Financial Stress · New Jersey

New Jersey — financial stress by county

The Financial Stress Index (FSI) combines renter cost burden, eviction rate, and debt in collections into a 0–100 score. 21 of 21 New Jersey counties have all three inputs and receive a score. The state average FSI across reporting counties is 43.1. Cumberland, NJ has the highest score at 59.

Data note: The eviction rate component draws from the Princeton Eviction Lab's last national county release (2018). Post-pandemic eviction trends are not reflected in these scores — counties with high pre-2020 eviction activity may score differently if updated data were available. Rent burden and debt figures use 2024 ACS and Urban Institute data.

National comparison · New Jersey

How does New Jersey compare nationally?

Among states with reliable FSI coverage (≥60% of counties scored), New Jersey ranks #25 of 36 states. The state average FSI of 43.1 is 18% below the national average FSI of 52.6.

New Jersey ranks #5 of 6 in the Northeast by average FSI score.

Top 10 — Most Stressed Counties

Counties in New Jersey ranked by FSI score

CountyFSI
1 Cumberland, NJ 59
2 Essex, NJ 57
3 Camden, NJ 54
4 Salem, NJ 54
5 Atlantic, NJ 52
6 Passaic, NJ 50
7 Gloucester, NJ 47
8 Union, NJ 46
9 Burlington, NJ 45
10 Mercer, NJ 44
Source  ·  US Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2024 (2020–2024) · Princeton Eviction Lab (through 2018) · Urban Institute Debt in America (2024)  ·  Full FSI methodology →

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Financial stress — compare with other states

Click any state for county-level data and rankings.