Study pinpoints wealthiest counties in NJ
Dawn Furnas//June 17, 2022//
Study pinpoints wealthiest counties in NJ
Dawn Furnas//June 17, 2022//
Listen to this articleA new study from financial information site SmartAsset has calculated the wealthiest counties in New Jersey — and the country — with Somerset County coming in at No. 1 for the Garden State.
To come up with the rankings, SmartAsset analyzed three metrics: investment income, property value and per capita income. Somerset came in with:
- Per capita investment income: $18,409
- Median home value: $510,305
- Per capita income: $112, 825
Rounding out the top 10 were Morris, Bergen, Hunterdon, Monmouth, Essex, Union, Hudson, Mercer and Cape May counties.
| Rank | County | Per Capita Investment Income | Median Home Value | Per Capita Income |
| 1 | Somerset | $18,409 | $510,305 | $112,825 |
| 2 | Morris | $18,676 | $556,843 | $102,227 |
| 3 | Bergen | $18,852 | $554,875 | $91,972 |
| 4 | Hunterdon | $12,778 | $490,393 | $95,088 |
| 5 | Monmouth | $15,943 | $515,167 | $86,091 |
| 6 | Essex | $25,532 | $463,534 | $70,497 |
| 7 | Union | $17,274 | $440,034 | $72,543 |
| 8 | Hudson | $9,666 | $488,077 | $71,682 |
| 9 | Mercer | $18,981 | $353,155 | $74,218 |
| 10 | Cape May | $9,594 | $427,905 | $67,836 |
How did the top Garden State counties compare nationally? The wealthiest county in the nation is Teton in Wyoming, with a per capita investment of $212,319, median home value of $1.06 million, and per capita income of $220,645.
The counties rounding out the top 10 in the nation were New York; San Mateo, Calif.; Pitkin, Colo.; San Francisco; Nantucket, Mass.; Marin, Calif.; Summit, Utah, Santa Clara, Clara, Calif.; and Monroe, Fla. See the breakdown here.
According to the methodology, to identify the wealthiest counties, analysts calculated the investment index for each county by weighing the ordinary dividends, qualified dividends and net capital gains. Then they tallied calculated the median home value, and the per capita income for each county, and ranked them on all three metrics. Its sources were IRS SOI Tax Statistics, National Association of Realtors and BEA Data.
Also calculated was a wealth index based on the combination of the three metrics to see which areas of the U.S. are accumulating the most wealth.
SmartAsset is a consumer-focused online site for financial information and advice that powers SmartAdvisor, a national marketplace connecting consumers to financial advisors.
