New Jersey County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 21 counties in New Jersey, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 51.9. 8counties are in the two most distressed fifths.
Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26
New Jersey Snapshot
New Jersey County Map
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All 21 New Jersey counties colored by distress fifth. Hover for details; click released counties for full reports.
Most & Least Distressed
Most Distressed
Least Distressed
Score Distribution
How New Jersey's 21 county scores are distributed across the 0–100 scale.
All New Jersey Counties
21 counties ranked by distress score. Click column headers to sort.
| State Rank | Nat'l Rank | County | Score | Distress Fifth | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 65 | Cumberland County | 84.0 | Most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 2 | 309 | Essex County | 73.9 | Most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 3 | 420 | Atlantic County | 71.1 | Most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 4 | 525 | Passaic County | 68.8 | Most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 5 | 596 | Salem County | 67.7 | Most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 6 | 614 | Camden County | 67.3 | Most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 7 | 999 | Hudson County | 60.4 | Second-most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 8 | 1,136 | Union County | 58.1 | Second-most distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 9 | 1,379 | Cape May County | 54.0 | Middle fifth | Labor |
| 10 | 1,420 | Mercer County | 53.3 | Middle fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 11 | 1,609 | Gloucester County | 49.9 | Middle fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 12 | 1,642 | Ocean County | 49.2 | Middle fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 13 | 1,770 | Middlesex County | 47.0 | Middle fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 14 | 1,872 | Burlington County | 45.3 | Middle fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 15 | 2,067 | Warren County | 41.9 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 16 | 2,102 | Sussex County | 41.3 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 17 | 2,259 | Monmouth County | 38.3 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 18 | 2,324 | Bergen County | 37.0 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 19 | 2,513 | Somerset County | 32.7 | Second-least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 20 | 2,816 | Hunterdon County | 25.2 | Least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 21 | 2,850 | Morris County | 24.2 | Least distressed fifth | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
How County Scores Work
Each county is scored 0–100 using five equal-weighted domains. Each domain averages its member indicators' county ranks, and the composite is the mean of those domain scores. Higher scores indicate greater household financial distress.