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Towns / New Jersey

White Meadow Lake, New Jersey

White Meadow Lake is an unincorporated community of about 8,800 people in Morris County, New Jersey, in the New York area. It has no city government of its own: local services come from the county, or in some states from the town or township. A typical home costs about 3.2 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
8,842
Census survey, 2020-24
Typical home, 2020-24
$470,800
Morris County prices up 26% since 2022
Household income
$149,324
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, New York area
112.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
3 miles
Denville, 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 3.2 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town5 public schools: 3 elementary and 2 middle. No public high school in town: the nearest is Morris Hills High School, about 3 miles away.
  • A hospital close bySaint Clare's Hospital/ Denville Campus in Denville, about 3 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 White Meadow Lake 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

White Meadow Lake 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
$470,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 26%Morris County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$2,686 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$149,324U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
92%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$10,000 or more a yearNew Jersey: $9,590
Homes built before 1940
1%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
11%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 White Meadow Lake 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, 2020-2024 Census survey
8,842The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age
39.6 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
13%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
25%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
58%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
2%U.S.: 6%
College students
6%share of all residents

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 (33%); professional and business services (14%); manufacturing (10%)
Unemployment rate
6%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
27 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
27%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
2%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, about 3 miles away. 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 White Meadow Lake, run by Rockaway Township School District and Rockaway Borough School District. The nearest public high school is Morris Hills High School, about 3 miles away.

Colleges in or next to town: Assumption College for Sisters (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
94%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
19°F
July average high
83°F
Days 90°F or hotter
10 a year
Nights at or below freezing
138 a year
Rain and melted snow
49.2 inches a year
Snow
28 inches a year
Elevation
731 feet

Weather stations: Charlotteburg Rsvr (9 miles away) and Oak Ridge Rsvr (8 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: Saint Clare's Hospital/ Denville Campus, 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

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Morristown National Historical Park9 miles
  • Thomas Edison National Historical Park17 miles
  • Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park17 miles
  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail19 miles
  • Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area23 miles

Read about White Meadow Lake's history on Wikipedia.

Know White Meadow Lake?

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

  • Hibernia, NJ (unincorporated)115 people, 2 miles
  • Lake Telemark, NJ (unincorporated)1,506 people, 3 miles
  • Mount Tabor, NJ (unincorporated)1,184 people, 4 miles
  • Rainbow Lakes, NJ (unincorporated)1,375 people, 4 miles
  • Lower Berkshire Valley, NJ (unincorporated)449 people, 5 miles
  • Kenvil, NJ (unincorporated)1,722 people, 6 miles
  • Port Morris, NJ (unincorporated)858 people, 9 miles
  • Brookside, NJ (unincorporated)1,465 people, 9 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.