Montclair was first formed as a Township on April 15, 1868, from portions of Bloomfield Township, so that a railroad could be built to Montclair. After a referendum held on February 21, 1894, Montclair was reincorporated as a Town, effective February 24, 1894. In the late 1970s, after protesting for years at the inequities built into the formulas, Montclair joined several other communities to qualify for a pool of federal aid allocated only to Townships, that allowed townships to receive as much as double the revenue-sharing aid per capita received by the four other types of New Jersey municipalities — Borough, City, Town or Village.
As of the census of 2000, there were 38,977 people, 15,020 households, and 9,687 families residing in the township. The population density was 6,183.6 people per square mile (2,388.7/km²). There were 15,531 housing units at an average density of 2,464.0/sq mi (951.8/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 59.77% White, 32.06% African American, 0.19% Native American, 3.15% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.77% from other races, and 3.03% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.12% of the population. Montclair has long highlighted its diversity, a feature that has attracted many to the community.
There were 15,020 households out of which 34.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.2% were married couples living together, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.5% were non-families. 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.16.
In the township the population was spread out with 25.6% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 31.9% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 86.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.7 males.
According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the township was $92,988, and the median income for a family was $119,850. Males had a median income of $64,151 versus $43,520 for females. The per capita income for the township was $44,870. About 3.9% of families and 5.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.4% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.
As of 2007, 56.95% of Montclair residents affiliate with a religion. 43.05% of Montclair is nonreligious, 35.29% of the population are Catholic; 9.60% in Montclair are Jewish; 2.74% affiliate with Islam; 9.3% are with another Christian sect.; with a small percentages of others. Proportionally, there are more Muslims, Jews, and Catholics than the country's average.
Montclair has attracted many who work for major media organizations in New York City, including The New York Times and Newsweek. A March 11, 2007, posting in the blog Gawker.com listed some of those who work in the media and live in Montclair. In it also live many commuters to New York City and the Metro Area.
New Jersey Transit and DeCamp Bus Lines are the providers of public transportation in Montclair. Montclair is considered a commuter town of New York City. The average Montclair Commute is 38 minutes each way. 22% of commuters travelers take mass transit, while 59% drive alone. Eleven times more Montclair commuters travelers take mass transit than the national average.
NJ Transit buses 11, 28, 29, 34, 97, 191 and 705 run through Montclair, most going along the main street, Bloomfield Avenue. The New Jersey transit bus routes are:
All of these routes except #97, #191, and #705 were trolley lines originally, operated by the Public Service Railway. A trolley Garage existed on Bloomfield Avenue. In the 1930s and 1950's the trolleys were destroyed and replaced with buses.
DeCamp Bus Lines routes 33 and 66 run through Montclair to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City, Carrying primarily commuters.
Montclair State University has Shuttle buses going around its campus.
The township of Montclair operates a jitney in the evening from the Bay Street train station to the southern end of Montclair.
Running through Montclair is the Montclair-Boonton Line, which goes between New York City / Hoboken and Hackettstown. There are seven railway stations in Montclair: Bay Street, Walnut Street, Watchung Avenue, Upper Montclair, Mountain Avenue, and Montclair Heights, and Montclair State University. Currently, this line only runs on weekdays.
Montclair has a long history of railroads. The first railroad was built to Montclair in 1856 by the Newark and Bloomfield Railroad. It terminated at a station in Downtown Montclair. First the Morris and Essex Railroad, then the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad leased the it. In 1868 The Montclair Railway built another line through Montclair, which caused disputes leading to Montclair's separation from Bloomfield. Shortly after it was taken over by the New York and Greenwood Lake Railroad, a subsidiary of the Erie Railroad. A third Railroad to Morristown was planned in 1860 and construction began, but an economic collapse in 1873 ended the building. In 1912 the Lackawanna Railroad built a large terminal at the end of their line, but it was closed in 1981 and converted into shops . After the two railroads merged and went bankrupt, NJ Transit took over passenger operations. In 2002 the two railways were connected with the construction of the Montclair Connection. Passenger service on the railway is commuter-based and does not run on weekends.
Montclair is 13 miles (21 km) from Newark Liberty International Airport, 42 miles (68 km) from JFK Airport and 31 miles (50 km) from LaGuardia Airport. The Garden State Parkway and U.S. Route 46 are slightly past the town's borders. The main road through Montclair is Bloomfield Avenue.
There is a taxi stand off of Bloomfield Avenue in eastern Montclair, in front of Lackawanna Plaza, formerly the Montclair train station.