Mountain Lakes, New Jersey

Population

Growing. Up 4.1% since 2020.

4,649

people, the 204th-largest of New Jersey's cities and towns.

Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among New Jersey's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates

The workday

Nearly every job here goes to someone who lives somewhere else.

95.9%

of 3,179 jobs located in Mountain Lakes are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Rent

Median rent is up 124% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$3,501

a month. New Jersey's median is $1,720.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

The seam

Cross one tract line and median rent doubles.

A $2,779 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Morris County.

• $329 Tract 417.05
• $3,108 Tract 418.03

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Room to build

The median rent is above what local wages can carry.

$1,162–$1,742

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $3,501 median

Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year

Building

Most of the housing here is older than 2000.

• 130 homes permitted in ten years, 2016–2025
• 3% of those were in multifamily buildings
• 88% of all homes were built before 2000

Census Building Permits Survey, 2016–2025; Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census Building Permits Survey, Census ACS 5-year

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0–2% to the 1,492 homes here.

0–32

is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.

Range computed by the Almanac from 2023 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac

Home value

A median home costs 102% more than New Jersey's.

$917,000

median home value in Mountain Lakes.

• $917,000 Mountain Lakes
• $454,400 New Jersey
• $332,700 U.S.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year