New Jersey Population

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1737 census of the colony. Image: New Jersey State Archives

Map of Newark circa 1911 created for health study. Image: NewJerseyAlmanac.com

--Total population

The population of New Jersey was 8,791,894 people in the 2010 United States Census, ranking it as the eleventh most populous state and representing a 4.5% increase from the 2000 survey. 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 with 1,189 residents per square mile. In 2011, the most recent year for which data was available as of July 2015, there were 105,474 births and 70,000 deaths reported in the state. In the first national census in 1790, New Jersey was reported to have 184,139 citizens, a population density of about 25 persons per square mile.
* US Census Bureau
* How to Get the Most Out of Census.gov, BackgroundChecks.org

--Race

        The state's population was 68% white, 13.7% black, 18% Hispanic of any race and 10% Asian/other, according to the 2010 Census. Asians were the fastest growing group, making up 8% of the state's total population compared to 5% in 2000. About 240,000 people, or 2%, identified themselves as multiracial in the census. The younger population of the state is also increasingly comprised of minorities. Just over half the number of 18 to 34 year-olds identified themselves as a race other than white in the last census, the highest proportion of all states and more than twice the level of 22% reported in 1980. Essex, Union and Camden counties had about 45% of the state’s African American population in the 2010 Census.
* New Jersey QuickFacts, US Census Bureau
* Current Population Survey, US Census Bureau

--Foreign immigration and national origins

          Over the more recent decades, New Jersey has depended on foreign immigration to avoid a net decline in population. Between 2013 and 2014, 55,000 residents left for other states, a loss nearly offset by the 51,000 people who moved to New Jersey from foreign countries. The Census Bureau estimated that 22.6% of the state's population was foreign-born in the 2013-2014 period, the third highest percentage of all states behind only California and New York and substantially above the national rate of 13.6%. It is estimated that there were about 550,000 illegal immigrants making up about 6.4% of the population s of 2010, which is the fourth highest percentage of any state.

       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%). 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.

       Between 1990 and 2010, as the number of immigrants to the US doubled (from just under 19 million to almost 40 million), New Jersey experienced a proportionate change from 967,000 people in 1990 to over 1.8 million in 2013.

        As a percentage of population in 2010, New Jersey was the third highest state in the percentage of Asians with 8.3%, behind only Hawaii (38.6%) and California (13.3%), 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.

       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. 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.
* Current Population Survey, US Census Bureau
* State Immigration Data Profiles, Migration Policy Institute

--State-to-state migration

The net deficit of residents moving out of the state compared to those moving in is a trend shared by other Northeastern states. In 2014, the annual survey published by United Van Lines reported that of all states New Jersey had the largest outbound movers at 65%, compared to second-ranking New York at 64% and third-ranking Connecticut at 57%, with the three states also holding the top positions in the last three annual surveys. According to an analysis of IRS tax and migration records, from 2006 to 2011 the state lost more than 90,000 taxpayers--and some $8 billion in income--to other states and countries which was not made up from new workers within the state.
* 38th Annual National Movers Study, United Van Lines
* Statistics of Income, Migration Data 2011-2012, Internal Revenue Service

--Age

The median age of New Jersey's population in the 2010 Census was 39 years, the 41st oldest of the states behind Utah, the youngest at 29.7 years, and ahead of Maine, the oldest at 42.7 years. The state had an estimated 14.7% of its population 65 years or older as of 2014 compared to the national average of 14.5% according to the Census Bureau. Some 40% of the state's 18 to 34 year-olds live with their parents, a proportion well above the national average of 30%.
* New Jersey Quick Facts, US Census Bureau

--Counties

Bergen County had the largest population in the state as reported in the 2010 Census with 905,116 residents and Salem was the least populated with 66,083 residents. Gloucester had the highest rate of population growth from 2000 to 2010 with a 13.2% increase, nearly three times the 4.5% rate of growth recorded for the state as a whole. Nine other New Jersey counties grew faster than the state during the 2000-2010 period: Ocean (12.8%), Somerset (8.7%), Atlantic (8.7%), Middlesex (8.0%), Cumberland (7.1%), Warren (6.1%), Burlington (6.0%), Hunterdon (5.2%) and Morris (4.7%). The only counties to experience a population decline in the last decade were Cape May (-5,061). and Essex (-9,664).
* New Jersey State and County QuickFacts, US Census Bureau

--Cities

Only four cities in New Jersey have a population over 100,000 people. Newark is the state’s largest city, with a population of 278,154 (based on the 2010 census), closely followed by Jersey City, home to 247,597 people; Paterson (146,199); and Elizabeth (124,969). On the basis of estimates of 2014 population, Newark is the 69th largest of all US cities; in the 1940 US Census, the city's population of 429,760 made it the 18th largest in the nation.

-- Religion
.
New Jersey's religious composition was 67% Christian; 14% non-Christian; and 18% unaffiliated (atheist; agnostic; nothing or don't know), according to the 2014 Religious Landscape Study of the Pew Research Center. Among Christians, 34% are Catholic and the overall the state has the highest proportion of Catholics at 38%, second only to Rhode Island's 44%, according to the American Values Atlas. The New Jersey Jewish population of 516,470 is 5.8% of its 2014 population (second highest after New York state). It has the second largest percentage of Muslims in its population of .9% (after Michigan). With 109 mosques in 2011, it tied with Illinois for the fifth highest number of all states, behind first-ranking New York with 257. The city of Paterson was estimated to have 25,000 to 30,000 Muslims as of 2011.
* Religious Landscape Study, Pew Research Center
* US Religion Census, Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies
* Jewish Virtual Library
* Distribution of Muslim Population in the United States, 2010, Muslim Journeys, National Endowment for the Humanities

* New Jersey Profile, American Values Atlas

-- Marriage and divorce

Some 53% of males and 48% of females aged 15 and older in New Jersey were married compared to, respectively, 52% and 48% nationally, according to a survey for 2007-2008 taken by the US Census Bureau. The median age at first marriage in New Jersey was 30 years old for men--tied for highest of all states--and 28 years for women, compared to the US average of 28 years for men and 26 for women. Those currently divorced at the time of the 2007-2008 survey comprised 7% of men and 10% of women compared to 9% and 12%, respectively, for all states.
* Marriage and Divorce, American Community Survey, US Census Bureau
* Marriage and Divorce, National Center for Health Statistics/Centers for Disease Control
* The States of Marriage and Divorce, Pew Research Center

--Projections

Between 2000 and 2014, the state population grew at an annual rate of .4%, less than half the national growth rate. Population growth is projected to average 0.6% annually from 2014 to 2025, compared to 0.8% for the nation as a whole, with the state's share of total US population expected to fall from 2.8% in 2014 to 2.6% in 2045. By 2045, the state's total population is projected to be just over 10 million residents.

The population is expected to include more seniors, Hispanics and Asians by 2020. The smallest racial groups in the state, Native Americans, Pacific Islanders and Multiracial populations, are projected to increase substantially, growing by 167% between 2010 and 2030. By 2025, it is projected that non-Hispanic whites will no longer be a majority of New Jersey's population, accounting for just 49.4% of the total population by then.

* New Jersey Population: 2010 Census and 2014 Estimates, US Census Bureau
* New Jersey Quick Facts, US Census Bureau
* 38th Annual National Movers Study, United Van Lines
* Statistics of Income, Migration Data 2011-2012, Internal Revenue Service
* Rutgers Regional Report, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning & Public Policy, Rutgers University

-- Quality of life

According to a survey taken in February 2015 by the Monmouth University Polling Institute, more than 6-in-10 New Jerseyans say the state is either an excellent (15%) or good (48%) place to live, while 25% rate it as only fair and 11% as poor. Positive evaluations of one’s hometown as a place to live were 72%, with 62% of residents reporting that they felt very safe in their own neighborhood at night. Positive evaluations of local public schools were 61%, with evaluations of local environmental quality at 72% positive.
* New Jersey Quality of Life Index, Monmouth University Polling Institute, February 23, 2015

In January 2016, the annual Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index® was released based on national telephone surveys conducted in 2015 by the Gallup Organization. Based on the responses, the index measures factors relating to how people feel about and experience their daily lives, including physical health, financial well-being, social support and satisfaction with the local community. New Jersey ranked 32nd on the index, ahead of Pennsylvania (#33) and Maryland (#34) and behind Massachusetts (#31) and Oregon (#30). States with the highest ranking were Hawaii (#1), Alaska (#2) and Montana (#3); lowest ranked were Oklahoma (#48); Kentucky (#47) and West Virginia (#50).
* State of American Well-Being, 2015 State Well-Being Rankings, Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index®