90 years in pictures
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2006.
- 1936Packanack Lake is settled
Each edition grades its towns against each other only.

A town of 6,321, settled in 1936.
Packanack Lake’s median rent is $3,501 a month, above both the New Jersey town median ($1,778 a month) and the median of U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). Only 4 of the 469 New Jersey towns we compare have a lower share of working residents who work in town than Packanack Lake. The biggest park or preserve is Tall Oaks Park, at 47 acres. We don’t grade Packanack Lake yet; the figures below are still real.
Where Packanack Lake’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2006.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Packanack Lake. Close and well known come first.
Big draw19 mi Stadium & arenaMadison Square Garden
Big draw19 mi GardenCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw13 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife Stadium
Big draw19 mi TheatreStudio 54
Big draw19 mi MuseumMetropolitan Museum of Art2.0M visitors a year
Big draw19 mi Stadium & arenaYankee StadiumMadison Square Garden: Ajay Suresh from New York, NY, USA, CC BY 2.0 · Central Park: Ed Yourdon from New York City, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · MetLife Stadium: babyknight, CC BY 2.0 · Studio 54: Americasroof (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Metropolitan Museum of Art: Hugo Schneider, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Yankee Stadium: Matt Boulton, CC BY-SA 2.0
Packanack Lake is unincorporated, so Passaic County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Packanack Lake.
Most working residents leave Packanack Lake for work: only 1% work in town. Packanack Lake’s median household income is $213,000, against $113,000 in New Jersey’s towns and $80,000 across U.S. towns. 1.6% of residents live below the poverty line in Packanack Lake.
| Packanack Lake | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $213,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 1.6% | 6.1% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Packanack Lake has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 21° and about 24 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 62% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 26 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Packanack Lake.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Packanack Lake beats the New Jersey average on 20 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 24% of Packanack Lake adults have obesity.
| Packanack Lake | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 28% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 15% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 7.4% | 11% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Packanack Lake | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.9% | 14.3% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.8% | 11.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.3% | 7.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
0.6 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves. The trail density in Packanack Lake is 0.3 miles per square mile.
| Packanack Lake | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 3.9% | 11% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Peninsula West | 0.3 mi | 4 |
| 2. Tall Oaks Park | — | 47 |
| 3. Orange Place Park | — | 10 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
23 within 15 miles of the center of Packanack Lake
About 6 of every 100 Packanack Lake residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Jersey.
Populated place in Passaic County, New Jersey, US
Packanack Lake is an unincorporated lake community and census-designated place (CDP) in Wayne in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The community is located 30 minutes northwest of Manhattan. As of the 2020 census, Packanack Lake had a population of 6,261. The median income in Packanack Lake was $100,887, and the average income of households with children was $140,869. 95.9% of Packanack area residents are high school graduates while 57.5% are college graduates. 77.4% of residents are married. 41.4% of residents had children. The average age of residents was 40.6 years old. Gatherings and social events are held on both East Beach (on Lake Drive East) and West Beach (on Lake Dr…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Packanack Lake.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Packanack Lake | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Preakness | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Packanack Lake and Preakness aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Packanack Lake with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
We don’t grade Packanack Lake yet; the figures below are still real.