Ramsey was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 10, 1908, from portions of Hohokus Township (now Mahwah). Additional territory was annexed from Waldwick in 1921, and portions of the borough were ceded to Saddle River in 1925.
As of the census of 2000, there were 14,351 people, 5,313 households, and 3,947 families residing in the borough. The population density was 2,583.2 people per square mile (996.6/km). There were 5,400 housing units at an average density of 972.0/sq mi (375.0/km). The racial makeup of the borough was 91.62% White, 0.78% African American, 0.10% Native American, 5.85% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.54% from other races, and 1.10% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.93% of the population.
There were 5,313 households out of which 37.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.4% were married couples living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.7% were non-families. 22.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.18.
In the borough the population was spread out with 27.0% under the age of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 30.5% from 25 to 44, 26.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.9 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $88,187, and the median income for a family was $104,036. Males had a median income of $75,017 versus $43,205 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $41,964. About 1.4% of families and 1.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.2% of those under age 18 and 2.5% of those age 65 or over.
A number of roadways serve Ramsey and its neighboring communities, providing the borough with easy driving access to New York State (including New York City) and other points within New Jersey. NJ Route 17 and County Route 507 intersect the areas east and north of Ramsey's downtown business district, while I-287 and U.S. Route 202 pass through the Darlington section of Mahwah to the west and the New York State Thruway (I-87/I-287) and NY Route 59 run through Suffern, New York to the north.
In addition, Ramsey has two New Jersey Transit train stations which provide mass transit access to Manhattan via Hoboken Terminal or Secaucus Junction. The Ramsey Main Street station is located on Main Street just east of Central Avenue in the borough's downtown area, while the Ramsey Route 17 station, which opened on August 22, 2004, is a park-and-ride facility and regional commuter hub located along Route 17 South in the northern section of town. Both of these stations are stops along NJ Transit's Main Line and Bergen County Line.