thumb|300px|Aerial view of Budd Lake, with the namesake [[glacial lake near the bottom. Lake Hopatcong and Lake Musconetcong are at the upper right.]]
Budd Lake is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Mount Olive Township, in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the CDP's population was 9,784, which in turn reflected an increase of 868 (+10.7%) from the 8,100 counted in the 2000 census. Prior to that, it was called Hattacawanna Lake.
Geography
Budd Lake is in western Morris County, in central Mount Olive Township. U.S. Route 46 passes through the community, leading northeast to Netcong and southwest to Hackettstown. Interstate 80 passes just north of the community. New York City is to the east via I-80, and the Delaware Water Gap is to the west.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Budd Lake CDP has a total area of , including of land and of water (15.26%). It is deep and can have large algal blooms. The adjacent bog, created by thousands of years of decaying plant material, supports wetland plants such as black spruce and tamarack, which grow on the floating mass. It is closely bordered by U.S. Route 46 to the south and Sand Shore Road to the east.
Budd Lake was named for John Budd, who acquired of land in the area in 1714. Prior to that, it was called Hattacawanna Lake.
Demographics
Budd Lake first appeared as an unincorporated community in the 1950 U.S. census;
!Pop 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |Pop 2020
!% 2000
!% 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020
|-
|White alone (NH)
|6,680
|6,405
|style='background: #ffffe6; |5,944
|82.47%
|71.42%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |60.75%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|279
|537
|style='background: #ffffe6; |553
|3.44%
|5.99%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |5.65%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|5
|9
|style='background: #ffffe6; |3
|0.06%
|0.10%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.03%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|467
|690
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,132
|5.77%
|7.69%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |11.57%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|0
|5
|style='background: #ffffe6; |3
|0.00%
|0.06%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.03%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|20
|8
|style='background: #ffffe6; |49
|0.25%
|0.09%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.50%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|113
|141
|style='background: #ffffe6; |391
|1.40%
|1.57%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.00%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|536
|1,173
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,709
|6.62%
|13.08%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |17.47%
|-
|Total
|8,100
|8,968
|style='background: #ffffe6; |9,784
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Budd Lake had a population of 9,784. The median age was 39.0 years. 24.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 12.2% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 99.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 97.1 males age 18 and over.
97.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 2.9% lived in rural areas.
There were 3,445 households in Budd Lake, of which 38.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 58.3% were married-couple households, 15.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 19.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 19.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 2,851 households, out of which 43.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.7% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.9% were non-families. 18.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size was 3.25.
Notable people
People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Budd Lake include:
- Tim Jacobus (born 1959), artist best known for illustrating the covers for nearly one hundred books in R. L. Stine's Goosebumps series
- PES (born 1973 as Adam Pesapane), Oscar and Emmy-nominated director and stop-motion animator, whose short film Fresh Guacamole was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 2013
- Ryan Peterson (born 1995), professional footballer who plays for the Charlotte Independence in USL League One
- Jen Ponton (born 1984), actress, screenwriter and producer, best known for portraying Rubi in the AMC series Dietland
See also
- Pax Amicus Theatre