Essex County, NJ

County

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2024 Population

863,002

US Senator

Cory Booker

Democratic Party

US Senator

Andy Kim

Democratic Party

2024 Poverty Rate

14.6%

2.58% 1-year decrease

2024 Median Household Income

$80,789

5.31% 1-year growth

2024 Median Property Value

$524,100

6.01% 1-year growth

2024 Employed Population

414,128

1.15% 1-year growth

About

None of the households in Essex County, NJ reported speaking a non-English language at home as their primary shared language. This does not consider the potential multi-lingual nature of households, but only the primary self-reported language spoken by all members of the household.

84.9% of the residents in Essex County, NJ are U.S. citizens.

The largest universities in Essex County, NJ are New Jersey Institute of Technology (3,250 degrees awarded in 2023), Rutgers University-Newark (3,239 degrees), and Seton Hall University (2,912 degrees).

In 2024, the median property value in Essex County, NJ was $524,100, and the homeownership rate was 44.9%.

Most people in Essex County, NJ drove alone to work, and the average commute time was 33.6 minutes. The average car ownership in Essex County, NJ was 2 cars per household.

Essex County, NJ borders Bergen County, NJ, Hudson County, NJ, Morris County, NJ, Passaic County, NJ, and Union County, NJ.

About the photo: Branch Brook Park in Newark, NJ.

Photo by Joshua Siniscal

United States New Jersey New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA

Population & Diversity

Essex County, NJ is home to a population of 863k people, from which 84.9% are citizens. As of 2024, 29.8% of Essex County, NJ residents were born outside of the country (258k people).

In 2024, there were 1.3 times more Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) residents (306k people) in Essex County, NJ than any other race or ethnicity. There were 235k White (Non-Hispanic) and 107k Other (Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

84.9%

2024 Citizenship

85.7%

2023 Citizenship

As of 2024, 84.9% of Essex County, NJ residents were US citizens, which is lower than the national average of 93.2%. In 2023, the percentage of US citizens in Essex County, NJ was 85.7%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been decreasing.

The following chart shows US citizenship percentages in Essex County, NJ compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Essex County, NJ

Black or African American (Non-Hispanic)
306k ± 2.44k
White (Non-Hispanic)
235k ± 1.63k
Other (Hispanic)
107k ± 3.63k

25.2%

Hispanic Population

217k people

25.2% of the people in Essex County, NJ are hispanic (217k people).

The following chart shows the 8 races represented in Essex County, NJ as a share of the total population.

Global Diversity

The PUMS dataset is not available at the County level, so we are showing data for New Jersey.

Most Common Origin

India
273,706 ± 12,653 people
Dominican Republic
205,965 ± 11,018 people
Mexico
107,667 ± 8,009 people

In 2023, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of New Jersey was India, the natal country of 273,706 New Jersey residents, followed by Dominican Republic with 205,965 and Mexico with 107,667.

Foreign-Born Population

29.8%

2024 Foreign-Born Population

258k people

29.1%

2023 Foreign-Born Population

248k people

As of 2024, 29.8% of Essex County, NJ residents (258k people) were born outside of the United States, which is approximately the same as the national average of 14%. In 2023, the percentage of foreign-born citizens in Essex County, NJ was 29.1%, meaning that the rate has been increasing.

The following chart shows the percentage of foreign-born residents in Essex County, NJ compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period

Vietnam
4,975 ± 571
Gulf War (2001-)
3,488 ± 625
Gulf War (1990s)
2,436 ± 405

Essex County, NJ has a large population of military personnel who served in Vietnam, 1.43 times greater than any other conflict.

The chart shows the distribution of veterans by conflict in Essex County, NJ.

Economy

The economy of Essex County, NJ employs 414k people. In 2024, the largest industries in Essex County, NJ were Health Care & Social Assistance (61,171 people), Educational Services (41,297 people), and Retail Trade (39,051 people), and the highest paying industries were Finance & Insurance ($134,875), Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($111,279), and Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services ($107,149).

Employment

Occupations

414k

2024 Value

± 6,008

1.15%

1 Year growth

± 2.04%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Essex County, NJ grew at a rate of 1.15%, from 409k employees to 414k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Essex County, NJ, are Management Occupations (47,378 people), Office & Administrative Support Occupations (43,248 people), and Sales & Related Occupations (32,983 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Essex County, NJ.

Unemployment Insurance Claims

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for New Jersey.

This chart shows weekly unemployment insurance claims in New Jersey (not-seasonally adjusted) compared with the four states with the most similar impact.

The most recent data point uses Advance State Claims data, which can be revised in subsequent weeks.

Industries

Employment by Industries

414k

2024 Value

± 6,008

1.15%

1 Year growth

± 2.04%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Essex County, NJ grew at a rate of 1.15%, from 409k employees to 414k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Essex County, NJ, are Health Care & Social Assistance (61,171 people), Educational Services (41,297 people), and Retail Trade (39,051 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Essex County, NJ, though some of these residents may live in Essex County, NJ and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

$58,988

Median earning men ± $1,466

$46,172

Median earning women ± $1,397

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2024 are Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($142,095), Information ($100,357), and Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services ($87,445).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2024 are Information ($103,831), Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($90,224), and Public Administration ($66,824).

Employment by Industry Sector

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for New Jersey.

Y-Axis

2.27%

Year-over-year growth

Employment change between February 2022 and February 2023

As of February 2023, there are 4.24M people employed in New Jersey. This represents a 2.27% increase in employment when compared to February 2022.

Right after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, during April 2020, a general dip can be seen across industry sectors, resulting in an overall decline in employment by 16.5%.

The following chart shows monthly employment numbers for each industry sector in New Jersey.

Establishments by Size

The industries with the most establishments

1,570
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
1,551
Retail Trade
1,436
Other Services (except Public Administration)

The visualization shows the distribution of establishments by industry and by size according to the number of employees.

The visualization shows the number of establishments and its share across establishment sizes.

Payroll by Industry Sector

The industries with the highest total annual payroll

$3.79M
Health Care and Social Assistance
$2.91M
Finance and Insurance
$2.48M
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

The chart shows the total annual payroll and the average annual payroll by industry.

Education

In 2023, universities in Essex County, NJ awarded 12,336 degrees. The student population of Essex County, NJ in 2023 is skewed towards men, with 23,489 male students and 21,974 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in Essex County, NJ are White (3,921 and 36.2%), Hispanic or Latino (2,638 and 24.4%), Black or African American (1,936 and 17.9%), and Asian (1,569 and 14.5%).

The largest universities in Essex County, NJ by number of degrees awarded are New Jersey Institute of Technology (3,250 and 26.3%), Rutgers University-Newark (3,239 and 26.3%), and Seton Hall University (2,912 and 23.6%).

The most popular majors in Essex County, NJ are General Business Administration & Management (806 and 6.53%), General Computer & Information Sciences (660 and 5.35%), and General Biological Sciences (607 and 4.92%).

The median tuition costs in Essex County, NJ are $34,016 for private four year colleges, and $14,645 and $32,482 respectively, for public four year colleges for in-state students and out-of-state students.

Admissions & Enrollments

Applicants, Admissions & Enrolled

University

Measure

In 2023 in Essex County, NJ, the percentage of applicants admitted was 74.2%, while the percentage of admitted who enrolled was 10.6%. The number of students enrolled in 2023 was 45,463 (51.7% men and 48.3% women).

The line chart shows the evolution of the percentage of applicants admitted, admitted who enrolled or the number of students enrolled according to the option selected in the upper button.

Enrollments by Gender and Races

Universities

In 2023 there were 45,463 students enrolled in Essex County, NJ, 51.7% men and 48.3% women.

By race, the largest number of students enrolled was concentrated in White with 12,052 records, of which 45.7% were women and 54.3% men.

Completions

Concentrations

Most Common

General Biological Sciences
523 degrees awarded
General Finance
364 degrees awarded
General Psychology
348 degrees awarded

In 2023, the most common concentation for Bachelors Degree recipients in Essex County, NJ was General Biological Sciences with 523 degrees awarded.

This visualization illustrates the percentage of students graduating with a Bachelors Degree from schools in Essex County, NJ according to their major.

Universities

Gender

Race

Largest Universities by degrees awarded

New Jersey Institute of Technology
3,250 degrees awarded
Rutgers University-Newark
3,239 degrees awarded
Seton Hall University
2,912 degrees awarded

In 2023, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was New Jersey Institute of Technology with 3,250 degrees awarded.

Student Diversity

University

In 2023, 6,252 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Essex County, NJ, which is 1.03 times more than the 6,084 female students who received degrees in the same year.

In 2023, the most common race/ethnicity group awarded degrees at institutions was White students. These 3,921 degrees mean that there were 1.49 times more degrees awarded to White students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, Hispanic or Latino, with 2,638 degrees awarded.

Awarded Degrees over Time

The graph shows the evolution of awarded degrees by degrees. Under the paragraphs, the average number of awarded degrees by university in each degree is shown.

Tuition

Average Net Price by Sector

Universities

Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above ($34,016) is the sector with the highest median state tuition in 2023.

Public, 4-year or above ($3,159) is the sector with the highest median state fee in 2023.

Public, 2-year ($2,400) is the sector with the highest average net price of books and supplies.

The graph shows the average net price by sector and year.

Housing & Living

The median property value in Essex County, NJ was $524,100 in 2024, which is 1.58 times larger than the national average of $332,700. Between 2023 and 2024 the median property value increased from $494,400 to $524,100, a 6.01% increase. The homeownership rate in Essex County, NJ is 44.9%, which is lower than the national average of 65.2%.

People in Essex County, NJ have an average commute time of 33.6 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Essex County, NJ is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

In 2025, 26.4% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Essex County, NJ. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator declined 1.35%.

Housing

Property

$524,100

Median Property Value 2024

±$11,118

$143,579

Median Property Taxes

±$2,512

The following chart display owner-occupied housing units distributed between a series of property tax buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. In Essex County, NJ the largest share of households pay taxes in the $3k+ range.

The chart underneath the paragraph shows the property taxes in Essex County, NJ compared to it's parent and neighbor geographies.

Rent vs Own

44.9%

Homeownership

2024

59.2%

Homeowners with Mortgage

2024

In 2024, 44.9% of the housing units in Essex County, NJ were occupied by their owner. This percentage grew from the previous year's rate of 44.5%.

This chart shows the percentage of owner in Essex County, NJ compared it's parent and neighboring geographies.

Equity

Household Income

Please note that the buckets used in this visualization were not evenly distributed by ACS when publishing the data.

$80,789

Median Household Income

± $1,638

320k

Number of Households

± 5,340

In 2024, the median household income of the 320k households in Essex County, NJ grew to $80,789 from the previous year's value of $76,712.

The following chart displays the households in Essex County, NJ distributed between a series of income buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households have an income in the $200k+ range.

Wage Distribution

The closest comparable wage GINI for Essex County, NJ is from New Jersey.

0.486

2023 Wage GINI in New Jersey

0.489

2022 Wage GINI in New Jersey

In 2023, the income inequality in New Jersey was 0.486 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 0.709% decline from 2022 to 2023, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat more even. The GINI for New Jersey was higher than than the national average of 0.476. In other words, wages are distributed less evenly in New Jersey in comparison to the national average.

This chart shows the number of workers in New Jersey across various wage buckets compared to the national average.

Transportation

Commuter Transportation

Most Common Commute in 2024

Drove Alone (52.7%)
Worked At Home (16.1%)
Public Transit (15.8%)

In 2024, 52.7% of workers in Essex County, NJ drove alone to work, followed by those who worked at home (16.1%) and those who used public transit to get to work (15.8%).

The following chart shows the number of households using each mode of transportation over time, using a logarithmic scale on the y-axis to help better show variations in the smaller means of commuting.

Commute Time

33.6 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Essex County, NJ have a longer commute time (33.6 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.4 minutes). Additionally, 5.66% of the workforce in Essex County, NJ have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

The chart below shows how the median household income in Essex County, NJ compares to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Car Ownership

2 cars

Average Number

The following chart displays the households in Essex County, NJ distributed between a series of car ownership buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households in Essex County, NJ have 2 cars.

Poverty

Severe Housing Problems

In 2025, 26.4% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Essex County, NJ. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator declined 1.35%.

The graph shows the trend of the percentage of the population living with severe housing problems.

Poverty & Diversity

14.6% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Essex County, NJ (124k out of 844k people) live below the poverty line, a number that is higher than the national average of 12.5%. The largest demographic living in poverty are Females 25 - 34, followed by Females 35 - 44 and then Females 45 - 54.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Essex County, NJ is Black, followed by Hispanic and Other.

The Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who classifies as impoverished. If a family's total income is less than the family's threshold than that family and every individual in it is considered to be living in poverty.

Children in Poverty

In 2025, 18.4% of the children was living in poverty in Essex County, NJ. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator declined 6.4%.

The graph shows the trend of the percentage of the children living in poverty.

Social Needs

Data only available at the state level.

Most prevalent states

California
35,798 individuals
New York
5,087 individuals
Florida
4,915 individuals

In 2017, California had the highest estimated number of chronically homeless individuals in the nation, at 35,798. New York has the second highest (5,087), followed by Florida (4,915).

The following map shows the estimated number of chronically homeless individuals by state over multiple years.

Security

Crimes & Accidents

Indicator

In 2022, the number of reported violent crimes offenses per 100,000 population was 606 in Essex County, NJ. From 2014 to 2022, the indicator declined 69.3 per 100,000 population.

The graph shows the trend in the number of reported violent crimes offenses per 100,000 population.

Health

88.1% of the population of Essex County, NJ has health coverage, with 46.6% on employee plans, 21.5% on Medicaid, 10.1% on Medicare, 9.37% on non-group plans, and 0.399% on military or VA plans.

Primary care physicians in Essex County, NJ see 1,325 patients per year on average, which represents a 0% change from the previous year (1,325 patients). Compare this to dentists who see 1088 patients per year, and mental health providers who see 354 patients per year.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 48.3% were men and 51.7% were women.

Coverage

Patient to Clinician Ratios

1,325 to 1

Patient to Primary Care Physician Ratio in Essex County, NJ

Primary care physicians in Essex County, NJ see an average of 1,325 patients per year. This represents a 0% change from the previous year (1,325 patients).

The following chart shows how the number of patients seen by primary care physicians has been changing over time in Essex County, NJ in comparison to its neighboring geographies.

Health Care Diversity

In 2024, insured persons according to age ranges were distributed in 25.2% under 18 years, 20.9% between 18 and 34 years, 39.8% between 35 and 64 years, and 14% over 64 years.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 48.3% were men and 51.7% were women.

The following chart shows the number of people with health coverage by gender.

Uninsured People

11.9%

Uninsured

46.6%

Employer Coverage

21.5%

Medicaid

10.1%

Medicare

9.37%

Non-Group

0.399%

Military or VA

Between 2023 and 2024, the percent of uninsured citizens in Essex County, NJ grew by 3.11% from 11.6% to 11.9%.

The following chart shows how the percent of uninsured individuals in Essex County, NJ changed over time compared with the percent of individuals enrolled in various types of health insurance.

Health Indicators

Health Outcomes

Indicator

In 2025, the number of deaths among residents under age 18 per 100,000 population was 43.4 in Essex County, NJ.

The graphic shows the trend of the indicator in Essex County, NJ.

Health Behaviors

Indicator

In 2025, the percentage of the adult population (age 18 and older) that reports a body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to 30 kg/m2 (age-adjusted) was 29.1% in Essex County, NJ.

The graphic shows the trend of the indicator in Essex County, NJ.