Fastest-growing counties in New Jersey

Written by:
February 23, 2021
f11 photo // Shutterstock

Fastest-growing counties in New Jersey

From 2018 to 2019, the U.S. population grew by .48%, its slowest rate in 100 years. Declining births, increasing deaths largely due to the graying Baby Boomer population, and a crackdown on immigration have contributed to many states seeing net population losses in recent years.

But in other pockets of the country, populations are growing. These shifts can be due to job opportunities, high quality of life, easy commutability to job centers, low rents, or any combination of these or other factors. Stacker compiled a list of the fastest-growing counties in New Jersey using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Counties are ranked by the highest population growth from 2010 to 2019, based on 5-year estimates.

A county typically sees population growth as a “bedroom community” (a municipality with an atypically large commuting population) to a large city. These communities are typically quieter than their feeder cities, offer lower rents and a higher quality of living, and are remote enough to be immune to the feeder city’s crime, traffic, and crowds. Keep reading to see if your home county made the list.

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Famartin // Wikimedia Commons

#21. Sussex County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: -8,513
--- #3,127 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: -5.7%
--- #21 among counties in New Jersey, #2,723 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 141,483
--- #17 largest county in New Jersey, #457 largest county nationwide
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Bob Jagendorf // Wikicommons

#20. Atlantic County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: -7,057
--- #3,121 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: -2.6%
--- #16 among counties in New Jersey, #2,146 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 266,105
--- #15 largest county in New Jersey, #254 largest county nationwide
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#19. Camden County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: -6,836
--- #3,120 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: -1.3%
--- #14 among counties in New Jersey, #1,857 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 506,738
--- #8 largest county in New Jersey, #137 largest county nationwide
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LittleGun // Wikimedia Commons

#18. Monmouth County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: -6,453
--- #3,116 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: -1.0%
--- #13 among counties in New Jersey, #1,780 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 621,659
--- #5 largest county in New Jersey, #107 largest county nationwide
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Jorge Moro // Shutterstock

#17. Cape May County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: -4,598
--- #3,096 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: -4.7%
--- #20 among counties in New Jersey, #2,555 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 93,086
--- #20 largest county in New Jersey, #631 largest county nationwide
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Jared Kofsky/PlaceNJ.com // Wikimedia Commons

#16. Hunterdon County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: -3,635
--- #3,069 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: -2.8%
--- #17 among counties in New Jersey, #2,194 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 124,823
--- #18 largest county in New Jersey, #507 largest county nationwide
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Smallbones // Wikimedia Commons

#15. Cumberland County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: -3,550
--- #3,064 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: -2.3%
--- #15 among counties in New Jersey, #2,064 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 151,906
--- #16 largest county in New Jersey, #433 largest county nationwide
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Famartin // Wikimedia Commons

#14. Warren County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: -3,120
--- #3,042 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: -2.9%
--- #18 among counties in New Jersey, #2,205 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 105,862
--- #19 largest county in New Jersey, #565 largest county nationwide
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Smallbones // Wikimedia Commons

#13. Salem County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: -2,992
--- #3,035 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: -4.5%
--- #19 among counties in New Jersey, #2,525 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 62,990
--- #21 largest county in New Jersey, #840 largest county nationwide
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Apc106 // Wikimedia Commons

#12. Burlington County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: -2,159
--- #2,961 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: -0.5%
--- #12 among counties in New Jersey, #1,656 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 445,702
--- #11 largest county in New Jersey, #156 largest county nationwide
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Paul Brady Photography // Shutterstock

#11. Mercer County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +3,477
--- #627 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +1.0%
--- #10 among counties in New Jersey, #1,382 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 367,922
--- #12 largest county in New Jersey, #189 largest county nationwide
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Mihai_Andritoiu // Shutterstock

#10. Morris County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +3,568
--- #618 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +0.7%
--- #11 among counties in New Jersey, #1,426 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 493,379
--- #10 largest county in New Jersey, #142 largest county nationwide
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Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD // Wikimedia Commons

#9. Gloucester County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +5,942
--- #504 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +2.1%
--- #7 among counties in New Jersey, #1,197 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 291,165
--- #14 largest county in New Jersey, #235 largest county nationwide
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Sridhar // Wikimedia Commons

#8. Passaic County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +7,433
--- #458 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +1.5%
--- #9 among counties in New Jersey, #1,283 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 503,637
--- #9 largest county in New Jersey, #140 largest county nationwide
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Zeete // Wikimedia Commons

#7. Somerset County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +10,491
--- #383 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +3.3%
--- #6 among counties in New Jersey, #1,005 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 329,838
--- #13 largest county in New Jersey, #210 largest county nationwide
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Mihai_Andritoiu // Shutterstock

#6. Essex County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +14,532
--- #321 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +1.9%
--- #8 among counties in New Jersey, #1,226 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 795,404
--- #3 largest county in New Jersey, #79 largest county nationwide
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#5. Union County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +24,486
--- #225 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +4.6%
--- #3 among counties in New Jersey, #841 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 554,033
--- #7 largest county in New Jersey, #121 largest county nationwide
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Zeete // Wikimedia Commons

#4. Middlesex County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +27,038
--- #205 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +3.4%
--- #5 among counties in New Jersey, #995 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 825,920
--- #2 largest county in New Jersey, #72 largest county nationwide
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#3. Ocean County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +27,041
--- #204 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +4.7%
--- #2 among counties in New Jersey, #824 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 596,415
--- #6 largest county in New Jersey, #110 largest county nationwide
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#2. Bergen County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +33,908
--- #154 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +3.8%
--- #4 among counties in New Jersey, #944 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 930,390
--- #1 largest county in New Jersey, #56 largest county nationwide
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f11 photo // Shutterstock

#1. Hudson County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +47,923
--- #110 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +7.7%
--- #1 among counties in New Jersey, #553 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 670,046
--- #4 largest county in New Jersey, #100 largest county nationwide

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