County Data

New Jersey County Distress Index

Financial distress scores for all 21 counties in New Jersey, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 51.8. 5counties are in Serious or Crisis.

Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26

New Jersey Snapshot

21 Counties Scored
51.8 Mean Score
49.1 Median Score
78.8 Cumberland County Most Distressed
26.1 Hunterdon County Least Distressed
5 Serious 5 Elevated 8 Normal 3 Healthy
Zone Distribution

New Jersey County Map

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Healthy Normal Elevated Serious Crisis

All 21 New Jersey counties colored by distress zone. Hover for details; click released counties for full reports.

Most & Least Distressed

Most Distressed

#1 Cumberland County
78.8 Serious
Consumer Credit Distress
#2 Essex County
72.0 Serious
Consumer Credit Distress
#3 Passaic County
67.9 Serious
Consumer Credit Distress

Least Distressed

#21 Hunterdon County
26.1 Healthy
Housing Cost Burden
#20 Morris County
27.2 Healthy
Housing Cost Burden
#19 Somerset County
33.4 Healthy
Housing Cost Burden

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 Zone Primary Driver
1 87 Cumberland County 78.8 Serious Consumer Credit Distress
2 315 Essex County 72.0 Serious Consumer Credit Distress
3 501 Passaic County 67.9 Serious Consumer Credit Distress
4 542 Camden County 67.1 Serious Consumer Credit Distress
5 558 Atlantic County 66.8 Serious Consumer Credit Distress
6 656 Salem County 64.7 Elevated Consumer Credit Distress
7 879 Hudson County 61.1 Elevated Consumer Credit Distress
8 1,035 Union County 58.7 Elevated Consumer Credit Distress
9 1,257 Mercer County 55.2 Elevated Consumer Credit Distress
10 1,417 Gloucester County 52.8 Elevated Consumer Credit Distress
11 1,636 Burlington County 49.1 Normal Housing Cost Burden
12 1,763 Cape May County 47.3 Normal Housing Cost Burden
13 1,765 Ocean County 47.2 Normal Housing Cost Burden
14 1,861 Middlesex County 45.8 Normal Housing Cost Burden
15 1,972 Warren County 43.7 Normal Housing Cost Burden
16 2,085 Sussex County 41.7 Normal Housing Cost Burden
17 2,118 Bergen County 41.1 Normal Housing Cost Burden
18 2,250 Monmouth County 39.1 Normal Housing Cost Burden
19 2,568 Somerset County 33.4 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
20 2,882 Morris County 27.2 Healthy Housing Cost Burden
21 2,925 Hunterdon County 26.1 Healthy Housing Cost Burden

How County Scores Work

Each county is scored 0–100 using PCA-weighted percentile-rank scoring across five statistically derived dimensions: Consumer Credit Distress, Housing Cost Burden, Structural Poverty, Economic Vitality, and Legal Distress. A score of 50 means the county falls at the national median. Higher scores indicate greater household financial distress.

Crisis (≥80) — Among the most distressed counties in the country
Serious (65–80) — More distressed than roughly 80% of counties
Elevated (50–65) — More distressed than roughly half of counties
Normal (35–50) — Near the national median
Healthy (<35) — Less distressed than most counties

Full CDI methodology and data sources

New Jersey Resources

New Jersey State Profile

State ADI score: 52.4 (Normal). Debt, delinquency, and economic indicators for New Jersey.

Find Help in New Jersey

HUD-approved housing counselors, legal aid offices, credit counselors, and debtor education providers in New Jersey.

New Jersey Foreclosure Laws

Foreclosure process, timeline, homeowner protections, and legal resources in New Jersey.

State Distress Rankings

All 51 U.S. jurisdictions ranked by financial distress. Compare New Jersey to the rest of the country.

National County Profiles

All 3,144 U.S. counties ranked by financial distress score.
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