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Towns / New Jersey

Mendham, New Jersey

Mendham is a suburb of about 5,000 people in Morris County, New Jersey, in the New York area. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.9 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, New York, is about 35 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of New York

Population
4,985
up 1% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$819,800
Morris County prices up 26% since 2022
Household income
$211,944
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, New York area
112.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
7 miles
Morristown, NJ
To New York
35 mi
straight line

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 moneyA typical home costs 3.9 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood0 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 2 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byMorristown Medical Center in Morristown, about 7 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityNew York is about 35 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 Mendham 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

Mendham 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
$819,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 26%Morris County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$3,500 or more a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$211,944U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
86%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$10,000 or more a yearNew Jersey: $9,590
Homes built before 1940
17%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
3%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 26% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area, not Mendham 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
4,9852020: 4,935
Median age
46.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
21%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
24%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
5%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%); schools, health care and social services (20%); finance, insurance and real estate (15%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
35 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
33%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
4%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Morristown Medical Center, Morristown, NJ, about 7 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 5 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

3 public schools in Mendham, run by Mendham Borough School District and West Morris Regional High School District.

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
90%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
23 a year
Nights at or below freezing
124 a year
Rain and melted snow
53.5 inches a year
Snow
30 inches a year
Elevation
519 feet

Weather stations: Somerville Somerset Ap (11 miles away) and Pottersville 2 NNW (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

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: Morristown Medical Center, Plainfield, New York.

Morris 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

8 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Mendham Historic District, Mendham Historic District (Boundary Increase), the Ralston Historic District and Ralston Historic District (Boundary Increase).

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Morristown National Historical Park2 miles
  • Thomas Edison National Historical Park19 miles
  • Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park24 miles
  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail27 miles
  • Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area27 miles
Know Mendham?

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

Smaller places

  • Brookside, NJ (unincorporated)1,465 people, 3 miles
  • Far Hills, NJ974 people, 5 miles
  • New Vernon, NJ (unincorporated)743 people, 6 miles
  • Bedminster, NJ (unincorporated)1,670 people, 7 miles
  • Liberty Corner, NJ (unincorporated)2,325 people, 7 miles
  • Pottersville, NJ (unincorporated)245 people, 8 miles
  • Kenvil, NJ (unincorporated)1,722 people, 8 miles
  • Green Village, NJ (unincorporated)1,130 people, 8 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

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.