Newark Metro Division

With a population of more than 2.6 million, the Newark metropolitan area covers much of northern New Jersey, including Essex, Union, Morris, Sussex, Somerset, and Hunterdon counties, as well as Pike County in Pennsylvania. As this area includes both Newark Airport and the region’s major seaports, transportation and warehousing is a key industry. Other major industries are insurance, communications, pharmaceuticals, and health care. Employment growth in this region has been quite rapid since 2015, interrupted only briefly by the pandemic. Job creation has been particularly robust in the area’s key transportation and warehousing sector. On average, the area’s population is significantly more affluent and well-educated than the nation’s, and slightly more so than New Jersey’s as a whole. Still, there are large pockets of poverty in many of this area’s cities, such as Newark, Elizabeth, East Orange, and Plainfield, and these cities have grappled with affordable housing challenges.

Economic and Demographic Trends
Newark Bergen-Hudson-Passaic * Middlesex-Monmouth* New Jersey USA
Population1 2,625,000 2,205,000 1,507,000 9,289,000 331,449,000
Pop growth, 10-year change1 6.2% 8.0% 4.6% 5.7% 7.4%
GDP, billions1 $201 $150 $100 $619 $20,894
Job growth, 5-year change2 -2.3% -3.5% 0.9% -1.2% 1.2%
Median household income1 $90,100 $86,500 $99,000 $86,700 $67,000
Median home price1 $400,000 $450,000 $390,000 $350,000 $250,000
Pop share age 25+ with BA+1 45.3% 46.1% 48.1% 43.1% 35.1%


1 2020

2 2021

* Neighboring Metros

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis; IPUMS USA-University of Minnesota. Data retrieved through data.census.gov, Moody's Economy.com, or directly from source.



Reports & Analysis
Regional Employment Trends (September 8, 2023)
LSE Blog: Businesses Want Remote Work, Just Not as Much (August 23, 2023)
Press Briefing: The Region’s Recovery from the Pandemic Recession (April 13, 2023)
Regional Employment Trends (March 10, 2023)
Press Briefing: Employment and Housing Conditions in the Second District (Nov 10, 2022)
A Look at the New York-Northern New Jersey Region’s Pandemic Housing Boom (Nov 10, 2022)
Jaison Abel's Briefing on Economic Conditions in the Region (Nov 5, 2021)
Severe Supply Disruptions Are Impeding Business Activity in the Region (Oct 21, 2021)
Tough Choices: New Jersey Schools during the Great Recession and Beyond (July 2021)
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