Official Federal Data
Essex County, New Jersey
FIPS 34013 · New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ · Population 863,002
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$80,789 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
6.3% ▲
Unemployment
4% national
$76.2B ▲
GDP
39.1% ▲
Bachelor's+
35.7% national
Demographics & Population
Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates
Household Income
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household
$80,789 ▲
Per Capita
$49,449 ▲
Mean Household
$131,513 ▲
Poverty Rate
14.6% ▼
Median Income Comparison
Essex County$80,789
New Jersey$103,556
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 23.6%
18-34 · 22.4%
35-54 · 27.7%
55-64 · 12.1%
65+ · 14.2%
Race & Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.
Educational Attainment
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
86.7%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▼ 2.9 pts
39.1%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▲ +3.4 pts
16.9%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▲ +2.8 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
863,002
Population
453,958
Labor Force
Employed
414,128
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
6.3% ▲ +0.7 pts YoY
Mean Commute 7 min above national avg
33.6 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
16.1%
Key Takeaways
- Elevated poverty: At 14.6%, the rate is in economically distressed territory and supports federal funding narratives (CDFI, NMTC, EDA).
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Health Care and Social Assistance employs 56,864 workers (24.3% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $67,069.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $76.2B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Finance and Insurance averages $201,897 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $37,861, a 5.3x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
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Industry Concentration
Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.
Cluster Depth
Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Dominant Cluster
Transportation & Warehousing Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
30,950
Cluster Employment
12.42x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Air Transportation
12.42x 16,088
Apparel Manufacturing
4.38x 782
Support Activities for Transportation
3.96x 7,332
Computing Infrastructure Providers and Data Processing
3.25x 3,569
Couriers and Messengers
2.20x 5,598
Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing
1.96x 1,479
Insurance Carriers and Related Activities
1.65x 9,686
Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related
1.55x 2,028
Private Households
1.53x 712
Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation
1.51x 1,932
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.04x
Transportation Equipment Manufacturing
159 employed
0.15x
Wood Product Manufacturing
136 employed
0.24x
Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing
387 employed
0.26x
Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing
242 employed
0.30x
Publishing Industries and Telecommunications
602 employed
0.32x
Miscellaneous Manufacturing
439 employed
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Air Transportation concentrates at 12.42x the national norm, top-decile concentration, the kind of signature sector that defines a region's economic identity to site selectors.
- Cluster depth: 10 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
- Attraction whitespace: 8 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Housing & Affordability
Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026
Housing Overview
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064
$524,100 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$1,531 ▲
Rent/Mo
44.9% ▲
Owner-Occ
5.1% ▼
Vacancy
6.5x
Home Value to Income Ratio - Stretched
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$1,612/mo
1 Bedroom
$1,822/mo
2 Bedroom
$2,205/mo
3 Bedroom
$2,761/mo
4 Bedroom
$3,137/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$2,020/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- Stretched market: Home value to income ratio of 6.5x is well above the ~4.1x national average; attainable workforce housing may be a recruitment friction.
- Renter-majority market: 44.9% owner-occupied; flexible labor mobility but consider home-buying pipeline if attracting families.
- Affordable rent tiers: 2 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$2,020/mo).
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.
Workforce Pipeline
Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition
Labor Market Overview
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23025, B08303, B08301
536,721 ▲
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 7 min above national avg
33.6 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
16.1%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
80.8%
of prime-age population
▲ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
39.1% ▲
HS Diploma+
86.7% ▲
Regional / Statewide Institutions
Total credentials awarded
32,479/yr
13,105/yr
5,800/yr
5,465/yr
3,249/yr
2,792/yr
2,068/yr
Aging Workforce
Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
19.5%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
43.5%
Service
17.6%
Sales & Office
18.4%
Construction / Maint.
7.7%
Production / Transport
12.8%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 414,128 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 24,370 annual credentials.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.
AI Insights
AI-assisted analysis, drawn from 9 federal data sources
Sample AI Insight
Essex County shows strong potential for air transportation attraction, with a 12.42x concentration and 16,088 jobs in this sub-sector. It ranks in the top decile nationally.
The interconnected base across air transportation, apparel manufacturing, and support activities for transportation creates supply-chain attraction leverage rather than single-employer risk, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.
Industry Shift Analysis
Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100
Prospect Match Scores
Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
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Data Sources
Updated from official federal government data.
Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2025 annual
BLS LAUS (via FRED)2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23
Frequently Asked Questions
Key economic and demographic figures for Essex County, New Jersey, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Essex County, New Jersey?
863,002 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Essex County, New Jersey?
$80,789 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Essex County, New Jersey?
6.3% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Essex County, New Jersey?
$76.2B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).
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