New Jersey County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 21 counties in New Jersey, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 51.7. 2 counties score high, very high, or extreme.
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 county distress score range. 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 | Score Label | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 87 | Cumberland County | 83.0 | very high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 2 | 339 | Essex County | 74.0 | high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 3 | 519 | Atlantic County | 69.5 | moderate-high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 4 | 648 | Passaic County | 67.3 | moderate-high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 5 | 695 | Salem County | 66.5 | moderate-high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 6 | 700 | Camden County | 66.3 | moderate-high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 7 | 978 | Hudson County | 61.2 | moderate-high county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 8 | 1,126 | Union County | 58.5 | moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 9 | 1,386 | Mercer County | 53.6 | moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 10 | 1,397 | Cape May County | 53.5 | moderate county distress | Labor |
| 11 | 1,589 | Gloucester County | 50.0 | moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 12 | 1,654 | Ocean County | 48.8 | moderate-low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 13 | 1,744 | Middlesex County | 47.3 | moderate-low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 14 | 1,888 | Burlington County | 44.8 | moderate-low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 15 | 2,090 | Warren County | 41.0 | moderate-low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 16 | 2,100 | Sussex County | 40.9 | moderate-low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 17 | 2,236 | Monmouth County | 38.1 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 18 | 2,258 | Bergen County | 37.6 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 19 | 2,511 | Somerset County | 32.6 | low-moderate county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 20 | 2,779 | Hunterdon County | 25.7 | low county distress | Debt Burden (housing basis) |
| 21 | 2,815 | Morris County | 24.8 | low county distress | 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.