Glen Rock is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 12,133, an increase of 532 (+4.6%) from the 2010 census count of 11,601, which in turn reflected an increase of 55 (+0.5%) from the 11,546 counted in the 2000 census.Table 7. Population for the Counties and Municipalities in New Jersey: 1990, 2000 and 2010, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, February 2011. Accessed May 1, 2023.
The borough has been one of the state's highest-income communities. Based on data from the American Community Survey for 2013–2017, Glen Rock residents had a median household income of $162,443, ranked 6th in the state among municipalities with more than 10,000 residents, more than double the statewide median of $76,475.Raychaudhuri, Disha. "The wealthiest towns in N.J., ranked", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, June 7, 2019. Accessed November 4, 2019. "The median household income in N.J. is $76,475, recent Census data shows.... A note about the data: The data comes from 2013-2017 American Community Survey conducted by U.S. Census Bureau. Smaller towns with less than 10,000 residents were excluded from the list.... 6. Glen Rock, Bergen County Median income: $162,443"
Glen Rock was voted one of the best places to live in New Jersey for its low crime rate, good schools, close proximity to New York City and its high property values, including in 2018, when Niche ranked it the 19th best place to live in New Jersey.Hubbard, Daniel. "Glen Rock Ranked Among Best Places To Live In NJ; 'It's truly an amazing place to raise a family,' a reviewer said.", Ridgewood Patch, April 11, 2018. Accessed October 3, 2018. "Glen Rock received an A+. It was ranked the fifth best place to live in Bergen County and the 19th best in New Jersey."
History Glen Rock was formed on September 14, 1894, from portions of Ridgewood Township and Saddle River Township during the "Boroughitis" phenomenon then sweeping through Bergen County, in which 26 boroughs were formed in the county in 1894 alone.Snyder, John P. The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 78. Accessed March 20, 2012."History of Bergen County" Vol. 1, p. 366. Source shows September 12, 1894 as date of formation.Harvey, Cornelius Burnham. Genealogical History of Hudson and Bergen Counties, New Jersey, p. 11, New Jersey Genealogical Publishing Company, 1900. Accessed September 2, 2013. "For a period of sixteen years following the passage of this act few boroughs were organized in the State, only three of them being in Bergen County.... As it was twenty-six boroughs were created in the county from January 23, 1894, to December 18, of the same year." The main impetus for the break from Ridgewood Township was the decision to have Glen Rock students attend a new school closer to the center of Ridgewood instead of their one-room schoolhouse located at the intersection of Ackerman Avenue and Rock Road. Originally, the borough was to be named "South Ridgewood", but the name was changed to Glen Rock before the proposal for the borough was submitted. Both the origin of the name Glen Rock and the cause of it becoming the borough's name are unclear.
The borough was settled around the Glen Rock, a large boulder in a small valley (glen), from which the borough gets its name.Hutchinson, Viola L. The Origin of New Jersey Place Names, New Jersey Public Library Commission, May 1945. Accessed August 31, 2015.Herman, Jennifer New Jersey Encyclopedia, p. 280. State History Publications, 2008. . Accessed August 31, 2015. The rock, a glacial erratic weighing in at and located where Doremus Avenue meets Rock Road, is believed to have been carried to the site by a glacier that picked up the rock 15,000 years ago near Peekskill, New York, and carried it for to its present location. The Lenape Native Americans called the boulder "Pamachapuka" (meaning "stone from heaven" or "stone from the sky") and used it for signal fires and as a trail marker.Elder, Janet. "If You're Thinking of Living in Glen Rock", The New York Times, May 5, 1985. Accessed October 26, 2016. "Glen Rock is named for a 570-ton boulder, believed to have been deposited by a glacier, that stands at the northern end of Rock Road, the town's main street. Called Pamackapuka, or Stone from Heaven, by the Delaware Indians, it served as a base for Indian signal fires and later as a trail marker for colonists."Coutros, Evonne. "Glen Rock's boulder going national", The Record, February 15, 2012, backed up by the Internet Archive as of October 26, 2016. Accessed August 29, 2017. "The borough's most famous boulder at the busy intersection of Rock Road and Doremus Avenue will be featured in the March issue of National Geographic magazine."Hoffmann, Fritz. "Rock... And Roll", National Geographic, March 2012. Accessed October 26, 2016. "Glen Rock, New Jersey, is named for its 570-ton erratic. Scientists believe a glacier brought it from about 20 miles north."
The borough was the site of one of Bergen County's most serious public transportation accidents. In 1911, a trolley operator for the North Jersey Rapid Transit Company, one day away from retirement, died in a crash with an opposing trolley around the intersection of Prospect and Grove Streets that was caused by signal problems. In addition to the death of the opposing trolley operator, 12 people were injured. This crash in part hastened the demise of this transportation mode which ran from Elmwood Park, New Jersey, to Suffern, New York, and competed with the Erie Railroad. The right of way for this trolley line was purchased by the Public Service Enterprise Group and is still visible today.Smith Jr., Don E. "Historian Marks 100th Anniversary of Glen Rock's Deadly Trolley Crash", Ridgewood Patch, July 7, 2011. Accessed August 29, 2017.Quimbly, EJ. Interurban Interludes: A history of the North Jersey Rapid Transit Company, A Carstens publication, 1968.
Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 2.72 square miles (7.04 km2), including 2.70 square miles (7.00 km2) of land and 0.01 square miles (0.04 km2) of water (0.51%).
Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the borough include Ferndale.Locality Search, State of New Jersey. Accessed May 21, 2015.
The borough borders the municipalities of Fair Lawn, Paramus and Ridgewood in Bergen County, and Hawthorne in Passaic County.Areas touching Glen Rock, MapIt. Accessed March 25, 2020.Bergen County Map of Municipalities, Bergen County, New Jersey. Accessed March 25, 2020.New Jersey Municipal Boundaries, New Jersey Department of Transportation. Accessed November 15, 2019.
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition +Glen Rock borough, Bergen County, New Jersey – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 2000Pop 2010Pop 2020% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)10,1639,6919,03788.02%83.54%74.48%Black or African American alone (NH)2061511631.78%1.30%1.34%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)11500.10%0.04%0.00%Asian alone (NH)7481,0501,6176.48%9.05%13.33%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)2310.02%0.03%0.01%Other race alone (NH)1924250.16%0.21%0.21%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)831504420.72%1.29%3.64%Hispanic or Latino (any race)3145278482.72%4.54%6.99%Total11,54611,60112,133 100.00%100.00%100.00%
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Glen Rock had a population of 12,133. The median age was 41.8 years. 28.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 15.0% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 95.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 91.9 males age 18 and over.
100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 3,934 households in Glen Rock, of which 46.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 76.3% were married-couple households, 6.1% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 15.7% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 12.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 4,041 housing units, of which 2.6% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.7% and the rental vacancy rate was 5.2%.
2010 census
The 2010 United States census counted 11,601 people, 3,917 households, and 3,290 families in the borough. The population density was . There were 4,016 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup was 87.16% (10,111) White, 1.37% (159) Black or African American, 0.09% (10) Native American, 9.09% (1,054) Asian, 0.03% (3) Pacific Islander, 0.62% (72) from other races, and 1.66% (192) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.54% (527) of the population.
Of the 3,917 households, 46.3% had children under the age of 18; 75.4% were married couples living together; 6.5% had a female householder with no husband present and 16.0% were non-families. Of all households, 14.2% were made up of individuals and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.96 and the average family size was 3.28.
30.0% of the population were under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 19.7% from 25 to 44, 32.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.2 years. For every 100 females, the population had 94.5 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 90.1 males.
The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $140,882 (with a margin of error of +/− $13,445) and the median family income was $160,360 (+/− $10,024). Males had a median income of $110,506 (+/− $13,238) versus $64,250 (+/− $11,788) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $61,013 (+/− $6,466). About 1.1% of families and 1.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 0.6% of those under age 18 and 2.2% of those age 65 or over., United States Census Bureau. Accessed March 21, 2012.
Same-sex couples headed 20 households in 2010, an increase from the 15 counted in 2000.Lipman, Harvy; and Sheingold, Dave. "North Jersey sees 30% growth in same-sex couples", The Record, August 14, 2011, backed up by the Internet Archive as of February 3, 2013. Accessed July 23, 2014.
2000 census As of the 2000 United States census there were 11,546 people, 3,977 households, and 3,320 families residing in the borough. The population density was . There were 4,024 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the borough was 90.07% White, 1.81% African American, 0.16% Native American, 6.48% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.61% from other races, and 0.86% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.72% of the population.Census 2000 Profiles of Demographic / Social / Economic / Housing Characteristics for Glen Rock borough, New Jersey , United States Census Bureau. Accessed March 5, 2013., United States Census Bureau. Accessed March 5, 2013.
There were 3,977 households, out of which 43.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 75.1% were married couples living together, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.5% were non-families. 14.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.89 and the average family size was 3.22.