PantryPath Research · Rural & Persistent Poverty Atlas
Rural poverty in New Jersey
0 persistent-poverty countiesNew Jersey has 0 nonmetro counties and no counties flagged by USDA ERS for persistent poverty. The state's all-ages poverty rate is 9.8% and child poverty is 13.3%.
0
Persistent-poverty counties
0
Nonmetro counties (RUCC 4–9)
0
Residents in PPCs
21
Total counties
New Jersey by county
← Back to national atlasToggle between the rural hunger risk score, all-ages poverty, child poverty, the Rural-Urban Continuum Code, and the binary persistent-poverty flag. Hover a county for its ERS typology and ACS poverty rate.
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New Jersey at a glance
Poverty rate
9.8%
All ages, ACS S1701
Child poverty
13.3%
Under 18
PPC share
0.0%
Of counties in state
Nonmetro share
0.0%
RUCC 4–9
Pantries / 100K
1.76
PantryPath verified
Risk score (mean)
0.05
Composite 0–1
"Pantries / 100K" divides New Jersey's 163 verified PantryPath pantries by the state population — a minimum-density indicator, not a saturated census. See methodology.
County-level hotspots
Top five counties across 21 in New Jersey.
Highest rural hunger risk
Composite 0–1 score
- 1 Cumberland 0.14
- 2 Atlantic 0.09
- 3 Mercer 0.08
- 4 Cape May 0.07
- 5 Warren 0.07
Highest poverty rate
ACS all-ages
- 1 Cumberland 16.3%
- 2 Essex 15.0%
- 3 Hudson 14.8%
- 4 Passaic 13.7%
- 5 Atlantic 13.1%
Persistent-poverty counties
PPCs ranked by current poverty
New Jersey has no persistent-poverty counties in the 2025 ERS typology.
Every county in New Jersey
All 21 counties with RUCC, typology flags, and ACS poverty data.
| County | RUCC | PPC | Flags | Poverty | Child poverty | Population | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic | 2 | — | Housing | 13.1% | 18.3% | 274,704 | 0.09 |
| Bergen | 1 | — | Housing | 6.7% | 7.5% | 954,717 | 0.03 |
| Burlington | 1 | — | Housing | 6.8% | 9.4% | 464,226 | 0.03 |
| Camden | 1 | — | Housing | 12.2% | 17.1% | 524,042 | 0.05 |
| Cape May | 2 | — | Pop. loss, Housing, Retire. | 8.7% | 11.0% | 95,236 | 0.07 |
| Cumberland | 3 | — | Low ed., Housing | 16.3% | 23.5% | 152,915 | 0.14 |
| Essex | 1 | — | Housing | 15.0% | 20.0% | 854,130 | 0.06 |
| Gloucester | 1 | — | Housing | 7.6% | 8.5% | 304,504 | 0.03 |
| Hudson | 1 | — | Housing | 14.8% | 21.2% | 710,478 | 0.06 |
| Hunterdon | 1 | — | — | 3.8% | 3.2% | 129,448 | 0.02 |
| Mercer | 2 | — | Housing | 11.1% | 13.8% | 383,286 | 0.08 |
| Middlesex | 1 | — | Housing | 8.5% | 10.4% | 861,535 | 0.03 |
| Monmouth | 1 | — | Housing | 6.4% | 7.1% | 643,615 | 0.03 |
| Morris | 1 | — | Housing | 5.1% | 5.6% | 510,375 | 0.02 |
| Ocean | 1 | — | Housing, Retire. | 10.4% | 16.4% | 646,434 | 0.04 |
| Passaic | 1 | — | Housing | 13.7% | 20.8% | 518,289 | 0.05 |
| Salem | 1 | — | Housing | 12.8% | 20.4% | 64,973 | 0.05 |
| Somerset | 1 | — | Housing | 5.5% | 7.3% | 346,203 | 0.02 |
| Sussex | 1 | — | Housing | 5.4% | 7.4% | 145,117 | 0.02 |
| Union | 1 | — | Housing | 8.9% | 11.8% | 572,549 | 0.04 |
| Warren | 2 | — | Housing | 8.1% | 10.0% | 110,238 | 0.07 |
Find a food pantry in New Jersey
Search New Jersey's 163 verified pantries, food banks, and meal programs — filtered by city, open-now status, and service type.
New Jersey pantry directoryNew Jersey SNAP
Income limits, application steps, and EBT card details for residents of persistent-poverty counties and beyond.
New Jersey SNAP guideEmergency food help
National hotlines, 211 referrals, and same-day food options — critical in rural counties where the nearest pantry may be 30+ miles away.
Emergency foodFood deserts atlas
Rural poverty and low food access often overlap. Compare persistent-poverty counties to USDA's low-income / low-access food desert designations.
New Jersey food desertsMethodology
How we combined USDA ERS typology codes, the Rural-Urban Continuum, ACS poverty data, and PantryPath's own pantry directory — plus the risk-score formula.
Full methodology