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Towns / New Jersey

Mountain Lakes, New Jersey

Mountain Lakes is a suburb of about 4,600 people in Morris County, New Jersey, in the New York area. It has grown about 4% since 2020. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, New York, is about 31 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of New York

Population
4,649
up 4.1% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$917,000
Morris County prices up 26% since 2022
Household income
$250,000 or more
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, New York area
112.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Saint Clare's Hospital/ Denville Campus
To New York
31 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 moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Mountain Lakes to say.
  • A safer neighborhood2 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0.4 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 1.9 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town5 public schools: 2 elementary, 2 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close bySaint Clare's Hospital/ Denville Campus is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityNew York is about 31 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 Mountain Lakes 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

Mountain Lakes 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
$917,000U.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
$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
39%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 26% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area, not Mountain Lakes 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
4,6492020: 4,467
Median age
43.4 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
13%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
33%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
86%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
6%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 (17%)
Unemployment rate
2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
34 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
31%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: Saint Clare's Hospital/ Denville Campus, Denville, NJ, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 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 Mountain Lakes, run by Mountain Lakes Public School District and Parsippany-Troy Hills Township 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
93%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
100%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
85°F
Days 90°F or hotter
16 a year
Nights at or below freezing
124 a year
Rain and melted snow
49.2 inches a year
Snow
28 inches a year
Elevation
502 feet

Weather stations: Boonton 1 SE (2 miles away) and Oak Ridge Rsvr (10 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: Paterson, 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

2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Mountain Lakes Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Morristown National Historical Park7 miles
  • Thomas Edison National Historical Park13 miles
  • Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park14 miles
  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail21 miles
  • Statue of Liberty National Monument25 miles

Read about Mountain Lakes's history on Wikipedia.

Know Mountain Lakes?

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

  • Rainbow Lakes, NJ (unincorporated)1,375 people, 1 mile
  • Mount Tabor, NJ (unincorporated)1,184 people, 2 miles
  • Hibernia, NJ (unincorporated)115 people, 5 miles
  • Lake Telemark, NJ (unincorporated)1,506 people, 6 miles
  • Lower Berkshire Valley, NJ (unincorporated)449 people, 9 miles
  • Brookside, NJ (unincorporated)1,465 people, 9 miles
  • Kenvil, NJ (unincorporated)1,722 people, 9 miles
  • Macopin, NJ (unincorporated)2,170 people, 10 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.