Jury Pool Profile
Essex County, New Jersey
- County seat
- Newark
- Judicial district
- Vicinage 5
- Population (July 2025 estimate)
- 896,379
- Census PEP. The five-year ACS survey average is 863,002.
At a glance
Essex County is an 896,379-person venue. The county population is 30% White and 36% Black (Census race-alone categories). 25% identify as Hispanic or Latino of any race. Median household income is $84,900, $19,302 below the NJ state median of $104,202; 39.1% of residents 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher. 37.8% of residents 5 and older speak a language other than English at home, most commonly Spanish, then other Indo-European languages (5.9%), a group the Census does not break out. The largest employment sector is Education & health services, at 30.3% of covered employment, average pay $76,695/year. Trailing-12-month unemployment is 5.79%, above the 5.04% state average. The county carried the Democratic presidential candidate in 2016, 2020, and 2024, taking 72% to 77% of the vote across the three.
- Population
- 863,002
- Median household income
- $80,789
- Unemployment
- 5.8%
Who sits on a jury?
<50% in any single race-alone group. White here: 30%; Black: 36%.
Essex County has a population of 863,002, with a median age of 37.7. By Census race-alone categories, White residents make up 30.0%; Black residents 36.2%. Independently, 25.2% of residents identify as Hispanic or Latino of any race.
The median household earns $84,900; 39.1% of residents 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher; 13.4% live below the federal poverty line.
Economic context
Largest sector in BLS QCEW, even counting every withheld job toward the other sectors: Education & health services, about 30% of covered jobs.
Education & health services is the largest employment sector at 30.3% of covered employment, followed by Trade, transportation & utilities at 21.2%. Trailing-12-month unemployment is 5.79%, above the New Jersey state average.
Political composition
Democratic candidate carried this county in 2016, 2020, and 2024 (avg winning share: 75%). 'Strongly' threshold: ≥60% avg.
Essex County was carried by the Democratic candidate in the 2016, 2020, and 2024 cycles, with 71.7% in 2024, 77.3% in 2020, 77.1% in 2016.
Languages, households, faith & health
Family households are 64% of all households (thresholds: ≥70% = 'family-dominant'; 50–70% = 'family-majority'; <50% = 'singles/nonfamily-majority'). 37.8% of residents 5 and older speak a language other than English at home (threshold for 'linguistically diverse' is ≥10%).
37.8% of residents 5 years and older speak a language other than English at home. The most common are Spanish, French, Haitian, or Cajun, Chinese. Veterans account for 2.6% of the adult civilian population (17,292 individuals).