People QuickFacts Essex County New Jersey Population, 2012 estimate 787,744 8,864,590 Population, 2010 (April 1) estimates base 783,969 8,791,898 Population, percent change, April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2012 0.5% 0.8% Population, 2010 783,969 8,791,894 Persons under 5 years, percent, 2011 6.9% 6.1% Persons under 18 years, percent, 2011 24.6% 23.2% Persons 65 years and over, percent, 2011 11.7% 13.7% Female persons, percent, 2011 51.9% 51.3%  White persons, percent, 2011 (a) 50.1% 74.1% Black persons, percent, 2011 (a) 42.2% 14.6% American Indian and Alaska Native persons, percent, 2011 (a) 0.7% 0.6% Asian persons, percent, 2011 (a) 4.9% 8.7% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander persons, percent, 2011 (a) 0.1% 0.1% Persons reporting two or more races, percent, 2011 2.0% 1.9% Persons of Hispanic or Latino Origin, percent, 2011 (b) 20.8% 18.1% White persons not Hispanic, percent, 2011 33.5% 58.9%  Living in same house 1 year & over, percent, 2007-2011 88.3% 89.7% Foreign born persons, percent, 2007-2011 24.1% 20.6% Language other than English spoken at home, percent age 5+, 2007-2011 33.3% 29.2% High school graduate or higher, percent of persons age 25+, 2007-2011 82.4% 87.6% Bachelor's degree or higher, percent of persons age 25+, 2007-2011 31.7% 35.0% Veterans, 2007-2011 28,731 472,716 Mean travel time to work (minutes), workers age 16+, 2007-2011 31.3 30.1  Housing units, 2011 312,952 3,562,553 Homeownership rate, 2007-2011 46.8% 66.6% Housing units in multi-unit structures, percent, 2007-2011 60.2% 35.9% Median value of owner-occupied housing units, 2007-2011 $389,800 $349,100 Households, 2007-2011 276,441 3,180,854 Persons per household, 2007-2011 2.75 2.69 Per capita money income in the past 12 months (2011 dollars), 2007-2011 $32,149 $35,678 Median household income, 2007-2011 $55,876 $71,180 Persons below poverty level, percent, 2007-2011 14.9% 9.4%     Business QuickFacts Essex County New Jersey Private nonfarm establishments, 2011 18,681 226,878 Private nonfarm employment, 2011 288,475 3,377,848 Private nonfarm employment, percent change, 2010-2011 -2.1% 0.3% Nonemployer establishments, 2010 58,691 604,723  Total number of firms, 2007 67,880 781,622 Black-owned firms, percent, 2007 21.0% 7.7% American Indian- and Alaska Native-owned firms, percent, 2007 0.5% 0.4% Asian-owned firms, percent, 2007 6.4% 8.7% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander-owned firms, percent, 2007 0.1% 0.1% Hispanic-owned firms, percent, 2007 11.4% 8.7% Women-owned firms, percent, 2007 30.9% 27.3%  Manufacturers shipments, 2007 ($1000) 10,422,670 116,608,094 Merchant wholesaler sales, 2007 ($1000) 12,622,517 233,413,004 Retail sales, 2007 ($1000) 7,750,635 124,813,580 Retail sales per capita, 2007 $10,077 $14,453 Accommodation and food services sales, 2007 ($1000) 1,335,840 19,993,613 Building permits, 2012 1,334 17,939     Geography QuickFacts Essex County New Jersey Land area in square miles, 2010 126.21 7,354.22 Persons per square mile, 2010 6,211.5 1,195.5 FIPS Code 013 34 Metropolitan or Micropolitan Statistical Area New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA Metro Area   (a) Includes persons reporting only one race. (b) Hispanics may be of any race, so also are included in applicable race categories. FN: Footnote on this item for this area in place of data NA: Not available D: Suppressed to avoid disclosure of confidential information X: Not applicable S: Suppressed; does not meet publication standards Z: Value greater than zero but less than half unit of measure shown F: Fewer than 100 firms Source: US Census Bureau State & County QuickFacts