CitytisticsShortlist

Cost of living, pay and housing

41.03° N · 74.51° W · GEOID 3453910

Oak Ridge

Morris County, New Jersey · part of the New York, NY metro

New JerseyOak Ridge, NJOak RidgeOak Ridge

The short answer

Oak Ridge is home to 10,954 people. Median household income is $121,875 a year and median rent is $1,372 a month, 13.5% of income (a ratio of two medians, not any one household's burden). Rent pressure is lighter than in most places. The median home is valued at $436,100, about 3.6x annual median household income.

Oak Ridge stands out on how people work. Counting remote workers as zero, the average worker spends about 280 hours a year commuting, more than in 99% of places its size. It is the highest of 279 New Jersey places we track. Also notable: Rent run 33% below what its fundamentals predict in the same metro area.

60OF 100

CTXCitytistics Index

Above average

Oak Ridge scores better than 60% of the 6,612 places we rate, and ranks 132nd of 287 in New Jersey.

How the CTX is built

Category ratings · 0 to 100, typical place 50

Affordability 20%76
Economy 20%63
Safety 20%n/a
Amenities 15%37
Education 10%70
Commute 10%1
Growth 5%n/a

Not rated: safety, growth, for want of data (the city police department does not report a full year to the FBI). The other weights are spread over the categories rated.

Median gross rent
$1,372
1% above the median place
Median household income
$121,875
52% above the median place
Median home value
$436,100
37% above the median place
Unemployment
5.3%
9% above the median place

Compared with the median of the 6,645 places we track. The bundle was checked 2026-11-14; each measure may refer to an older release.

What stands out about Oak Ridge

  • HousingOwning with a mortgage costs about $1,334 a month more than the median rent, a wider gap than in 93% of the 2,298 places of 10,000 to 25,000 people we track.
  • AffordabilityThe median rent takes 13.5% of the median household's income, a smaller share than in 95% of the 2,301 places of 10,000 to 25,000 people we track.
01

Moving to Oak Ridge

Morris County loses about 1.7 residents per 1,000 a year to moves between counties.

Moved in21,696
Moved out22,456
Net−760

Where people come from and where they go, top counties

Essex County, NJ2,6401,274+1,366
Passaic County, NJ2,1381,144+994
Bergen County, NJ1,909880+1,029
Sussex County, NJ1,2001,502−302
Hudson County, NJ1,779891+888
Somerset County, NJ9191,121−202
Union County, NJ1,154760+394

Within New Jersey, other states or abroad

Arrivals
Leavers
Within New JerseyOther statesAbroad

Income per tax return

Arrivals$135K
Leavers$132K

People on tax returns who moved between counties, from IRS migration data, 2022 to 2023. Figures are for all of Morris County; flows under 20 returns are not published.

Who moves here
4.6% of residents arrived from another county in the past year, 1.4% from another state.
Who arrives and who leaves
Households moving into Morris County report $134,700 a year in income on average; those leaving, $132,400.
Income you would need
$54,900 a year to rent the median home at the 30% line. From your city
Rent or buy
Median rent is $1,372 a month; owners with a mortgage pay $2,706 a month including taxes and insurance, on a median home of $436,100.
Getting to work
42 minutes each way on average; 13.5% work from home; 3.3% take transit.
If it is close but not quite
Vernon, WI matches it on character for less of your income. Compare the two
Moved here in the past year1
4.6%
20% below the median place
Income of households moving out7
$132,441
88% above the median place
Income of households moving in7
$134,692
91% above the median place
All 5 moving measures
MeasureOak RidgeAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Moved here in the past year14.6%20% below
Moved from another state1County figure1.4%30% below
Net movers per 1,000 people7County figure-1.7183% below
Income of households moving in7County figure$134,69291% above
Income of households moving out7County figure$132,44188% above
02

What it costs to live here

Rent is light relative to pay, but the county has a FEMA natural hazard risk score of 93 out of 100. Budget for insurance before counting the savings.

Oak Ridge13.5%
Typical place20.4%

Share of the median household income that goes to the median rent. Above 30% is the usual stress line.

Income needed to rent
$54,880
a year, at the 30% line
Rent to income
13.5%
34% below the median place
Home price to income
3.6x
6% below the median place

Could you afford it?

The median rent would take
13%
comfortably under the 30% line
Left after rent, in US prices
$100,300
a year
Vs the typical household here
Same
as the median household

Uses the median rent in Oak Ridge, $1,372 a month, and local prices for everything else (105.2 against a US average of 100). It runs in your browser and stores nothing.

Like Oak Ridge, but easier on the budget

Places that match Oak Ridge on character (size, age, education, homeownership, household size, housing age, remote work and climate) but where rent takes a clearly smaller share of income. Cost was left out of the match on purpose.

PlaceMatchRent to incomeMore left a year
Vernon, WI9411.2% vs 13.5%n/aCompare
Miller Place, NY929.6% vs 13.5%$25,700Compare
Edgewood, KY9110.8% vs 13.5%$9,300Compare
Tichigan, WI9011.4% vs 13.5%$16,100Compare

Moving from somewhere else? Work out the salary you would need in Oak Ridge.

Sponsored · exampleMoving to Oak Ridge? Compare quotes from licensed movers. No partner is signed yet. Sponsored offers are always labelled and never change the data.
Property tax paid (median)1
$10,001
206% above the median place
Homeownership1
86.5%
30% above the median place
Owner costs with a mortgage1
$2,706
45% above the median place
All 15 cost and housing measures
MeasureOak RidgeAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median gross rent1$1,3721% above
Rent to income113.5%34% below
Home price to income13.6x6% below
Prices vs US average2Metro figure112.612% above
Fair market rent, 2 bedrooms3County figure$2,23338% above
HUD area median income4County figure$138,40029% above
Property tax paid (median)1$10,001206% above
Median home value1$436,10037% above
Home prices, 1-year change5County figure5.9%84% above
Home prices, 5-year change5County figure52.9%3% above
Homeownership186.5%30% above
Renters paying 30%+148.4%4% below
Owner costs with a mortgage1$2,70645% above
Vacant homes1County figure3.1%56% below
Median year built119810% above
03

Work and pay

Mean commute is 42 min, 68% above the median place.

Mean commute1
42 min
68% above the median place
Median household income1
$121,875
52% above the median place
Income per person1
$57,798
44% above the median place

More on work and pay, against the typical place

Poverty rate5.8% −46%
Unemployment5.3% +9%
Works from home13.5% +8%
All 10 work and pay measures
MeasureOak RidgeAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median household income1$121,87552% above
Income per person1$57,79844% above
Unemployment15.3%9% above
Average annual pay6County figure$104,04558% above
Pay growth, 1 year6County figure2.8%24% below
Jobs6County figure301,376100% above
Poverty rate15.8%46% below
Mean commute142 min68% above
Works from home113.5%8% above
Commutes by transit1County figure3.3%285% above
04

Who lives here

Median age is 46.7, 20% above the median place.

Median age1
46.7
20% above the median place
Homes with broadband1
96.8%
5% above the median place
No health insurance1
4.5%
30% below the median place

More about who lives here, against the typical place

Bachelor's or higher42.8% +34%
High school or higher94.5% +2%
Born abroad7.7% −12%
Household size2.5 +0%
All 8 people measures
MeasureOak RidgeAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Population110,9543846th largest
Median age146.720% above
Bachelor's or higher142.8%34% above
High school or higher194.5%2% above
Household size12.50% above
Born abroad17.7%12% below
No health insurance14.5%30% below
Homes with broadband196.8%5% above
05

Life in Oak Ridge

The nearest National Park Service site is Morristown National Historical Park, about 16 miles away.

1 site is on the National Register of Historic Places, 3 of them National Historic Landmarks. Its history on Wikipedia

  • Ringling, Alfred T., Manor listed 1976

Out the door, against the typical place

Parks per 10k residents1.8 −82%
Playgrounds per 10k3.6 −61%
Grocery stores per 10k0.9 −57%
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k10.0 −10%
Libraries per 10k1.8 2.1×
Named paths and bike trails4 km 2.1×
Bus and rail stops per sq mi0.0 −100%

Mapped by volunteers in OpenStreetMap inside the city limits (Census boundaries), so coverage is fuller in some places than others. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.

National Park Service sites nearby

  • Morristown National Historical Park 16 miles
  • Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park 18 miles
  • Thomas Edison National Historical Park 22 miles

Businesses per 10,000 residents (county figures)

Restaurants and bars26.2 +26%
Shops31.7 +5%
Arts, recreation and fitness6.0 +46%
Doctors' offices and clinics26.7 +32%
Child care centers3.0 +30%

Counts businesses with paid staff, so small owner-run shops are not included.

Students per teacher12
11.1
28% below the median place
Public school students12
2,260
54% below the median place
Nearest National Park Service site10
16.4
47% below the median place
All 18 schools and local life measures
MeasureOak RidgeAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Public schools12633% below
Public school students122,26054% below
Students per teacher1211.128% below
Restaurants and bars per 10k8County figure26.226% above
Shops per 10k8County figure31.75% above
Arts, recreation and fitness per 10k8County figure6.046% above
Doctors' offices and clinics per 10k8County figure26.732% above
Child care centers per 10k8County figure3.030% above
Parks per 10k91.882% below
Playgrounds per 10k93.661% below
Grocery stores per 10k90.957% below
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k910.010% below
Libraries per 10k91.8110% above
Named paths and bike trails94.2110% above
Transit stops per sq mi90.0below (median 0.2)
Nearest National Park Service site1016.447% below
National Park Service sites within 60 miles1023above (median 2)
National Register listings11192% below
06

Safety, weather and risk

Good air days is 84.4%, 23% above the median place.

No crime figure yet. Either the city police department did not report to the FBI for the latest year, or our monthly fetch has not reached Oak Ridge. Larger places are fetched first.

Good air days15
84.4%
23% above the median place
Wildfire risk14
30.0
51% below the median place
Median air quality index15
39
9% below the median place
All 11 weather and risk measures
MeasureOak RidgeAmong 6,645 placesVs median
July average high13County figure84°F3% below
January average low13County figure20°F22% below
Average temperature13County figure51°F7% below
Annual precipitation13County figure50.0 in14% above
Natural hazard risk14County figure92.90% above
Hurricane risk14County figure85.221% above
Tornado risk14County figure79.92% below
Wildfire risk14County figure30.051% below
Heat wave risk14County figure89.21% below
Median air quality index15County figure399% below
Good air days15County figure84.4%23% above
08

Oak Ridge in 2030: where the trends point

If recent trends hold, the median rent will take about 14% of the median income in 2030, about the same as 14% now.

Citytistics projections to 2030: each figure's own trend, blended with the typical trend across the places we rate, eased toward long-run US growth and carried forward from the latest release. The range is where 80% of places landed when we tested the same method on past releases. On projected 2030 affordability, Oak Ridge does better than 75% of places. Its projected home value growth beats 10%.

MeasureLatest2030 projectionLikely rangeAvg. per year
Median rent$1,372/mo (2024)$1,750/mo$1,430 to $2,130/mo+4.1%
Median household income$121,875 (2024)$151,500$128,000 to $179,000+3.7%
Median home value$436,100 (2024)$606,000$440,000 to $835,000+5.6%

The median home would be worth 4.0 years of the median income in 2030, against 3.6 now.

A projection of recent trends, not a prediction of the economy or advice to buy or sell. How we project.

09

Places like Oak Ridge

The closest matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, and the places nearby.

PlaceRentIncome
Mokena, IL$1,254$123,889Compare
Stokesdale, NC$1,450$121,071Compare
Lisbon, WI$1,371$123,720Compare
Muskego, WI$1,313$112,221Compare
Muskego, WILisbon, WIStokesdale, NCMokena, ILOak Ridge, NJOak RidgeMokenaStokesdaleLisbonOak RidgeMokenaStokesdaleLisbon

Places built like Oak Ridge

Its statistical peers: the closest matches on size, age, education, homeownership, household size, housing age, origin and remote work, in the same part of the country. Cost and outcomes are left out of the match, so the table shows how Oak Ridge performs against places like it.

PlaceRent to incomeIncome growthPop. change
Oak Ridge, NJ13.5%0.3%/yrn/a
Orange Lake, NY25.2%3.2%/yrn/aCompare
Myers Corner, NY18.3%-0.9%/yrn/aCompare
St. James, NY18.7%4.3%/yrn/aCompare
Mount Sinai, NY22.8%3.6%/yrn/aCompare
Wading River, NY25.5%0.2%/yrn/aCompare
Northwest Harborcreek, PA12.4%11.6%/yrn/aCompare

Common questions

Is Oak Ridge a good place to live?

It depends on what you need, so here is what the numbers say. Its Citytistics Index is 60 out of 100, better than 60% of the places we rate and 132nd of 287 in New Jersey. Owning with a mortgage costs about $1,334 a month more than the median rent, a wider gap than in 93% of the 2,298 places of 10,000 to 25,000 people we track. The median rent takes 13.5% of the median household's income, a smaller share than in 95% of the 2,301 places of 10,000 to 25,000 people we track. On cost, space and class size it scores 96 out of 100 for families. See how it ranks with your own weights.

Is Oak Ridge expensive to live in?

The median rent takes 13.5% of the median household income, against 20.4% in the typical place we track. Housing is a lighter load here than usual. The median home is valued at $436,100.

What salary do you need to live in Oak Ridge?

To rent the median home without spending more than 30% of income on rent, a household needs about $54,880 a year. Work it out from your current city.

What places are similar to Oak Ridge?

On income, rent, home value, education and age, the closest matches are Mokena, IL, Stokesdale, NC, Lisbon, WI and Muskego, WI.

Sources and methods

The small numbers beside each measure point here. Every dataset is public; links go to the publisher.

  1. American Community Survey 5-year estimates · US Census Bureau · 2020 to 2024 estimatesTables B01002, B01003, B05002, B07003, B08013, B08301, B15003, B17001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25010, B25035, B25064, B25070, B25077, B25088, B25103, B28002, S2701
  2. Regional Price Parities · US Bureau of Economic Analysis · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  3. Fair Market Rents · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2027
  4. Income Limits · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2026
  5. House Price Index · Federal Housing Finance Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  6. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · US Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2025 annual averages
  7. SOI Tax Stats, county-to-county migration · Internal Revenue Service · Tax years 2022 to 2023Counts tax returns and the people on them; flows under 20 returns are suppressed.
  8. County Business Patterns · US Census Bureau · 2023 data
  9. OpenStreetMap · © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License (ODbL) · Map data as of 2026-11
  10. National Park Service sites · Wikidata (CC0), units operated by the National Park Service · Retrieved 2026-11
  11. National Register of Historic Places · National Park Service · Listings through 2026-05-22
  12. Common Core of Data · National Center for Education Statistics · 2024 release
  13. 1991-2020 climate normals · NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · Series updated 2026-11-05Averages for 1991 to 2020 computed from NOAA's county climate series (nClimDiv).nClimDiv county series
  14. National Risk Index · Federal Emergency Management Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14NRI data and maps
  15. Air Quality System, annual AQI by county · US Environmental Protection Agency · 2025 dataAirData download files

Derived by Citytistics from the tables above: rent to income (B25064, B19013); home price to income (B25077, B19013).

What stands out compares Oak Ridge with places of a similar size, using only figures measured for Oak Ridge itself; county and metro figures never count. Survey figures are estimates with margins of error. Formulas and definitions: methodology. API: /api/v1/places/oak-ridge-new-jersey

Citytistics. “Oak Ridge, New Jersey.” Data as of 2026-11-14. https://www.citytistics.com/city/oak-ridge-new-jersey/

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.