Our Community
Morris County is located in New Jersey, about 25 miles west of New York City. Its county seat is Morristown.
It is the 9th largest county in New Jersey representing 6 percent of the state population and is part of the New York Metropolitan Area.
Adjacent Counties Include
- Sussex County – north
- Passaic County – northeast
- Essex County – east
- Union County – east
- Somerset County – south
- Hunterdon County – southwest
- Warren County – west
Population
As of the United States 2000 Census, the population was 470,212, and grew to 493,160 as of the Census Bureau's 2006 estimate. There are 175,000 households in Morris County.
Ethnicity
While the population of Morris County is predominately white (87.2%), the Asian and Hispanic populations have seen significant growth. Since 1989, the white population grew by 5 percent while the black population grew by 20 percent, the Asian population grew by 59 percent, and the Hispanic population grew by 62 percent. Mixed and other races remained about 5 percent of the population
Income: Morris County has the third highest median household income in the nation ($77,340) and is the sixth-wealthiest county in the United States by median household income.
Poverty & Need in Morris County
Morris County's reputation as one of the wealthiest counties in the United States with a poverty rate of 4 percent hides the fact that households earning less than $60,000 struggle to be self-sufficient in this high cost of living county. Almost a quarter of Morris County residents live in households which earn above the poverty line ($21,000 for a family of four) but below the level of self-sufficiency ($60,000 for a family of four.) These households do not earn enough to afford the basics of housing, childcare, transportation, food and healthcare.
PDF Click here to learn more about poverty and need in Morris County!
Employment
Fifty-three Fortune 500 businesses have headquarters, offices or a major facility in Morris County. Major industries include finance, insurance, real estate, pharmaceuticals, health services, research and development, and technology.
Morris County is well known for its large population of its residents in management and professional jobs. In fact it has the second highest percent of employees in Management, Business, and Financial with 23 percent (Hunterdon had the largest with 24 percent) and the fourth highest in Professional and Related Occupations with 26 percent (Somerset was first with 29 percent followed by Hunterdon and Mercer).
Commuting Patterns
139,000 people live and work in Morris County while 98,000 commute out of the county to work. Another 137,000 employees commute to work in Morris County each day.
Sources: American Community Survey, 2007; and U.S. Census 1990 and 2000.
