Alpine in New Jersey, the most expensive place to live in the US

One of the many mansions in Alpine, the most expensive residential zip code in the US. Alpine's status as America's priciest neighbourhood has been coined by Forbes magazine, which ranked the local postal code, 07620, as the most expensive in the nation, edging out the San Francisco suburb of Atherton, Manhattan's Greenwich Village and Duarte, in the foothills of the San Gabriel mountains in Los Angeles Photograph: Frederic Lafargue/Rapport

The tiny town of Alpine, which overlooks the Hudson River some 20 miles north of New York City, has higher property values than the star-studded Hollywood Hills Photograph: Frederic Lafargue/Rapport

One of the many mansions of Alpine. Exclusive, it may be. But lively, it is not. Alpine has no high street Photograph: Frederic Lafargue/Rapport

"This is the kind of place where people come not to be known," says Marlyn Friedberg, who runs a local estate agency, Friedberg Properties. "There isn't much here. The gas station sells milk and ice if you ever run out." Photograph: Frederic Lafargue/Rapport

Alpine's streets were silent this week except for ever-present workers trimming the gardens of properties. Gardening is a lucrative trade, says one local landscaper Photograph: Frederic Lafargue/Rapport

Down a long, winding road across the nearby Palisades Interstate Parkway, a discreet marina offers mooring for yachts and pleasure craft on the Hudson river Photograph: Frederic Lafargue/Rapport

Maintenance workers at one of the many mansions in Alpine Photograph: Frederic Lafargue/Rapport

One of the many mansions in Alpine. Alpine's homes vary from very large to absolutely enormous. Statues of nymphs in front gardens are all the rage, as are Ionic columns and sweeping gravel drives Photograph: Frederic Lafargue/Rapport

Workers outside one of the many mansions in Alpine. Of 42 Alpine properties presently on the market, prices range from $699,000 to an eye-watering $59m for a manor house on a 27-acre estate once owned by the industrial tycoon Henry Frick Photograph: Frederic Lafargue/Rapport