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1737 census of the colony. Image: New Jersey State Archives
--Total population The US Census Bureau reported that the population of New Jersey was 9,288,994 people living in the state as of April 1, 2020, an increase of 5.7% from the 8,791,894 in the 2010 census. Accordng to annual estimates by the Census Bureau, from July 2023 to July 2024, New Jersey had a net population gain of 121,209, the Bureau reported the fastest growth rate in the Northeast, primarily due to the state gaining 130,692 international immigrants. The state has the 11th highest overall population nationwide, but the fifth-most international immigrants. New Jersey had 101,199 births and 75,189 deaths, for a net population gain of 26,010, but its birth rate isn't high enough in future years to replace deaths of the aging baby boomer population. Domestic migration. New Jersey had a net loss of 35,554 as residents left the state for new jobs, lower costs or warmer weather. The three most popular destinations, according to Census data: Pennsylvania, New York and Florida. As the fourth smallest state in land area (behind only Rhode Island, Delaware and Connecticut), New Jersey has the highest population density of all states. Its total land mass equates to 8,721 square miles (22,608 square kilometers) For every square mile of territory, there is an average of 1,195.5 people, which makes it the most densely populated state in the US. New Jersey is the only state to have every single county considered "urban" by the Census Bureau. Growth between 2010 and 2020 was most concentrated in Hudson and Essex counties. Ocean County's rise was driven by Lakewood’s highest-in-the-state population increase of 46%. Newark broke the 300,000-population threshold for the first time in decades, maintaining its spot as the state’s most populous municipality with 281,917, ahead of second highest Jersey City with 262,652. Among all states between 2010 and 2020, Texas had the largest numeric increase in population, gaining 4 million people since 2010. Florida, California, and Georgia all gained at least 1 million in population (increases of 2.7 million, 2.3 million, and 1 million, respectively). Eight additional states (Washington, North Carolina, New York, Arizona, Colorado, Virginia, Tennessee, and Utah) gained at least 500,000 people. Utah was the fastest-growing state over the decade with an 18.4% increase. West Virginia’s decline of 59,000 between 2010 and 2020 was the largest loss of any state. Illinois (down 18,000) and Mississippi (down 6,000) also had population declines for the decade. Puerto Rico’s population declined by 440,000 or 11.8%. Between 2020 and 2024, the Census Bureau estimates that New Jersey led the Northeast in year-over-year population growth rate with the number of residents climbing to an estimated 9,500,851, representing an increase of 1.3% or 121,209 from 2023 and a 2.3% population increase — or 211,837 new residents — since April 2020. New Jersey ranked as the sixth most diverse state in the nation, moving up two places since 2010 in the census diversity ranking. * Census Brief: Warmer, older, more diverse: State-by-state population changes to 2025, US Census Bureau * 2020 Census Statistics Highlight Local Population Changes and Nation’s Racial and Ethnic Diversity, US Census Bureau * State Population Estimates Totals: 2020-2024, US Census Bureau * NJ grows, and it grows more diverse, NJSpotlight.com, 8/13/2021 * Estimates of Resident Population by Age & Sex, NJ: 1990-1999 * See how and where New Jersey changed, NJSpotlight.com
1790 US Census. Image: US Census Bureau/National Geographic Society
--Race and Ethnicity A new Census Bureau report released in September 2023 provides a more detailed profile of the diversity of the state's population: Italians comprise the biggest demographic of “white-alone” residents, with 608,791 people representing nearly 12% of white-alone New Jerseyans identifying as Italian. Italians also are the bulk of white-alone residents in the nearby states of New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, while most other states list English or German as their biggest white-alone populations. The largest share of Blacks in New Jersey and every other state identifies as African-American. Haitian, Jamaican, Nigerian, and Ethiopian were the next largest groups of Black people. More than 41% of the Asian population, or 432,883 people, identifies as Indian. Other states report that Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Hmong, and Vietnamese are their largest Asian populations. Puerto Ricans comprise the largest share of New Jersey’s Latino/Hispanic population, accounting for 459,270 people, or 23% of that population. Neighboring states New York, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut also report Puerto Ricans as the biggest group of Latinos, while people identifying as Mexican dominate the Latino populations in most other states nationally. Brazilians are the most prominent “other race,” accounting for 42,773 people, or 2.5% of New Jersey residents of other races. Whites remained the majority of the state’s 9.29 million residents — 52% in 2020 according to the Census Bureau. Most of the growth between the 2010 and 2020 counts, however, was among Hispanics and Asians: The number of people identifying as Latino rose by almost 29%, with the number of Asians growing by 31%. Among those identified as Asians, 369,590 are Asian Indians, 158,076 are Chinese, 115,958 are Filipinos, 13,245 are Japanese, 96,644 are Korean, 22,594 are Vietnamese and 67,998 are other Asian nationals. More than two of every 10 New Jerseyans were Hispanic and one in 10 were Asian. New Jersey ranked as the sixth most diverse state in the nation (seventh if the District of Columbia is included in the rankings), moving up two places since 2010 in its census diversity ranking. * New census data details New Jersey’s growing diversity, NewJerseyMonitor, 9/22/2023 * Detailed Races and Ethnicities in the United States and Puerto Rico: 2020 Census, US Census Bureau --Foreign immigration and national origins
New Jersey has about 2.3 million immigrants, including about 450,000 who are undocumented, according to federal reports, comprising nearly a quarter of the state's population, higher than the national rate of 14.3%. In recent years, New Jersey has depended on foreign immigration to avoid a net decline in population. It is estimated that there were about 475,000 illegal immigrants making up about 5.2% of the population--the fourth highest percentage of any state. In the 2020 census, 90.3% of the residents in New Jersey were US citizens.
The primary sources of foreign immigration to New Jersey have increasingly been shifting from Europe to Latin America and Asia, but the five largest ethnic groups in 2000 continued to reflect the historical pattern, with the largest groups comprised of Italian (17.9%), Irish (15.9%), African (13.6%), German (12.6%) and Polish (6.9%). Just under 32% of New Jersey residents speak a language other than English at home. The Spanish language, with 14.59% of households speaking it as their primary language at home, is by far the most frequent language spoken other than English, with Chinese (1.23%), Italian (1.06%) and Portuguese (1.06%) the only other languages exceeding one percent. As a percentage of population in 2022, New Jersey was the third highest state in the percentage of Asians with 9.6%, behind only Hawaii (38.6%) and California (14.6%), and the highest of all states in the percentage of Asian Indians with 3.32%. Bergen County is home to all of the nation's top ten municipalities by percentage of Korean population, led by Palisades Park, where Koreans comprise the majority (52%) of the population. The state also had the largest population of Peruvian Americans of all states; the largest population of Cuban Americans outside of Florida; and the third highest Italian American population by percentage, according to the 2000 Census. Some 31.6% of the households in New Jersey reported speaking a non-English language at home as their primary shared language, which is higher than the national average of 21.5%, with the survey measuring only the primary self-reported language spoken by all members of the household. In 2020, the most common non-English language spoken in households in New Jersey was Spanish. 16.4% of the households in New Jersey reported speaking Spanish at home as the primary shared language between all members living in the household. According to data from the National Science Foundation, immigrants comprise 48% of state residents with master’s degrees and 41% of those with doctorates in scientific fields. New Jersey attitudes toward immigrants appear to be more positive than the nation as a whole. The state provides eligible undocumented residents, including DACA recipients, with access to in-state tuition, state financial aid, professional and occupational licenses, and driver licenses and state identification. Legislation enacted in 2024, after the election of Donald Trump for a second term as president, bars law enforcement officers from stopping, questioning, arresting, searching, or detaining any person based solely on their actual or suspected immigration status and also prohibits law enforcement from sharing immigrant-related resources or databases with federal immigration officials.A survey in 2014 reported that 61% responded that immigrants strengthened the country because of their hard work and talents compared to 55% nationally; similarly, 29% of New Jerseyans responded that immigrants burdened the country because they took jobs, housing and healthcare compared to 36% who so responded for the US as a nation. New Jersey had the same percentage as the US with 60% of respondents who believed that the best option for dealing with illegal immigrants was to provide a way for them to become citizens; 15% of New Jerseyans responded that illegals should be identified and deported compared to 19% in all states. * State Immigration Data Profiles, New Jersey, Migration Policy Institute * Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Residing in the United States: January 2015–January 2018, US Department of Homeland Security * New Jersey Data Profile, DataUSA.io * US unauthorized immigrant population estimates by state 2016, Pew Center
-- People
* Estimated Population December 2024- 9,500,851 * Population 2020 Census- 9,288,994 * Population 2010 Census- 8,791,894 * Population % change 2010 to 2020- 5.7% * Persons 18 years and over % 2020- 78.4% * Persons under 5 years in age % 2020- 5.8% * Net change persons moving in or to other states 2024 (United Van Lines/U-Haul)- out-of-state departures 51.9% inbound: 48.1%; * Foreign-born individuals 2018- 23% of total population * White alone % 2020- 55% * Black or African American alone % 2020- 13.1% * Hispanic or Latino (of any race) % 2020- 21.6% * Asian alone % 2020- 10.2% * Undocumented immigrants 2023 estimate- 428,000 * Persons per square mile 2020- 1,195.5 * Marriage Rate 5.1 (marriages per 1,000 * Divorce Rate 2.3 (divorces per 1,000 * US Census Bureau * American Fact Finder, US Census Bureau * National Movers Study 2021, United Van Lines |