New Jersey is an expensive state, with among the highest housing costs in the country. It is also one of the most segregated states in the nation by both income and race, despite being one of the most racially diverse states overall. A new report from New Jersey Future explores the relationship between the enforcement of housing requirements, housing affordability, and racial and economic diversity, using a comparison between two demographically similar suburban counties—Morris and Monmouth—that followed different trajectories in complying with New Jersey’s affordable housing obligations.
Demographics and Trends
New Report Digs Deeper into Diversity in Morris and Monmouth Counties
Monday, January 29th, 2024With Recession in the Forecast, How Prepared is NJ’s Economy for Upcoming Rain?
Thursday, July 20th, 2023As the world slowly but surely emerges from the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, all of us are evaluating the new parameters of our state and national economies that have experienced stimulus spending, historic inflation, supply chain disruptions, and high interest rates all in quick succession.
Promoting Integration at the Local Level
Thursday, July 20th, 2023While New Jersey is one of the most diverse states in the nation at the macro level, at the local level it is also one of the most segregated. The state has grown more demographically diverse over the last two decades, but most of its individual towns and neighborhoods are either predominantly white or predominantly non-white, with few places occupying the “diverse” range in between.
Ten Years After Sandy, a Look at Population and Housing Trends at the Jersey Shore
Tuesday, October 25th, 2022Both before and after Superstorm Sandy, the trend at the Jersey Shore has been toward higher home values, a smaller percentage of housing units being occupied year-round, and an increasing presence of retirees among year-round residents. Is the Shore becoming a playground for the rich? And specifically rich retirees?
New NJF Report Explores How to Promote Racial Integration in NJ Municipalities
Thursday, September 22nd, 2022New Jersey is paradoxically one of the most diverse and most segregated states in the nation. The state has grown more diverse over the last two decades, with its non-Hispanic white percentage shrinking from two-thirds of the state population in 2000 to a little more than half as of the 2020 Census, with notable proportional growth among Hispanic and Asian-American communities. But New Jersey’s macro-level diversity often does not translate into integration at the local level, and places that are integrated at the local level don’t always stay that way.
Hispanic Heritage Month and the Growth of New Jersey’s Latinx Population
Wednesday, October 13th, 2021Some of my favorite stories are the ones my grandparents tell me about their journey from Bolivia to the U.S.—about finding their first jobs, struggling to “fit in,” and raising a family of six in a North Jersey suburb. Stories about finding a sense of community in an unfamiliar place.
Does School District Fragmentation Support Residential Segregation?
Monday, November 9th, 2020If New Jersey wants to address its status as one of the most segregated states in the country, mitigating its exclusionary land-use incentives by organizing and funding public education at a higher level of government might be a good place to start. Read the latest installment in our Geography of Equity and Inclusion series.
New Jersey Losing Population for the First Time in Four Decades
Thursday, January 16th, 2020A long-term decline in the national birth rate and a recent drop-off in immigration have joined forces with ongoing out-migration to other states to produce New Jersey’s first population loss since the late 1970s.
Local Implementation Planning in Ridgewood Village Will Help Create Great Places to Age in New Jersey
Monday, October 14th, 2019New Jersey Future recently facilitated an implementation workshop in collaboration with aging-friendly coordinators from Westwood Borough, Teaneck Township and Ridgewood Village.