A Snapshot of Where South Jersey’s Economy Stands…
01/24/10
Our editorial board thought that it would be good to look at some key metrics that create a snapshot of the regional economy as we move through the year.
We want to add a few each month, so that we end up with a pretty comprehensive picture of what’s happening in the region by year’s end.
In this issue we starting with the basics, population, square miles, median household income and unemployment rate.
As you can see below, the unemployment rate in November (latest available data) is generally up about 4% across South Jersey from a year ago. And, with the exception of Burlington County, the unemployment rate in South Jersey is ahead of the state numbers.
And, although only one South Jersey county (Burlington) tops the state average median household income of $70,347, all SJ counties except Cumberland beat the national median HHI average. So, we’re pretty much holding up our end in keeping New Jersey one of the “wealthiest” states in the nation.
We’re thinking of adding an index of publicly traded stocks, casino revenues, median home prices, number of businesses, RiverLINE and PATCO ridership, foreclosures, county budgets, banks on the federal regulators’ watch list (there are three right now), crime rates, and more. So, if you have suggestions on what we should be tracking, drop us a note at jenny@snjbp.com.
As you look at the statistics, remember that they will represent the most recent data available (to us), so if you have something that is more up-to-date or more accurate, please let us know.
Here’s a look at where the region stands as we start the year. Stay tuned as we watch what happens during the months ahead.
County: Population: Sq. Miles: Median HHI: Unemployment (%):
(11/09) (11/08)
Atlantic 270,861 561 $52,409 13.0 8.2
Burlington 445,475 805 $76,869 8.8 5.6
Camden 517,234 222 $60,746 10.5 6.8
Cape May 95,836 255 $54,423 14.6 10.2
Cumberland 156,830 489 $49,720 13.3 9.1
Gloucester 287,860 325 $70,273 10.0 6.0
Ocean 569,111 636 $59,199 10.0 6.8
Salem 66,641 338 $57,935 10.1 7.2
NJ: 8,628,661 7,417 $70,347 9.7 6.3
US: 304,059,724 3,537,438 $50,740 10.0 6.8
















