Morris County, NJ

County Profile

514,528 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Morris County, NJ.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

72out of 100
Area Score
Top 10% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
OpportunityTop 12% of 1,463 counties measured77
SchoolsTop 1% of 1,377 counties measured97
Growth787th of 1,453 counties measured48
Housing affordability897th of 1,462 counties measured71
Climate847th of 1,463 counties measured65
Physical resilience750th of 1,463 counties measured58
AccessTop 25% of 1,463 counties measured91
Economic stabilityTop 1% of 1,463 counties measured98
The quick read

Morris County ranks in the top 12% of counties measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.9% and median household income of $137,326.

Public schools test above most of the state: 60% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 1% of published profiles for schools.

Residential permitting has slowed: 1,466 units authorized over the past twelve months, 18% below the prior year.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
514,528
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$137,326
Top 1% nationally
Density
1,116/sq mi
461 sq mi of land
Median age
42.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Morris County
New Jersey
Nearest major airport
EWR
23 mi · Newark Liberty Intl
Median home value
$582,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.9%, lower than in 57% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment grew 1.8% over the past year, to 267,062 employed residents.

58% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 99% of measured US counties.

Median household income of $137,326 is higher than in 99% of measured US counties.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$134,18598th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$131,91299th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$2,9912024 ACS 5-Year$137,326Top 1%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,0252024 ACS 5-Year$71,044Top 1%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$114,982Top 2%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year4.9%Top 1%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.5 min2024 ACS 5-Year32.1 minBottom 15%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year57.8%Top 1%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year66.3%8th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 2026267,062Top 9%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+0.2%Top 48%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+1.8%Top 13%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 2026277,83491st percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year85.9%Top 4%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year3.3%97th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−1.1%Top 9%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.9%Top 43%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year21.8%97th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.92.6
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.9% in July 2026. It has been rising for the last 3 months, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

2021202220232024137k124k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $137,326 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides644,700$39,680
Retail Salespersons202,080$38,280
Registered Nurses197,740$119,720
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners183,030$42,840
General and Operations Managers177,850$157,000
Cashiers173,830$35,950

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

60% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 73% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 10.6 students for every full-time teacher across 147 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
154
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
10.6
across 147 of them
Math proficiency
59.5%
Top 5% in New Jersey
Reading proficiency
72.8%
Top 1% in New Jersey
The 12 largest of 154 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Morristown High SchoolMorris School District1,81613.232%66%
Mount Olive High SchoolMount Olive Township School District1,52012.246%78%
Morris Knolls High SchoolMorris Hills Regional School District1,45011.044%69%
Randolph High SchoolRandolph Township School District1,27510.941%78%
Chatham High SchoolSchool District of the Chathams1,20512.263%88%
Roxbury High SchoolRoxbury Township School District1,17910.236%71%
Dover High SchoolDover Public School District1,16712.728%57%
Morris Hills High SchoolMorris Hills Regional School District1,1409.842%58%
Mount Olive Middle SchoolMount Olive Township School District1,13710.161%84%
Frelinghuysen Middle SchoolMorris School District1,07810.550%71%
Parsippany Hills High SchoolParsippany-Troy Hills Township School District1,03510.054%76%
Montville Township High SchoolMontville Township School District1,0359.865%73%

18.7% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against New Jersey’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 13% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 112.6, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Newark, NJ Metropolitan Division is up 54% over five years, and up 6.3% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $2,205, some 16% above the $1,904 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $2,205 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $88,200 a year, about 64% of the median household income here of $137,326.

The typical renter household here spends 28% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,904 a month.

A median home at $582,500 costs 3.5 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $165,144, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
112.6

Prices here run about 13% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
28.0%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.5×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$2,205
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,904
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$582,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Morris County’s median household income of $137,326, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ Metro Area’s figure2023112.6Bottom 4%of 8872023
Home price change (1 year)the Newark, NJ Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+6.3%93rd percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Newark, NJ Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+53.7%84th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Newark, NJ Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+90.1%45th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year3.5Bottom 18%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year74.3%49th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±1002024 ACS 5-Year199,50695th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,822Bottom 5%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,761Bottom 5%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$2,205Bottom 5%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$302024 ACS 5-Year$1,904Bottom 2%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$5,6402024 ACS 5-Year$582,50097th percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes2024 ACS 5-Year$10,000+—2024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$2,7942024 ACS 5-Year$165,144Top 1%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year28.0%Bottom 47%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±3642024 ACS 5-Year1,32379th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.7%17th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year2.5%1st percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±7242024 ACS 5-Year6,26184th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

48/ 100
Ranks 787 of 1,453 published county profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 3% since 2020, reaching 523,053 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 1,446 units authorized in 2025, 39% below the prior year.

Federal tax returns show that people moving in from elsewhere in the US and people moving out roughly balanced across Morris County in the most recent year. Households that moved in reported an average income of $134,185, close to the $131,912 of households that moved out.

At 2.8 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
1,466
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.8
Top 50% nationally
Year over year
−18%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
41.9%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

20202021202220232024523k508k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.1%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
34%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$134,185
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$131,912
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Essex County, NJ 2,640 people · 12% of arrivals
  2. Passaic County, NJ 2,138 people · 9.9% of arrivals
  3. Bergen County, NJ 1,909 people · 8.9% of arrivals
  4. Hudson County, NJ 1,779 people · 8.3% of arrivals
  5. Sussex County, NJ 1,200 people · 5.6% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Sussex County, NJ 1,502 people · 6.8% of departures
  2. Essex County, NJ 1,274 people · 5.8% of departures
  3. Passaic County, NJ 1,144 people · 5.2% of departures
  4. Somerset County, NJ 1,121 people · 5.1% of departures
  5. Hudson County, NJ 891 people · 4.0% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2020202120222023202420252k1k
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−12%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 85°F and January a low of 23°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 44.9 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 37, in the Good band, and about 2 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station CALDWELL ESSEX CO AP, 13.9 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.5"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year582024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals44.9"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals23°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals85°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year22024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year372024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals45°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
37
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
58
90th percentile index
Days above 100
2
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

58 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and earthquake, with inland flooding alone responsible for 76% of it. Cold wave is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

Inland floodingElevated
Heat waveModerate
EarthquakeElevated
HurricaneModerate
LandslideModerate
DroughtModerate

Low or minimal exposure: strong wind, winter weather, cold wave, lightning, tornado, ice storm, wildfire, hail, avalanche, tsunami, volcanic activity, coastal flooding.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Morris County has a modeled homicide rate of about 1.1 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 3.3 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 6.2 per 100,000 residents in Morris County.

Homicide
1.1
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
3.3
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
6.2
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
8.9
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe Morris County as a whole. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

5 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Newark Liberty Intl at 23 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year95.2%Top 2%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle23 miTop 31%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle5Top 26%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year3.2%Top 3%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Newark Liberty IntlEWR23 mi9,999 ft
John F Kennedy IntlJFK43 mi14,511 ft
New York Stewart IntlSWF50 mi11,817 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
72
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
Housing, IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP areas

Only ZIP areas whose income or home value differ from their city’s by at least ten percent get a profile of their own, so this is a selection rather than every ZIP code in the county.