The neighborhood of Monsey is part of the Town of Ramapo, which in turn is located in Rockland County in the state of New York. Monsey got its name from the Munsee Native Americans that lived originally lived in this area. To the south of Monsey is New Jersey, to the west is Suffern, to the north is Airmont and to the east is Nanuet. Monsey's total size is around 2.2 square miles. The overwhelming majority of the residents in Monsey are white, with a tiny minority of African Americans and other races. Over 40% of the residents speak English at home while another 40% primarily speak Yiddish at home.

A large number of the 14,503 residents in Monsey are Orthodox Jews. The Jewish community consists primarily of Hareidim and Hasidim, as well as other Orthodox Jewish groups. The Jewish community in Monsey was originally quite small - in the 1950's there was only one yeshiva in the area. But by the late 1990's, there were more than 100 synagogues and over 40 yeshivas located in Monsey. Today, those numbers are even higher. Compared to other heavily Orthodox Jewish areas such as New Square, Monsey is considered to be a somewhat more open place in terms of diversity of opinion and has more variety in terms of shopping and yeshivas. Political officials are well aware of the needs of the Jewish community and try to accommodate as best as they can. For example, Monsey's recreation department offers Sunday programs divided by gender so Orthodox Jews can participate.

The shopping centers are well designed and convenient, and you can find just about anything for sale. There are lots of kosher restaurants and hotels to cater to the large Jewish population. Due to the numerous yeshivas and synagogues, real estate is in high demand. Orthodox Jews tend to have large families, and what many of these families do is tear down small housing lots and rebuild larger homes. People who would like to move to Monsey will find that there are houses available for buyers with all kinds of different budgets. Rentals are also available, but are much harder to find.