The town is known for its natural fields, farmland, horse farms, forests, and rivers, and has a bucolic atmosphere, due in part to a minimum zoning requirement of 2 acres (0.81 ha) for homes.

Saddle River is one of the highest-income small municipalities in the United States and was ranked 9th in New Jersey in per capita income as of the 2010 Census.

[22] In 1989, Saddle River was ranked the richest suburb in the nation among those with 2,500 or more people (based on per capita income).

The New York Times described Saddle River as "a place where one can still keep horses—one per acre—see a deer, listen to the birds, and catch a fish in the trout stream that gives the town its name.

[30] Saddle River was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on November 22, 1894, from portions of Orvil Township, based on the results of a referendum held three days earlier.

[38][39][40] Mount Pleasant and Villa Marie Claire are unincorporated communities located within Saddle River.

[citation needed] The median home value in Saddle River was $1,960,294,[41] compared to $596,000 for Bergen County, $440,000 for the state of NJ and $331,000 for the US overall, as of March 31, 2022.

[48][49] In May 2024, the American Society of Civil Engineers recognized Saddle River with the 2024 Municipal Project Of The Year Award.

[54][55] The mayor serves as chief executive officer, and is an ex-officio member of all municipal committees and is the approving authority in the Borough of Saddle River.

Borough council members serve on various operating committees and function in a liaison capacity to provide information and direction to the entire governing body.

[56][57][58][59][60][61] In August 2022, the borough council appointed Jeffrey Liva to fill the seat expiring in December 2024 that had been held by Rosario Ruffino until he resigned from office earlier that month in protest over the cost of a park project.

[60] John Azzariti and Ravi Sachdev were sworn in to three-year terms by Mayor Albert Kurpis during a combined in-person/remote session in January 2021.

Azzariti had been appointed to the council last July after Councilman John DeRosa resigned for professional reasons.

[63] In March 2020, the borough council appointed Christopher T. DiGirolamo to fill the seat expiring in December 2020 that was vacated by Paul Schulstad when he resigned from office earlier that month.

[66][67][68] For the 119th United States Congress, New Jersey's 5th congressional district is represented by Josh Gottheimer (D, Wyckoff).

As of 2025[update], the county executive is James J. Tedesco III (D, Paramus), whose four-year term of office ends December 31, 2026.

[73] Bergen County's Commissioners are: Thomas J. Sullivan Jr. (D, Montvale, 2025),[74] Chair Germaine M. Ortiz (D, Emerson, 2025),[75] Joan Voss (D, Fort Lee, 2026),[76] Vice Chair Mary J. Amoroso (D, Mahwah, 2025),[77] Rafael Marte (D, Bergenfield, 2026),[78] Steven A. Tanelli (D, North Arlington, 2027)[79] and Tracy Silna Zur (D, Franklin Lakes, 2027).

[80][81][82][83][84][85][86][87] Bergen County's constitutional officials are: Clerk John S. Hogan (D, Northvale, 2026),[88][89] Sheriff Anthony Cureton (D, Englewood, 2027)[90][91] and Surrogate Michael R. Dressler (D, Cresskill, 2026).

[112] Bergen County also supported Republican candidates Warren G. Harding in 1920 and Charles Evans Hughes in 1916.

However, Progressive Party candidate Theodore Roosevelt won the city in 1912 over New Jersey native Woodrow Wilson and GOP nominee William Howard Taft.

[114] Among the borough's 2010 Census population, 75.7% (vs. 57.1% in Bergen County) were registered to vote, including 96.0% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 73.7% countywide).

[127] while Ramsey High School had an enrollment of 870 students and 80.4 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.8:1.