breaks down into a few clearly different areas:

• The residential side around Kearny Avenue: This is where nearly all of Kearny's homes are. The town's planning documents describe it as fully built out, with most of the housing built before 1960.
• Kearny Meadows: Part of the town lies in the Meadowlands District, regulated by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA). It includes the Kearny Marsh and the Gunnell Oval recreation complex.
• South Kearny: The peninsula where the Passaic and Hackensack rivers meet. It's an industrial, trucking and warehousing district with its own zoning, plus Kearny Point.

When it comes to housing, you'll mostly find single-family and two-family homes. The town's R-2 zone allows both. You'll also find larger multi-family houses, apartments over storefronts on the commercial corridors, and newer rental buildings in the redevelopment areas, such as the apartment-and-retail project approved at 55 Passaic Avenue.

Buying a Home in Kearny

A two-family is one of the most common ways to buy in Kearny. If you're using an FHA loan, you can buy a two-to-four family home with a low down payment as long as you live in one of the units, and the rent from the other units can help cover the mortgage.

Before you make an offer, we help you check:

• Older-home inspections: Most of Kearny's homes have some age. Look closely at the roof, heating system, electrical service, plumbing, foundation and any older oil tank.
• Multi-family details: Legal unit count, separate utilities, certificate of occupancy requirements and any existing leases.
• Condo associations: If you're looking at a condo, we review monthly fees, reserves, rules and any planned assessments.
• Flood risk: The town says frequent flooding affects the Gunnell Oval area near the Kearny Marsh and the neighborhoods around it, and the master plan notes flood risk along both rivers. We check flood maps and insurance needs for every home.
• Property taxes: We pull the current tax figure for every home you're considering, so your budget reflects the real carrying cost.

Need financing? We can connect you with a lender for pre-approval before you start touring.

Selling Your Kearny Home

Kearny draws owner-occupants shopping for a two-family and investors looking for income property. A single-family, a two-family and a multi-family each compete in a different pool, so pricing has to match the property. We'll prepare a free comparative market analysis based on recent sales of homes like yours, then market your home across the MLS and every major online channel.

Renting and Investing in Kearny

Kearny is largely a rental town. Census data shows more than half of its occupied homes are rentals, mostly units in two-family and multi-family houses plus the newer apartment buildings. We help renters find the right unit and help landlords price, market and screen.

For investors, two-to-four family homes are the main event. We'll help you look at realistic rents, taxes, insurance, flood exposure and condition so the numbers work from day one. We also follow the town's redevelopment plans for Passaic Avenue, Schuyler Avenue and the proposed transit district, which could reshape parts of Kearny.

Local Landmarks and Amenities

• Kearny Avenue downtown, with Kearny Town Hall at 402 Kearny Avenue
• Kearny Public Library at 318 Kearny Avenue, home to the Kearny Museum, plus a branch library farther up Kearny Avenue
• West Hudson Park
• Gunnell Oval, a municipal sports complex with a turf field, tennis courts, a volleyball court, a playground and an outdoor fitness area
• Riverbank Park along the Passaic River, which is getting a 10-foot-wide paved bike and walking trail from Ross Lane to Linden Avenue
• Harvey Field and the Kearny Dog Park
• Kearny Point, a business campus on the Hackensack River
• The Pulaski Skyway, a 3.5-mile steel structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places
• The town's annual Doggie Halloween PAWrade and Festival
• Public schools: Kearny School District, including Kearny High School

Nearby Town Guides

Comparing Kearny with nearby towns? Read our guides to Harrison, East Newark, North Arlington and Jersey City, or browse all of our North Jersey town guides.

Talk to a Local Broker

The Thompson Realty Group is a licensed New Jersey real estate brokerage based at 20 MacArthur Ave in Garfield, serving buyers, sellers, renters and investors across Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Passaic and Union counties. Whether you're a first-time FHA buyer, a cash investor, or a homeowner wondering what your place is worth, we'll give you straight answers about Kearny.

Call or text 201-928-5562 or book a free 15-minute consultation. You can also search every active New Jersey listing on our website.

Information on this page is provided for general guidance and is believed accurate as of October 2026. Programs, ordinances, taxes and transit schedules change, so please verify details for any specific property. Equal Housing Opportunity.