Living in Essex Fells, New Jersey: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 12.6% above the U.S. average in the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area.
More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Essex Fells to say.
A safer neighborhood0 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 14 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town6 public schools: 4 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
A hospital close byHackensack Meridian Mountainside Medical in Montclair, about 3 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityNew York is about 21 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Essex Fells meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Essex Fells runs into the built-up area around New York (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $1,083,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 28%Essex County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $3,500 or more a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $250,000 or moreU.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 96%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $10,000 or more a yearNew Jersey: $9,590
Homes built before 1940: 36%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 7%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 112.6U.S. average = 100 (the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 28% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area, not Essex Fells alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate: 2,2352020: 2,220
Median age: 43.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 16%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 32%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 81%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 2%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Professional and business services (24%); manufacturing (18%); schools, health care and social services (17%)
Unemployment rate: 5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 31 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 32%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 1%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Hackensack Meridian Mountainside Medical, Montclair, NJ, about 3 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

6 public schools in Essex Fells, run by Caldwell-West School District and Essex Fells School District.

Colleges in or next to town: Caldwell University (1,000 to 4,999 students).

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on New Jersey's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet: 88%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 96%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low: 21°F
July average high: 86°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 20 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 118 a year
Rain and melted snow: 50.4 inches a year
Snow: 24 inches a year
Elevation: 506 feet

Weather stations: Essex Fells Service Bldg (1 mile away) and Canoe Brook (7 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Hackensack Meridian Mountainside MedicalEmergency room3

East Orange, NJCity of 72,0006

New York, NYMetro of 20.1 million21

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Hackensack Meridian Mountainside Medical, East Orange, New York.

Essex County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Thomas Edison National Historical Park3 miles
Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park8 miles
Morristown National Historical Park10 miles
Statue of Liberty National Monument15 miles
Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site16 miles

Campus life. Check Caldwell University's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Essex Fells's history on Wikipedia.

Know Essex Fells?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Caldwell, NJ9,400 people, 1 miles
Roseland, NJ6,400 people, 2 miles
North Caldwell, NJ6,800 people, 3 miles
Upper Montclair, NJ12,500 people, 4 miles
Glen Ridge, NJ8,300 people, 4 miles
Singac, NJ4,200 people, 4 miles

Smaller places

Pleasantdale, NJ (unincorporated)2,145 people, 2 miles
Llewellyn Park, NJ (unincorporated)560 people, 3 miles
Springfield, NJ (unincorporated)1,304 people, 9 miles
William Paterson University of New Jersey, NJ (unincorporated)1,133 people, 9 miles
Connecticut Farms, NJ (unincorporated)516 people, 9 miles
Rainbow Lakes, NJ (unincorporated)1,375 people, 10 miles
Kean University, NJ (unincorporated)1,362 people, 11 miles
Mount Tabor, NJ (unincorporated)1,184 people, 11 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.