North Caldwell, NJ Real Estate Guide: Buy, Sell & Rent

North Caldwell is a borough of about 3 square miles in northwestern Essex County, with 6,694 residents counted in the 2020 Census. The borough calls itself the "green jewel" of Essex County, and the description fits: hilly, wooded roads, a landscape made up almost entirely of single-family homes, and a share of the county's Hilltop Reservation. Don't confuse it with its neighbors. Caldwell (a separate borough) and West Caldwell (a separate township) share the name and border North Caldwell, but each has its own government, zoning and property taxes. Here's what you should know before you buy, sell or invest in North Caldwell.

Why People Choose North Caldwell

Most buyers come for the setting and the space. According to the borough, single-family homes dominate land use, with modest commercial activity only at the northern and southern ends of town.

The history goes back a long way. North Caldwell was part of the Horseneck tract that colonists bought in 1701, then spent about a century as part of Caldwell Township before it was incorporated as its own borough in 1898. Its healthy climate once earned it the nickname "Denver of the East."

Open space is close at hand. Essex County lists North Caldwell, along with Cedar Grove and Verona, as a host community of Hilltop Reservation, a 284-acre preserve on Second Watchung Mountain with ridgeline trails and a dog park.

Getting Around

• Car: Mountain Avenue (County Route 527) runs through the borough, and Bloomfield Avenue (County Route 506) crosses a short stretch of North Caldwell on its way between the Caldwells and Verona.
• Bus: NJ Transit's No. 29 bus runs through the Caldwells area, with service toward Newark.
• Rail: North Caldwell has no train station. The closest rail option is NJ Transit's Montclair-Boonton Line, which stops in neighboring Little Falls, where service is limited, so check current schedules.

Neighborhoods and Housing Types

North Caldwell doesn't divide neatly into well-known named neighborhoods. What really separates one property from another is its zoning district. The borough's zoning code includes:

• R-1, R-1U, R-1E and R-2 Residence Districts: The borough's residence zones. The R-2 district, for example, permits single-family detached homes on a minimum lot of 15,000 square feet.
• Residential cluster districts: Some cluster districts allow only detached homes. Others, the combination cluster districts, allow semidetached and attached homes, with at least a quarter of the land kept as common open space. The borough notes two townhouse locations in town.
• RAD Redevelopment Area District: This district carries out the Amended North Caldwell Hilltop Redevelopment Plan.
• Office, Planned Industrial Park, and Golf Course, Country Club and Open Space districts: These cover the borough's limited commercial land and its club and open space land.
• Bloomfield Avenue and Fairfield Road overlay districts: The Bloomfield Avenue overlay was created to make room for low- and moderate-income housing.

The upshot for buyers: most of the inventory is single-family homes, with a smaller supply of attached and townhouse-style homes. Two-to-four-family buildings are rare.

Buying a Home in North Caldwell

Here's what we help North Caldwell buyers check:

• Zoning and lot rules: Planning an addition or pool? We'll pull the zoning for the property before you make an offer.
• Slopes and drainage: The borough's zoning code includes controls for flood-prone and excessive-slope areas, a flood damage prevention section, and separate grading, drainage and stormwater rules. On a hillside lot, inspect drainage and retaining walls closely.
• Flood maps: We check FEMA flood maps and insurance needs for every property.
• Townhouse associations: For attached homes, we review association fees, reserves, rules and any special assessments.
• Property taxes: North Caldwell sets its own taxes, separate from Caldwell and West Caldwell. We pull the current tax figure for every home you're considering.
• FHA and multi-unit plans: An FHA loan can finance a two-to-four-family home with a low down payment if you live in one of the units. Because those buildings are scarce in North Caldwell, we can also show you options in nearby Essex and Passaic County towns.

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

Selling Your North Caldwell Home

In a town of mostly single-family homes, pricing comes down to lot size, slope, updates and layout. A detached home in an R-1 zone and a townhouse in a cluster development compete for different buyers. We'll prepare a free comparative market analysis based on recent sales of homes like yours, then market your home across every MLS and online channel.

Renting and Investing in North Caldwell

North Caldwell is overwhelmingly owner-occupied. The Census Bureau estimates that about 98 percent of occupied homes are owned by the people living in them, so rental listings are few and tend to be single-family homes or townhouses. Landlords should know Chapter 79 of the borough code. It requires owners of rental units to register with the borough and have units inspected for lead-based paint at tenant turnover or every three years, whichever comes first, with exemptions such as homes built in 1978 or later. We found no rent control chapter in the borough code. We help investors run realistic figures before they buy, and we help landlords price, market and screen tenants for their rentals.

Local Landmarks and Amenities

• Hilltop Reservation, an Essex County park shared with Cedar Grove and Verona
• Borough pool and tennis courts behind Borough Hall, plus Liberty Park on the same grounds
• Walker's Park on Mountain Avenue, plus Magnusson Field, Mountain Avenue Field and Firemen's Field
• Green Brook Country Club, a private member-owned club that opened in 1923
• North Caldwell Borough Hall, 141 Gould Avenue
• Caldwell University, just over the line in Caldwell
• Public schools: North Caldwell Public Schools (Grandview School and Gould School), and West Essex Regional School District for grades 7 through 12, including West Essex High School, whose campus sits mostly within North Caldwell

Nearby Town Guides

Comparing North Caldwell with nearby towns? Read our guides to Caldwell, West Caldwell, Cedar Grove and Fairfield, 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 North Caldwell.

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.