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Place dossier plate
SheetNJ-MONTVALE-NJ · Montvale, NJ 8,625 pop · income 97th pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Montvale
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Montvale on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Montrose · lowest
45,063
Montrose · lowest
45,063 median HH income
23.9% of the leader · rank #1
Mill Creek Ea… · near
183,466
Mill Creek Ea… · near
183,466 median HH income
97.3% of the leader · rank #2
Montvale · this city
183,664
Montvale · this city
183,664 median HH income
97.4% of the leader · rank #3
New Baltimore · near
183,696
New Baltimore · near
183,696 median HH income
97.4% of the leader · rank #4
Saddle Rock · near
183,750
Saddle Rock · near
183,750 median HH income
97.5% of the leader · rank #5
Redding Center · near
183,796
Redding Center · near
183,796 median HH income
97.5% of the leader · rank #6
East Foothills · highest
188,558
East Foothills · highest
188,558 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Montvale on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 8,625.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Montvale - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Montvale lands in the 97th percentile for household income and the 64th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
97th
percentile, household income
92nd
percentile, home value
94th
percentile, median rent
64th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Montvale, NJ
8,625 people live in Montvale, New Jersey - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $183,664 per year, placing it in the top quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 5.7%. Typical homes in Montvale are valued around $688,500, and the median resident age is 40.7 years. About 56.8% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 59.4% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 8 residential building permits were authorized in Montvale (Construction Slowdown), down 72% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data. Montvale reports a comparatively low crime rate: FBI UCR figures show 988.4 crimes per 100,000 residents, below the national average (reporting is voluntary across agencies, so treat this as reporting activity rather than a definitive danger score).
New Jersey carries a cost-of-living premium: the state registers 108.8 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Well Above Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $2,132 monthly. Monthly utility costs average around $275 across New Jersey, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 90.8 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Very High).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Montvale's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from reported crime to work and mobility to population change to comparison shortlist to schools and households to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Montvale, city-specific coverage includes FBI reported-crime rates, local building permits, commute-mode shares, matched public-school count, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
What can the FBI record say about safety in Montvale?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 988.4 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 57% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
What does the journey to work look like in Montvale?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 57.4%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.
Is Montvale growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +1,679 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +19.9% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 8 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
Which cities make useful reference points for Montvale?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
Within New Jersey, the closest population matches are West Long Branch (8,576 residents, $123,661 income); Audubon (8,699 residents, $116,900 income); Closter (8,544 residents, $187,500 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Perryton, TX (8,625 residents); Montrose, VA (8,624 residents); Chanute, KS (8,629 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Schools and households
What does the education layer cover for Montvale?
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
The NCES join finds 3 public schools within the city match. 56.8% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
Poverty estimate
5.7%
Bachelor's degree+
56.8%
Matched public schools
3
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
How far does income reach against housing in Montvale?
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.7 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 5.7%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Value / income
3.7×
Home value
$688,500
Household income
$183,664
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Top-decile income · poverty 5.7% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
108.8 (US=100)
High cost · BEA RPP 2024, New Jersey average
B
City profile score · Montvale, NJ
70/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Household income A+
$183,664
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share A+
56.8%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime A-
50 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Poverty rate C+
5.7%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Cost of living F
108.8 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Montvale profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Household income: 100/100 (A+) · $183,664
Bachelor's+ share: 90/100 (A+) · 56.8%
Violent crime: 84/100 (A-) · 50 /100k
Poverty rate: 61/100 (C+) · 5.7%
Cost of living: 10/100 (F) · 108.8 index
Where Montvale sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Montvale's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Montvale highlighted among 9 peers.Read the chart values
Montvale, NJ (this city): home $688,500, crime 988/100k
Perryton, TX : home $130,800, crime 454/100k
Chanute, KS : home $77,900, crime 2,542/100k
Glenwood, IL : home $182,900, crime 1,976/100k
Highland Heights, OH : home $342,400, crime 444/100k
West Long Branch, NJ : home $631,300, crime 1,194/100k
Audubon, NJ : home $288,500, crime 3,703/100k
Closter, NJ : home $820,100, crime 1,204/100k
North Haledon, NJ : home $517,200, crime 344/100k
How does Montvale compare to other US cities?
Here's how Montvale stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income97% higher than other cities
Home value92% pricier than other cities
Median rent94% pricier than other cities
Safety64% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
Zoom in to just New Jersey and the picture shifts: Montvale ranks #116 of 238 New Jersey cities by lowest crime rate, a different read than the national percentile above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Montvale against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to New Jersey only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
New Jersey-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Montvale near the bottom of New Jersey's cities
Among the 686 New Jersey cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Montvale ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Montvale only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#62 of 659
91st percentile in New Jersey
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 686
0th percentile in New Jersey
Median Home Value
#104 of 672
85th percentile in New Jersey
Poverty Rate
#203 of 680
70th percentile in New Jersey
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#198 of 686
71st percentile in New Jersey
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within New Jersey only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
97th percentile nationally for median household income · 64th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Montvale's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Montvale's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Montvale's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$688,5008th percentilemore affordable than 8% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Montvale's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.7×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#9,869 of 15,516
More affordable than 36% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#7,825 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 3.7×, Montvale sits in the moderate band:
national rank #9,869 of 15,516 and #7,825 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$183,664Montvale, NJ median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Montvale, NJ median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Montvale, NJ.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)56.8%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)5.7%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)59.4%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
8,625
Median Income
$183,664
Median Home Value
$688,500
Median Age
40.7
Poverty Rate
5.7%
Labor force participation
59.4%
Bachelor's Degree+
56.8%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
988.4
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
50.4
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
938.0
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Schools
Total Schools
3
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Montvale's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
8,434 residents
2021
8,451 residents
2022
8,475 residents
2023
9,425 residents
2024
9,609 residents
2025
10,113 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
8
housing units authorized
Single-Family
8
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
0.9
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
29
29
0
$8.8M
2020
331
23
308
$57.3M
2021
233
40
193
$33.1M
2022
45
39
6
$13.0M
2023
16
16
0
$6.0M
2024
8
8
0
$3.2M
Permit volume decreased 72% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
57.4%
Carpool
6.7%
Public Transit
5.3%
Walk
0.1%
Work from Home
29.5%
Other
1.0%
Based on 4,007 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
New Jersey statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $275
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across New Jersey at $275 (electricity about $120 , water and sewer about $60 ).
These are New Jersey statewide averages, not a meter reading for Montvale. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
New Jersey's BEA cost-of-living index is 108.8 (Well Above Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Montvale is $2,132/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to New Jersey statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 90.8 / 100 (Very High).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a New Jersey statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Montvale sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Montvale compares to similar-size New Jersey cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.