Living in Montvale, 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 moneyA typical home costs 4 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood3 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0.3 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 9.3 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town5 public schools: 2 elementary, 1 middle and 2 high schools.
A hospital close byHackensack Meridian Health Pascack Valley Medical in Westwood, about 5 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityNew York is about 28 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 Montvale 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

Montvale 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.

Boom town. The population is up 20% since 2020. Growing fast, with rising home values. Watch for chain stores and big apartment complexes: the small-town feel may not last.

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: $709,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 28%Bergen County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $2,053 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $178,269U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 80%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $10,000 or more a yearNew Jersey: $9,590
Homes built before 1940: 12%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 12%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 Montvale 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: 10,1132020: 8,434
Median age: 40.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 18%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 24%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 55%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 8%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: Schools, health care and social services (22%); professional and business services (14%); finance, insurance and real estate (13%)
Unemployment rate: 6%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 32 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 31%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: Hackensack Meridian Health Pascack Valley Medical, Westwood, NJ, about 5 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

5 public schools in Montvale, run by Montvale Board of Education School District and Park Ridge School District.

Colleges in or next to town: Bais Medrash of Dexter Park (under 1,000 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: 95%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 99%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: 23°F
July average high: 86°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 19 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 109 a year
Rain and melted snow: 51.2 inches a year
Snow: 33 inches a year
Elevation: 368 feet

Weather station: Dobbs Ferry-ardsley (12 miles away). 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 Health Pascack Valley MedicalEmergency room5

Paterson, NJCity of 162,00011

New York, NYMetro of 20.1 million28

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 Health Pascack Valley Medical, Paterson, New York.

Bergen 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

3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park12 miles
Appalachian National Scenic Trail15 miles
Saint Paul's Church National Historic Site16 miles
General Grant National Memorial17 miles
Hamilton Grange National Memorial17 miles

Campus life. Check Bais Medrash of Dexter Park's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Montvale's history on Wikipedia.

Know Montvale?

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

Park Ridge, NJ9,600 people, 1 miles
Chestnut Ridge, NY11,000 people, 2 miles
Woodcliff Lake, NJ6,200 people, 2 miles
Pearl River, NY16,200 people, 2 miles
Upper Saddle River, NJ8,700 people, 3 miles
Saddle River, NJ3,400 people, 3 miles

Smaller places

Sparkill, NY (unincorporated)1,483 people, 6 miles
Grand View-on-Hudson, NY278 people, 7 miles
Ramapo College of New Jersey, NJ (unincorporated)2,018 people, 7 miles
Rockleigh, NJ399 people, 7 miles
Hillburn, NY950 people, 8 miles
William Paterson University of New Jersey, NJ (unincorporated)1,133 people, 11 miles
Tuxedo Park, NY619 people, 13 miles
Crugers, NY (unincorporated)1,634 people, 14 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.