New Jersey

New Jersey by the Numbers:
Key Statistical Data and Facts

Key Details

• New Jersey is the most densely populated state in the United States, with 9,267,961 residents, according to 2022 census estimates.
• The state has 3,780,004 housing units with a median value of owner-occupied housing units of $355,700 as of July 1, 2022.
• Phil Murphy (Democrat) serves as the 56th governor.
• 90.5% of New Jersey’s population aged 25 years and over have a high school Diploma, while 43.1% hold Bachelor’s Degree or higher Qualification level.
• As of March 2023, New Jersey's unemployment rate is 3.5%.
• Life expectancy in New Jersey is 77.5 years for all individuals, with 80.5 years for female residents and 74.5 years for males.
• The yearly crime rate for New Jersey is 2.38 per 1,000 people.

New Jersey Population Demographics

Set in the North-Eastern United States, New Jersey is the fourth smallest and most densely populated state in the United States. The Garden State is home to 9,267,961 residents, according to 2022 census estimates. More than half of the state's population (55.7%) is between 18 and 64. In comparison, residents aged 17 and under account for 21.8% of the total population, while senior citizens aged 65 and over make up 16.9%. Divided across gender, females account for 50.8% of the state's population, while males make up 49.2%.

New Jersey Housing

3,780,004 housing

As of July 1, 2022, New Jersey supported 3,780,004 housing units.

63.8%

of New Jersey’s housing units within this period were owner-occupied.

3,397,156 households

Lived in New Jersey between 2017 and 2019, and the average number of persons per household was 2.66.

$355,700

The median value of owner-occupied housing units in New Jersey between 2017 and 2021 was $355,700,

$2,560 and $1,102

the average monthly rate with or without mortgages was

New Jersey Racial Demographics

Note: White Americans include residents who indicate white as their race in their response to the census questionnaires. This includes people of European, Middle East, and North African descent.

Elections in New Jersey

Like in all the states of the U.S., governorship elections in New Jersey have become a straight contest between the Democratic and the Republican parties. The leadership of the Garden State has been alternating between these two dominant parties since 1847.

The democratic party won all but two governorship elections in the state between 2002 and 2023. As of 2023, Phil Murphy (Democrat) is the governor of New Jersey. He is serving a second term in office after winning re-election in the state’s governorship elections in 2021.

New Jersey’s two representatives in the U.S. Senate are Democrats Robert Menendez (senior Senator) and Cory Booker (junior Senator), and both are up for re-election in 2024 and 2026. Also, Democrats account for nine of the twelve New Jersey Congressmen in the United States House of Representatives.

2020 Presidential Election

New Jersey has been a stronghold of the Democrats in the presidential elections. The Democratic party won every presidential election in New Jersey between 1992 and 2020. Prior to 1992, the Republican party won in the state for six consecutive presidential elections (1968 to 1988). In the 2020 presidential elections, Joseph R. Biden of the Democratic party won New Jersey’s 14 electoral college votes with 6,407,297 votes (more than double the 2,646,689 votes won by Donald J. Trump of the Republican party).

Joe Biden

Donald Trump

New Jersey Voting Statistics

In New Jersey, the number of registered voters who identify with the Democratic party is in the majority compared to those of the Republican party. As of 2018, there were 2,179,007 registered Democrats in New Jersey. This figure was 911,230 voters, more than the 1,267,777 registered voters identified as Republicans.

For the 2020 general elections, 4,635,686 of the 6,407,297 registered voters in New Jersey voted (a 72% voter turnout).

General Election

How Educated Is New Jersey

New Jersey ranks as one of the most educated states in the United States. As of 2021, 90.5% of New Jersey’s population aged 25 years and over has a high school Diploma. In addition, 43.1% of the same age bracket are bachelor’s or higher degree holders.  

In 2021, over 2.2 million persons aged three and above were enrolled in public and private schools in New Jersey. These figures include 600,784 students in college or graduate school (270,371 males and 330,413 females).  

In 2021, the highest level of educational attainment in New Jersey were bachelor’s degrees (25.7%) and graduate or professional degrees (17.4%). The table below outlines the educational attainment of New Jersey residents aged 25 years and over as a percentage of the total population as of 2021. 

New Jersey Employment Rate

As of March 2023, New Jersey’s unemployment rate stood at 3.5%, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics. This was a 0.6% decrease in the figure for March 2022.

New Jersey's non-farm sector created over 4.3 million jobs in March 2023. This includes 3,724,800 jobs from the private business sector. Though New Jersey’s unemployment rate was relatively stable before March 2023, there was a marginal increase between December 2022 (3.3%) and February 2023 (3.5%).

The employment ratio to the civilian labor force and the unemployment rate in New Jersey varies disproportionately across the different economic sectors and locations. For instance, the employment to labor force ratio of 6.3 in the mining sector in the twelve months before March 2023 is higher than the 0.3 recorded for the financial activities sector.  

Also, the unemployment rate in Trenton dropped from 3.7% to 3.2% between February and March 2023, in contrast to the 10.3 to 9.8 recorded in Ocean City for the same period.   

Average Income in New Jersey

The median household income for families resident in New Jersey between 2017 and 2021 is $89,703. This figure is higher than the national average of $69,021 for the period and ranks New  Jersey among the U.S. states with the highest median household income.  On average, New Jersey families with one earner earn $75,321 yearly, while those having two or three earners have median incomes of $92,669 and $117,697.  

Families in New Jersey

New Jersey Marriage Rates

New Jersey Divorce Rates

As of 2021, New Jersey's divorce rate was 2.2 per 1,000 residents.  New Jersey’s rate is lower than the United States average of 2.5 divorces per 1,000 residents. In 2021, 6.9% of males and 10.1% of females resident in New Jersey are divorced. In addition, 1.4% of males and 1.9% of females in the state are separated. Also, 2.5% of the male and 8.4% of the female residents are widowed. New Jersey’s divorce rate declined from 2015 to 2020 (except in 2018). The chart below shows how the divorce rate in New Jersey varied between 1990 and 2021. 

Life Expectancy in New Jersey

The life expectancy for residents of New Jersey was 77.5 years (as of 2020). This is 1.1 years higher than the United States national average life expectancy of 76.4 years for the same period. As of 2023, the leading cause of death among New Jersey residents is heart disease. In addition, other causes of death for people living in New Jersey include drug overdose (32.4 per 100,000), firearm injuries (5.2 per 100,000), Covid 19 (16.8 per 100,000 as of Q3 of 2022), and homicide (4.8 per 100,000).  

Life expectancy for males and females living in New Jersey differ. On average, female residents in New Jersey live to be 80.5 years, while for males, it is 74.5 years. These figures are higher than the U.S. national average of 79.3 years for females and 73.5 years for males. 

New Jersey Crime Rates

The yearly average crime rate for New Jersey is  2.38 per 1,000 residents. The number of crimes committed in New Jersey differs across the different parts of the state. There is a higher crime rate in the Northeastern part of Garden State than in the Northwestern region. In Northeastern New Jersey, your chances of falling victim to a crime victim in the neighborhoods is 1 in 27, while the figure drops to 1 in 94 in the Northwestern region.  

Data from the FBI National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) showed 5,047 crime incidents (including 4,764 violent crimes) were reported by 226 law enforcement agencies that submitted reports from New Jersey (this data covered 48% of the population). The table below outlines some common violent crimes committed in New Jersey in 2021. 

Data from the New Jersey Government shows the number of crimes reported in the state dropped from 186,904 in 2019 to 164,965. The graph shows the decline in the reported crime incidents in New Jersey between 2014 and 2020. 

New Jersey Incarceration Rate

100,000 residents

According to the National Institute of Corrections (NIC), as of 2020, New Jersey's incarceration rate was 145 per 100,000 residents.

23,300 inmates

There are 23,300 inmates locked up in the 11 state prisons and 19 jail facilities across Garden State.

100,000 people

The New Jersey incarceration rate is far below the United States average of 350 per 100,000 people (as of 2021).

112,507 people

New Jersey's correction system has 112,507 people on probation for criminal offenses.

New Jersey Bankruptcy Rate

2022

15,558 bankruptcy cases

New Jersey's bankruptcy rate for 2021 stands at 112.72 per 100,000 residents. The United States Bankruptcy Court District of New Jersey data show 15,558 bankruptcy filings in New Jersey in 2021. The three types of bankruptcies available to U.S. citizens are Chapter 7, Chapter 11, and Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Chapter 11 and Chapter 13 bankruptcies are personal bankruptcies, while businesses file Chapter 7 bankruptcy.  

In 2022, New Jersey had 2,639 cumulative bankruptcy filings. This was a 2% decrease from the numbers filled in the same period the previous year. The chart below shows the cumulative bankruptcy filings for New Jersey between 2013 and 2022. 

Weird Laws in New Jersey

As a resident or visitor to Garden State, some state laws may sound unbelievable or plain weird. Below is a list of some of the weird New Jersey laws.