Middlesex County, New Jersey Population and Demographics

In this article, we'll explore the population statistics for Middlesex County, New Jersey, including popular demographics data like median age, number of households, household income, gender, employment and unemployment rates, occupations, religion, and more.

We are using the latest American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year survey data from the US Census Bureau, which is accurate up to 2021.

Table of Contents

Population

There is a lot of data that lets us see how many people live in Middlesex County, New Jersey. The most basic data is the total population, which is the total number of people living in Middlesex County, New Jersey. The estimated population of Middlesex County, New Jersey is 858,770 people, with a median age of 39.1.

We can look at the total population in Middlesex County over the last 5 years to see how much it has changed.

Year Population Change 5-Year Change
2021
858,770
+4.09%
+2.57%
2020
825,015
 -0.11% -
2019
825,920
 -0.09% -
2018
826,698
 -1.26% -
2017
837,288
 - -

Population of Middlesex County, New Jersey by Race and Ethnicity

We can also look at how the population has changed over the last 5 years by each of the race/ethnicity types as defined by the US Census Bureau.

Race 2021 2017 Change
White
40.9%
44.3%
 -7.67%
Black/African American
9.4%
9.3%
 +1.08%
Native
0.1%
0.1%
 0.00%
Hispanic
21.8%
20.4%
 +6.86%
Asian
24.6%
23.9%
 +2.93%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
0%
0%
 0.00%
Two Or More Races
2.5%
1.6%
 +56.25%
Other
0.6%
0.3%
 +100.00%

This data can be very important for a number of reasons, including social and economic research, planning and development, and marketing to a multi-cultural population.

Note that the Native group includes both Native American and Alaskan Native people.

Population of Middlesex County, New Jersey by Age and Gender

The age and gender of a population is another interesting demographic statistic because it lets us track trends in the population over time. For example, we can see how the population has changed over the last 5 years by median age as a total, and also by male and female.

Year Total Male Female
2021 39.1 +0.26% 38.2 +1.06% 40 0%
2020 39 +1.04% 37.8 +0.8% 40 +0.76%
2019 38.6 +0.52% 37.5 +0.54% 39.7 +0.25%
2018 38.4 +0.79% 37.3 +0.81% 39.6 +1.02%
2017 38.1 - 37 - 39.2 -

The median age of Middlesex County, New Jersey gives you an idea of the age distribution, with half of the population being older than the median age and half being younger.

This can then be used to infer and compare against birth rates, parent ages, and more metrics to understand the population. For example, an increasing median age indicates an aging population, which can be a sign of a declining population in terms of birth rates and workforce participation.

Age 2021 2017
(Years) Male Female Male Female
0 to 9 50,632 +2.22% 49,021 -1.05% 51,734 48,497
10 to 19 55,895 +2.59% 52,320 +5.78% 57,231 55,239
20 to 29 57,934 -4.91% 56,598 -4.81% 55,124 53,886
30 to 39 58,686 +2.28% 58,749 -0.1% 59,958 58,647
40 to 49 58,607 +1.93% 57,661 -1.19% 59,625 56,895
50 to 59 56,811 +3.55% 59,747 +0.17% 58,777 59,821
60 to 69 41,828 +12.95% 45,619 +8.4% 47,463 49,557
70+ 31,734 +14.14% 45,446 +9.41% 36,452 49,864

Median Household Income

The latest median household income of Middlesex County, New Jersey is $96,883.00.

In simple terms, the median income is the middle income of a group of people. Half of the people in the group make more than the median income, and half make less. The median income is a good indicator of the overall income of a group of people, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more.

Median Income by Age

We can also look at the median income by age to see how the median income varies by age, and how it compares to the overall median income for Middlesex County.

  • Under 25
    $42,160.00
  • 25 to 44
    $106,035.00
  • 45 to 64
    $115,770.00
  • 65 and over
    $62,238.00

Average Household Income

Whenever we ask what is the average household income in Middlesex County, we are actually talking about the mean household income.

This is calculated by adding up all the incomes of all the households in Middlesex County, and then dividing that number by the total number of households. This is a good way to get a general idea of the average income of a group of people, but it can be skewed by a very high or very low incomes.

The average household income of Middlesex County, New Jersey is currently $121,899.00.

In terms of accurately summarizing income at a geographic level, the median income is a better metric than the average income because it isn't affected by a small number of very high or very low incomes.

If you had an area where the average income was greater than the median, it can mean that there is significant income inequality, with income being concentrated in a small number of wealthy households.

15.99% of households in Middlesex County are classed as high income households (making $200,000+ per year).

Household Income Tiers

The US Census Bureau divides households into income tiers based on the median income for the area. This is a good way to compare the income of Middlesex County against other areas.

  • Less than $24,999
    11.09%
  • $25,000 to $49,999
    13.63%
  • $50,000 to $74,999
    13.94%
  • $75,000 to $99,999
    12.84%
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    20.05%
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    12.46%
  • $200,000 or more
    15.99%

Per Capita Income

The per capita income in Middlesex County is $43,300.00.

Per capita income is the average income of a person in a given area. It is calculated by dividing the total income of Middlesex County by the total population of Middlesex County.

This is different from the average or mean income because it includes and accounts for all people in Middlesex County, New Jersey, including people like children, the elderly, unemployed people, retired people, and more.

Education Levels

We can also look at the education levels in Middlesex County to see how many people have a high school degree, a bachelor's degree, or a graduate degree.

Educational attainment is a good indicator of the overall education level of a population, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more to see how education levels affect income, unemployment rates, and more.

  • Master's degree or higher
    20.69%
  • Bachelor's degree
    38.37%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    6.45%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    31.22%
  • Less than high school diploma
    3.27%

Employment

Employment rates are all based around the total population in Middlesex County that are over the age of 16.

The total population of Middlesex County over the age of 16 is 692,993.

Of those people, a total of 65.70% are working or actively looking for work. This is called the labor force participation rate.

The participation rate is a useful market measure because it shows the relative amount of labor resources available to the economy.

The employment to total population rate in Middlesex County is 61.60%.

Employment by Age

We can look at the employment rates by age to see how it compares to the overall employment rate.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
16 to 19 years 46,924 29.30% 19.00%
20 to 24 years 54,246 60.50% 10.80%
25 to 29 years 54,764 85.00% 7.30%
30 to 34 years 57,566 83.10% 5.10%
35 to 44 years 119,159 85.60% 4.30%
45 to 54 years 117,405 86.00% 5.10%
55 to 59 years 59,593 80.30% 4.80%
60 to 64 years 53,700 66.20% 5.10%
65 to 74 years 76,314 32.10% 8.30%
75 years and over 53,322 6.30% 7.90%

Employment by Race

Another very interesting employment statistic we can look at is the employment and unemployment rates by race in Middlesex County. The table below shows the rates for each of the ethnicity groups types defined by the US Census Bureau.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
White 373,446 63.40% 6.00%
Black or African American 70,882 69.10% 5.70%
American Indian and Alaska Native 2,717 73.60% 4.20%
Asian 164,816 66.60% 5.40%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 321 60.40% 7.20%
Other 44,229 72.00% 8.40%
Two or more races 36,582 70.70% 9.10%
Hispanic or Latino 138,289 70.90% 6.60%
Not Hispanic or Latino 306,094 62.20% 6.20%

Occupations

In this section we can look at the most common occupations in Middlesex County as well as the gender breakdown and earnings of them.

The total population of civilian employees that are 16 years old or older in Middlesex County is 427,105, with median earnings of $54,306.00.

Women in Middlesex County, New Jersey earning approximately 67.40% of the men's earnings.

Population Earnings
Total 427,105 $54,306.00
Male 231,956 $64,731.00
Female 195,149 $43,602.00

Occupations by Category

In the table below, we can break down the population and earnings even further by occupation. The list of occupation categories below will show you how many people are employed in each category and the median earnings of each profession.

Occupation Employed Earnings
Management 50,331 $100,343.00
Business and Financial 29,836 $83,541.00
Computer and Mathematical 35,000 $107,223.00
Architecture and Engineering 9,386 $90,273.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 7,780 $76,082.00
Community and Social Service 7,207 $50,434.00
Legal 4,575 $84,321.00
Educational and Library 28,941 $54,198.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 7,001 $46,257.00
Healthcare Practitioners 25,429 $70,317.00
Healthcare Support 9,668 $27,048.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 4,439 $37,347.00
Law Enforcement 3,982 $94,104.00
Food Preparation and Serving 13,622 $15,634.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 10,754 $27,740.00
Personal Care and Service 9,209 $17,098.00
Sales 37,142 $40,145.00
Office and Administrative Support 49,608 $43,325.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 397 $26,324.00
Construction and Extraction 15,305 $49,435.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 9,697 $55,789.00
Production 18,077 $36,711.00
Transportation and Material Moving 20,728 $40,409.00

Occupations by Gender

The table below shows the same occupations from the list above, but we have split them by male and female to see how many male and females work in each occupation, the median earnings, and the male to female ratio of earnings.

That last metric is important because it can be used to look at the gender pay gap between men and women.

Occupation Male Female
Population Earnings Population Earnings
Management 30,796 $112,557.00 19,535 $79,892.00
Business and Financial 15,807 $97,106.00 14,029 $70,593.00
Computer and Mathematical 26,880 $113,316.00 8,120 $95,766.00
Architecture and Engineering 7,988 $94,103.00 1,398 $76,524.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 3,872 $87,697.00 3,908 $67,104.00
Community and Social Service 2,439 $48,741.00 4,768 $51,418.00
Legal 1,956 $136,500.00 2,619 $66,318.00
Educational and Library 8,202 $63,099.00 20,739 $49,662.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 3,456 $51,463.00 3,545 $42,168.00
Healthcare Practitioners 6,200 $81,759.00 19,229 $66,755.00
Healthcare Support 1,759 $39,086.00 7,909 $25,480.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 3,578 $38,873.00 861 $29,135.00
Law Enforcement 3,389 $100,477.00 593 $77,303.00
Food Preparation and Serving 6,764 $20,171.00 6,858 $12,766.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 6,596 $35,295.00 4,158 $21,462.00
Personal Care and Service 2,162 $21,737.00 7,047 $16,044.00
Sales 20,538 $55,457.00 16,604 $22,130.00
Office and Administrative Support 13,302 $46,570.00 36,306 $42,216.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 235 $21,719.00 162 $38,774.00
Construction and Extraction 15,064 $49,928.00 241 $14,573.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 9,358 $56,418.00 339 $38,516.00
Production 11,569 $46,028.00 6,508 $28,349.00
Transportation and Material Moving 17,764 $43,337.00 2,964 $25,379.00

Households and Family Size

A household defined bu the US Census Bureau is a group of people who occupy a housing unit. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, group of rooms, or single room occupied as separate living quarters.

There are currently 299,455 households in Middlesex County, with an average household size of 2.78 people.

A family is defined as a group of two or more people related by birth, marriage, or adoption who live together in the same household.

There are 216,746 families in Middlesex County with an average family size of 3.28 people.

Households by Marital Status

The four categories of household by marital status are:

  • Married-couple family
  • Male householder with no spouse present
  • Female household with no spouse present
  • Nonfamily household

The table below shows the total number of households and families, with the average sizes of each.

Married Male Female Nonfamily
Total Households 167,293 14,119 35,334 82,709
Average Household Size 3.38 3.27 3.28 1.26
Total Families 167,293 14,119 35,334 0
Average Household Size 3.36 2.89 3.1 0

Poverty

Of the 216,746 families in Middlesex County, 6.10% are considered to be below the poverty threshold.

The table below shows the latest poverty thresholds in Middlesex County:

Household Size Poverty Threshold
1 Person $14,580.00
2 People $19,720.00
3 People $24,860.00
4 People $30,000.00
5 People $35,140.00
6 People $40,280.00
7 People $45,420.00
8 People $50,560.00

Housing

There are 313,219 housing units in Middlesex County, New Jersey.

The table below shows the split between occupied and vacant units:

Total Percentage
Occupied 299,455 95.61%
Vacant 13,764 4.39%

33.35% of the total 313,219 housing units in Middlesex County are rental units. This is approximately 104,446 properties.

For owner-occupied housing units, a total of 191,463 are occupied by the owner - or 61.13% of the total.

Rental Rates

The median rent for a property in Middlesex County is $1,612.00.

In the chart below, we can look at the number of rental properties in Middlesex County that fall into a particular rent range. These can then be used to compare with other areas, or to see how they have changed over time.

  • No rent paid
    3,546
  • Less than $500
    5,305
  • $500 to $999
    5,707
  • $1,000 to $1,499
    33,302
  • $1,500 to $1,999
    35,358
  • $2,000 to $2,499
    18,655
  • $2,500 to $2,999
    4,146
  • $3,000 or more
    1,973

Property Value

The median value of a property in Middlesex County is $362,900.00.

Just like with rental rates, we can look at the number of properties in Middlesex County that fall into a particular value range.

  • Less than $50,000
    3,813
  • $50,000 to $99,999
    2,704
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    3,602
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    8,165
  • $200,000 to $299,999
    42,354
  • $300,000 to $499,999
    89,895
  • $500,000 to $999,999
    38,450
  • $1,000,000 or more
    2,480

Property Age

We can also look at the age of properties in Middlesex County. The chart below shows the number of properties in Middlesex County that fall into a particular age range.

  • 1939 or earlier
    34,245
  • 1940 to 1949
    17,928
  • 1950 to 1959
    50,385
  • 1960 to 1969
    47,214
  • 1970 to 1979
    36,385
  • 1980 to 1989
    51,313
  • 1990 to 1999
    33,650
  • 2000 to 2009
    25,575
  • 2010 to 2013
    16,288
  • 2014 or later
    236

Vehicles per Household

The number of vehicles available per household can be a good indicator of the level of affluence in an area. The chart below shows the number of households in Middlesex County that have a particular number of vehicles available.

  • No vehicles available
    24,324
  • 1 vehicle available
    100,024
  • 2 vehicles available
    115,608
  • 3 or more vehicles available
    59,499

Commuting to Work

In this section, we can also look at how people in Middlesex County get to work. The chart below shows the number of people in Middlesex County that commute to work in a particular way.

33.6 minutes is the average travel time to work for people in Middlesex County.

These commute times can be compared to other date like income and educational levels to see how they relate to each other and if there are any trends in the data that might suggest a correlation.

  • Less than 5 minutes
    6,137
  • 5 to 9 minutes
    27,099
  • 10 to 14 minutes
    40,599
  • 15 to 19 minutes
    46,006
  • 20 to 24 minutes
    44,001
  • 25 to 29 minutes
    22,546
  • 30 to 34 minutes
    50,324
  • 35 to 39 minutes
    12,139
  • 40 to 44 minutes
    16,849
  • 45 to 59 minutes
    38,186
  • 60 to 89 minutes
    38,924
  • 90 or more minutes
    25,831

Summary

We've covered a LOT of demographic and population data for Middlesex County, New Jersey in this article! Hopefully you have found it very useful in your research of the area.

If you use any of the data found on this page, please consider linking back to USPopulation.org as the source and if you have any feedback or data requests, click here to contact us.

Places in Middlesex County, New Jersey

We have data for 34 places in Middlesex County, New Jersey. Click on a place below to see more information about the demographics of that place.