Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 11,246, settled in 1682.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Pompton Lakes grades A overall, 129th of 466 graded towns in New Jersey. The median household earns $124K and it is healthier than 85% of U.S. towns. What holds it back is price: the typical home is worth about $557K, 5.6 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income. Pompton Lakes’ concentration of trails is 2.0 miles per square mile, above both New Jersey’s towns (0.7) and U.S. towns (0.4). Only 8 of New Jersey’s 530 towns score lower on hazard risk. Pompton Lakes is more walkable than 91% of U.S. towns.
Where Pompton Lakes beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Census counts: 847 in 1900, 11,127 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1890 and 4 maps from 1948 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Jersey), ordered by how far Pompton Lakes is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Pompton Lakes. Close and well known come first.
Big draw23 mi City parkCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw23 mi Stadium & arenaMadison Square Garden
Big draw17 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife Stadium
Big draw23 mi TheatreStudio 54
Big draw23 mi MuseumMetropolitan Museum of Art2.0M visitors a year
Big draw32 mi MuseumUnited States Military AcademyCentral Park: Ed Yourdon from New York City, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Madison Square Garden: Ajay Suresh from New York, NY, USA, CC BY 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 · United States Military Academy: USMA Public Affairs Office, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Pompton Lakes, and how to reach them.
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 Pompton Lakes.
Pompton Lakes is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in New Jersey; it also carries more natural-hazard risk than most of New Jersey (mostly inland flooding) and has seen reported crime rise by a fifth or more.
6.2 miles of trail wind through 7 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Ramapo Mountain State Forest, 126 acres with 2.1 miles of trail. Parks and preserves in Pompton Lakes: 7, covering 158 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ramapo Mountain State Forest | 2.1 mi | 126 |
| 2. Pompton Aquatic Park | 0.4 mi | 12 |
| 3. Hershfield Park | 0.2 mi | 10 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Two of its 4 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. The largest public high school is Pompton Lakes High School, with 610 students. The public schools here belong to the Pompton Lakes School District.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeside SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 370 | B |
| Pompton Lakes High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 610 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 98% of New Jersey towns, with expected losses of about $706 per resident a year; that rating is what its D− for hazard risk is built on. 2,301 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 319 properties have flooded more than once.
FEMA puts 91% of Pompton Lakes’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding. This New Jersey town has had 2,301 paid flood insurance claims since 1978. Households in the town have drawn federal disaster aid in 9 declared disasters, most recently in 2021.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Within New Jersey it is less healthy than 53% of the 468 graded towns: New Jersey sets a high bar. Against the 5,116 U.S. towns with household incomes like Pompton Lakes’s, it is healthier than 63%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
29% of adults have high blood pressure in Pompton Lakes, where New Jersey’s towns sit at 32% and U.S. towns at 35%. The share of adults in Pompton Lakes who binge drink: 18%.
| Pompton Lakes | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 75% | 78% | 79% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 16% | 23% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 32% | 35% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 28% | 35% |
| What stands out | Pompton Lakes | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 9.3% | 10.9% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6% | 7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Reported crimes rose from 44 to 55 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
In Pompton Lakes, the rate of thefts and burglaries is 4.1 per 1,000 residents. Pompton Lakes’ violent crime rate is 0.8 per 1,000 residents.
| Pompton Lakes | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.1 per 1,000 residents | 7.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.8 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The average trip to work for Pompton Lakes comes to 30 minutes. Only 5% of working residents stay in Pompton Lakes for work; the rest commute out. Employers in Pompton Lakes added 217 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 2,056. The median commute is under 13 miles.
| Pompton Lakes | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $124,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 12% | 17% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.6% | 6.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Summer afternoons peak near 85° in July, and January nights bottom out around 21°; snowfall runs to about 28 inches a winter. Pompton Lakes brings chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Among adults 25 and older in Pompton Lakes, 44% hold a bachelor’s degree or more. By age, Pompton Lakes looks like New Jersey: each broad group is within 4 points. In Pompton Lakes, the median age is 39.7 years.
| Pompton Lakes | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 44% | 45% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 16% | 18% | 18% |
| Median age | 39.7 years | 42 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 22% | 21% | 22% |
48% women, 52% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.7 points. Across New Jersey, 50.8% of residents are women.
| Pompton Lakes | NJ | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.9% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.2% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.2% | 8.4% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.5% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.8% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.8% | 12.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.2% | 13.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.9% | 10% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.5% | 7.2% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.7% | 9.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 30.5% | 25.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 14.5% | 15% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 6.4% | 6.7% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 25.4% | 26.1% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 18.4% | 17.6% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
For Pompton Lakes, the median rent is $1,845 a month. Homes locally are typically worth about $557,000, up 4.2% in a year, close to the New Jersey typical home. In Pompton Lakes, 32% of renter households spend 30% or more of their income on rent.
| Pompton Lakes | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 32% | 52% | 48% |
| Median rent | $1,845 a month | $1,778 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 80% | 77% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
24 within 15 miles of the center of Pompton Lakes
About 6 of every 100 Pompton Lakes residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Jersey.
5.5% of the town is conserved land, across 7 parks and preserves.
Borough in Passaic County, New Jersey, US
Pompton Lakes is a borough in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 11,127, an increase of 30 (+0.3%) from the 2010 census count of 11,097, which in turn reflected an increase of 457 (+4.3%) from the 10,640 counted in the 2000 census. Pompton Lakes was established on February 26, 1895, from portions of Pompton Township, based on the results of a referendum held three days earlier. The borough was named for the Pompton people, a sub-tribe of Native Americans who lived in the area. It was the first borough to be formed in Passaic County as part of the "boroughitis" that had struck the state at the time. Pompton Lakes…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Pompton Lakes.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pompton Lakes | #129 | A | C− | A | B+ | A |
| Pequannock Township | #92 | A | D− | A | A− | A |
| Pompton Plains | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Wayne Township | #214 | B+ | D− | C+ | B+ | A+ |
| Riverdale | #265 | B− | D | C | B+ | A |
| Pines Lake | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Wanaque | #133 | A− | D | A+ | B+ | A− |
| Bloomingdale | #230 | B | D | A | C+ | A− |
Pompton Plains and Pines Lake aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Pompton Lakes with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Pompton Lakes grades A overall, better than 86% of U.S. towns and #129 of 466 in New Jersey. It grades A for health, A for safety and B+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
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