Essex County, New Jersey

Like many of the counties of Northern New Jersey, the areas toward New York City along the New Jersey Turnpike tend to be poorer and more urban, while inland areas such as Short Hills are upper-middle class and upper-class communities.

Essex County is among the most diverse counties in both New Jersey and the country. The county is home to immigrants from hundreds of different nations and American natives of all ethnic backgrounds and cultures. The county is one of the most Italian counties in America, with nearly 50% of residents in several towns of the West Essex area being of Italian descent. The county also has one of the highest percentages of both blacks and Hispanics in the nation. Though a majority of the county that practices religion is Christian, the county is also among the most Jewish places in the nation. Along with the other five or six counties immediately surrounding New York City, Essex County is the main reason why New Jersey is the most ethnically, culturally, and religiously diverse state in the country.

Essex County is also one of the most urban and densely populated counties in the nation, and is the second most urban and second most densely populated county in the state, both after Hudson County. The cities of Newark, East Orange, and Irvington are three of the most densely populated cities in the country and from the late 1960s until at least 1996, Newark was generally considered the most depraved and dangerous place to live in the United States. It currently has more gang violence per capita than any city in the country, and has been among the poorest cities in the nation for years. Contrarily to the rampant poverty of its cities, the West Essex communities of Millburn, North Caldwell, and Essex Fells are three of the hundred wealthiest towns in America and have all been known to be home to famous actors, musicians, corporate heads, and members of the New Jersey Nets and New Jersey Devils.

Essex County was one of the quickest counties in America to become fully urbanized and was the first county in the country to create a county park system, to ensure that it did not lose all its land to development.

The various towns of the county, especially Newark, the Oranges, and the Caldwells can be seen in every episode of the HBO mob drama The Sopranos, which is set in North Caldwell.

The county is also home to Newark Airport and Newark Seaport.

Geography

Demographics

There are 283,736 households out of which 33.80% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.30% are married couples living together, 20.40% have a female householder with no husband present, and 31.80% are non-families. 26.70% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.60% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.72 and the average family size is 3.30.

In the county the population is spread out with 26.10% under the age of 18, 9.40% from 18 to 24, 31.10% from 25 to 44, 21.50% from 45 to 64, and 11.90% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 35 years. For every 100 females there are 90.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 86.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county is $44,944, and the median income for a family is $54,818. Males have a median income of $41,374 versus $32,052 for females. The per capita income for the county is $24,943. 15.60% of the population and 12.80% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 20.50% of those under the age of 18 and 12.20% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Cities and towns