In Somerset County, New Jersey, benefit checks make up only 9 cents of every dollar of income
In Somerset County, 8.7% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 98% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 81% of U.S. counties.
What drives Somerset County's score
In Somerset County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 81.0. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 5.9. The typical household earns $134,499 a year (2024), more than in 99% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Somerset County: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each part is scored from 0 to 100, and a higher score means worse off than other counties.
Even so, Somerset County is worse off than most counties on renters paying half their income or more in rent (25.4%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 81.0 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent25.4% · 2020 to 202487th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.4% · fiscal year 202774th percentile
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- 32.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202652nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working14.0% · 2020 to 202412th percentile
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- 22.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector10.6% · August 20254th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people107.8 · 202540th percentile
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- 13.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.1% · August 202512th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.5% · August 202524th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score25.0% · second quarter of 20263rd percentile
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- 5.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line5.8% · 20241st percentile
- Children below the poverty line5.6% · 20241st percentile
- People with a disability8.6% · 2020 to 20241st percentile
- People without health insurance5.4% · 2020 to 202424th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$134,499 · 20240th percentile
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Sources: Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and Census income; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. County Distress Index by American Default Research, from data through Sep 2026.
Where the money in Somerset County comes from
Benefit checks are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid paid on people's behalf, veterans' benefits, and food and income support, so a high share usually means an older population, low pay, or both. In Somerset County, 17.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Somerset County
New Jersey
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Somerset County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 8.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about eight times as much as benefit checks
In Somerset County, New Jersey, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 8.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Somerset County getting SNAP food aid more than doubled to 3.7%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2011 to 2012, reaching 3.0%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Somerset County, New Jersey.
How Somerset County has changed
Somerset County's population had its largest rise, from 262,243 in 1994 to 293,770 in 1999.
Somerset County's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 357,467, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 197,679. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Somerset County, New Jersey.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Somerset County rose 45% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 173,311. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Somerset County, New Jersey.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.9% | 2025 4.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 2.7% | 2024 5.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $52,385 | 2024 $134,499 |
The table uses 4.5% for 2025; the score uses 4.0% for the latest year (Oct 2025 to Sep 2026), both from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Somerset County's history
1999
A flash flood in September 1999 did $358 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A flood in August 2011 did $200 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 345,361, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2021
A flash flood in September 2021 did $75 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2021
A flash flood in September 2021 did $25 million in property damage and killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
30 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Somerset County, 8 of them for flooding. FEMA
Somerset County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Somerset County, three score higher. Of the group, Somerset County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Mercer County gets the largest, at 14.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Union County, NJ | 56 | 9.7% | 13.5% |
| Mercer County, NJ | 50 | 10.0% | 14.9% |
| Middlesex County, NJ | 38 | 8.3% | 14.3% |
| Somerset County, NJ | 18 | 5.8% | 8.7% |
| Hunterdon County, NJ | 11 | 4.5% | 11.6% |
| Morris County, NJ | 7 | 4.7% | 9.4% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Sep 2026; each county scored against all 3,144. Poverty rate: Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024. Benefit checks: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. Neighbors share a border, from Census county maps.
Is Somerset County the poorest county in New Jersey?
No, Somerset County's poverty rate was 5.8% in 2024, 17th highest of 21 in New Jersey (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Hudson County, at 14.7%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Somerset County ranks 19th of 21 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Somerset County
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes free foreclosure-avoidance counseling, including help with mortgage-company conversations and available options Source CFPB.
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Central Jersey Housing Resource Center, Inc.
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Legal Services of New Jersey
Legal aid
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New Jersey county bar lawyer referral services (NJSBA list)
Lawyer referral
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Our help directory lists 1,010 agencies approved for foreclosure counseling, by state.
The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.
Download the CSV for Somerset County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026, built from Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it. Our methodology
- Urban Institute · Debt in America Breno Braga, Signe-Mary McKernan, Samantha Atherton, and Kassandra Martinchek, "Debt in America," last updated November 20, 2025, https://datacatalog.urban.org/dataset/debt-america-2025. Licensed under ODC-By 1.0.
- Rent on a two-bedroom and household income The rent share compares HUD fair market rent for fiscal year 2027 with Census Bureau median household income for 2024. The page calls this the typical household's income.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Somerset County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.