Moving to
Upper Montclair.

All Upper Montclair data Compare Upper Montclair

12,457people live here $250,000+median household incomeCensus top category $2,237median rent per month▲ 58% above US $989,000median home value▲ 197% above US

The Census tops out at $250,000+ for household income; it doesn't publish exact figures above that.

Upper Montclair is an unincorporated community in Essex County, NJ. It has no city government: the county runs it, and the Census counts it as its own place.

What it's like to live in Upper Montclair

Upper Montclair is an unincorporated community in New Jersey with household incomes running above the national average, a highly educated workforce, a growing population, and schools with smaller class sizes than the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.

The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Upper Montclair deals with rent well above the national average, home prices well above the national average, county unemployment above the national average, and long average commutes.

The good

Higher-than-average incomes
Highly educated workforce
Growing population
Low student-teacher ratio
Public transit that many commuters use

The not so good

Rent well above the national average
High home prices
Above-average unemployment in the county
Long commutes
Cold winters

How Upper Montclair compares

Median household income

Upper Montclair$250,000+

New Jersey avg$103,556

US$80,734

The Census tops out at $250,000+ for household income; it doesn't publish exact figures above that.

Median rent (per month)

Upper Montclair$2,237

New Jersey avg$1,720

US$1,413

Median home value

Upper Montclair$989,000

New Jersey avg$454,400

US$332,700

What it takes to move to Upper Montclair

Based on Upper Montclair's median rent, home value and household income

To rent

$4,474

up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit

Income to keep rent under 30%: $89,480 a year
48% of Upper Montclair renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent

To buy

$197,800

a 20% down payment on the median home

With 10% down: $98,900
Homes cost 4.0× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)

Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.

The details

Cost of living▲ 58% above US

$2,237/mo median rent

Rent is expensive here, at $2,237 a month median and well above the national average. This is the kind of city where housing costs deserve serious budgeting before committing to a move. Home prices are steep, with a median around $989,000. Renting first to get a feel for the city before buying is often the more practical route.

Median home value $989,000 · 48% of renters cost-burdened

Job market

6.3% county unemployment

Unemployment in Essex County is 6.3%, well above the national average of 4.3%. Moving with a job already lined up matters more here. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.

Essex County (county-wide)

Safety

77 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction

Upper Montclair doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the Montclair Police Department jurisdiction as a whole, which runs below the national average for violent crime and covers many communities. Individual neighborhoods can differ a lot from that overall rate.

Property crime 852/100k · Policed by Montclair Police Department (township-wide rate) · 2025 data

Getting around▲ 62% above US

42 min average commute

Commutes run long, averaging 42.2 minutes, and that's just the average, meaning a lot of people are doing significantly more. This isn't a city where living far from the office is a comfortable bet. 4 in 10 workers drive to work; 17% take public transit; 43% work from home.

How workers get to work

Work from home

43%

Drive alone

35%

Public transit

17%

Walk

2.4%

Carpool

2.0%

Other

0.3%

Climate

Summers are warm, with highs around 83°F, and winters are cold, with lows around 24°F and snow a regular occurrence. Rainfall is regular throughout the year.

Average month

High °FLow °FPrecip (in)

30-year averages, 1991–2020

Education & workforce▲ 135% above US

85% bachelor's degree or higher

This is a highly educated city, with over half the adult population holding a college degree. That tends to shape the job market and the broader culture, and it's a solid indicator of a strong professional scene.

Schools

3 public schools inside the boundary

There are 3 public schools inside the boundary and 2 private schools. The student-to-teacher ratio is 10:1, well below the national average of 16:1. Smaller class sizes are generally a positive sign for a district.

Parks & recreation

The nearest national park or historic site is Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park (5 miles away). There are 8 national parks and sites within a day's drive.

Bottom line

Upper Montclair's strongest points are household incomes running above the national average and a highly educated workforce; the main tradeoffs are rent well above the national average and home prices well above the national average. It tends to suit remote workers (43% of workers here already work from home), people who would rather not drive, and college-educated professionals. It may be a harder fit for renters on a tight budget, anyone moving without a job lined up, and people who dread long commutes.

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