Sussex County, NJ

County Profile

145,807 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Sussex 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 17% of 1,225 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 16% of 1,255 counties74
SchoolsTop 21% of 973 counties74
Growth1053rd of 1,226 counties29
Housing affordabilityTop 31% of 1,255 counties98
Climate897th of 1,254 counties62
Physical resilienceTop 21% of 1,255 counties81
Access698th of 1,255 counties79
Economic stabilityTop 7% of 1,255 counties92
The quick read

Sussex County ranks in the top 16% of published profiles for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 4.0% and median household income of $116,186.

Residential permitting has slowed: 146 units authorized over the past twelve months, 21% below the prior year.

Natural-hazard exposure is lower than in most comparable published profiles, placing Sussex County in the top 21% for physical resilience.

At a glance

Population
145,807
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$116,186
Top 2% nationally
Density
281/sq mi
518.5 sq mi of land
Median age
43.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Sussex County
New Jersey
Metro area
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ
Nearest major airport
SWF
40 mi · New York Stewart Intl
Median home value
$369,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.0% is lower than 58% of the 1,255 measured US locations.

Employment grew 0.9% over the past year, to 76,783 employed residents.

40% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 92% of measured US locations.

Household income is higher than at least 98% of measured US locations.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$2,466$116,186Top 2%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,610$57,252Top 3%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate5.5%Bottom 2%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute38.8 minTop 2%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher40.3%Top 8%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment76,783Top 33%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)-0.1%Bottom 45%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)0.9%Top 17%June 2026
Labor force79,979Top 33%June 2026
Labor force participation68.3%Top 7%2024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)-0.9%Bottom 6%June 2026
Unemployment rate4.0%Bottom 42%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/066.72.8
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.0% in June 2026. 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
2021202220232024116k102k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $116,186 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

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.

22% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 46% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 10.7 students for every full-time teacher, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
46
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
10.7
across all schools here
Math proficiency
21.5%
Top 37% in New Jersey
Reading proficiency
45.6%
Top 26% in New Jersey
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Sparta High SchoolSparta Township Public School District1,02510.4
Vernon Township High SchoolVernon Township School District90611.6
High Point Regional High School DistrictHigh Point Regional High School District79111.8
Sparta Middle SchoolSparta Township Public School District76210.237%62%
Alpine Elementary SchoolSparta Township Public School District75912.2
Kittatinny Regional High SchoolKittatinny Regional School District73310.312%67%
Newton High SchoolNewton Public School District68011.1
Sussex County Technical SchoolSussex County Technical School District67212.9
Lenape Valley Regional High SchoolLenape Valley Regional High School District66711.5
Glen Meadow Middle SchoolVernon Township School District61711.412%52%
Wallkill Valley Regional High SchoolWallkill Valley Regional High School58111.9
Franklin Borough SchoolFranklin Borough School District52711.010%32%

22.9% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with rather than how the schools perform, which is why AreaProfile shows it and does not score it.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data. Schools are placed by ZIP code, so this is which schools are in this place rather than which one a particular address is zoned for — district boundaries do not follow municipal ones, and enrollment zones change. Fully virtual schools are excluded: they enroll students from across the state while reporting one administrative address, and counting them here would describe a school population this place does not have. The assessment covers grades 3 through 8, so a high school shows no proficiency figure — a dash in those columns means the test was not given at that school, not that it performed badly. Proficiency is measured against New Jersey’s own standard, so it compares cleanly within the state and only broadly against other states; AreaProfile therefore ranks it within state. The directory is current, while the proficiency figures are from the last school year with national coverage before the pandemic interrupted testing.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,585 takes 16% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 3.2 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
16.4%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.2×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,585
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$369,400
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income3.18Top 42%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate83.7%Top 6%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±7662,865Top 14%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$67$1,585Top 6%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$4,606$369,400Top 11%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income16.4%Bottom 41%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate8.1%Bottom 19%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
29/ 100
Ranks 1053 of 1,226 published city profiles
Permitting is broadly steady, measured from 2020 to 2025.

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 2% since 2020, reaching 147,444 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 18% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 1.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US locations.

Units permitted
146
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.0
Bottom 15% nationally
Year over year
−21%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
18.5%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024147k144k
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.
Housing units permitted per year
202020212022202320242025265124
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−20%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 84°F and January a low of 18°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 40.9 inches.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station SUSSEX AP, 5.6 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND4.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation40.9"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low18°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high84°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing45°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

81 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are strong wind, earthquake and hurricane.

Strong windHigh
LandslideModerate
HurricaneModerate
EarthquakeModerate
LightningModerate
Heat waveModerate
DroughtModerate

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, winter weather, inland flooding, ice storm, tornado, wildfire, avalanche, hail.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA National Risk Index county record. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offences. AreaProfile does not publish reported crime, and this is not a substitute for it — it says nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Sussex County records 1.4 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 5.2 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, because nationally most firearm deaths are suicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 8.9 per 100,000 residents in Sussex County.

Homicide
1.4
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Firearm deaths, all intents
5.2
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Drug overdose
8.9
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
10.3
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides. The two columns overlap and should not be added.

Age-adjusted rates from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC for Sussex County as a whole — these rates are not published below county level. A county can hold both a dense city centre and a suburb whose experience of it is nothing alike, so this describes the county around Sussex County rather than Sussex County itself. That is why AreaProfile shows these figures and does not put them in the Area Score. Where fewer than ten deaths were recorded the count is suppressed at source, and a rate built on single figures moves sharply between releases. What this measure has that reported crime does not: a death certificate is filed whether or not the local police agency submitted a return that year, so the figures stay comparable between places and over time.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer is the only source for reported offences with national coverage and a published method, and it requires an API key AreaProfile does not hold. Arrest counts, news volume and commercial “safety scores” are not substituted in the meantime. What is published above under Safety is a different measurement — deaths rather than offences, from death certificates rather than police returns — and it covers no property crime at all.
Taxes
No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, transparent methodology and update cadence. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Full cost of living
No public source publishes one with national coverage and a documented method. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings.

Access

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 40 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
New York Stewart IntlSWF40 mi11,817 ft
Newark Liberty IntlEWR41 mi9,999 ft
John F Kennedy IntlJFK59 mi14,511 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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72
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)
safetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
April, 2025 to March, 2026Quarterly, with a rolling twelve-month window alongside complete calendar years
schoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2019-20 school year; 2024-25 school yearDirectory annually; assessment results as EDFacts releases them

Profile recalculated August 30, 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 browse every source.

Cities in Sussex County, NJ