Data on Homelessness in New Jersey
New Jersey Point-in-Time Count of the Homeless
The count of the homeless in NJ on January 22nd, 2019, found the following, according to Monarch Housing Associates. For the complete NJ 2019 Point-in-Time Count Report, including county-specific data, click here.
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8,864 individual people within 6,748 households, experiencing homelessness, included individuals and families in emergency shelters, transitional housing, safe havens, and those unsheltered living on the streets or in other public areas.
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According to the Count, there has been a 13% decrease in unsheltered persons between 2015 and 2019. A total of 1,482 persons within 1,413 households were unsheltered the night of the count. (Note: there is no uniform method to counting the unsheltered homeless from county to county, so nonprofit leaders and advocates believe the count of those unsheltered likely does not reflect the full population experiencing homelessness.)
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A total of 1,462 persons, in 1,351 households, were identified as chronically homeless.
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When asked "Would you, or anyone in your household, like to receive any of the following services?" the most requested service was Housing, followed by Emergency Shelter.
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Racial disparities were clearly evident among NJ's homeless population, particularly for persons identifying as Black or African American who make-up 13% of the state's general population, 24% of the population in poverty, and 49% of the population counted as homeless.
For 2018 data, click here. For 2017 data, click here. For 2016 data, click here.
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The United Way ALICE Report: A Study of Financial Hardship in New Jersey
ALICE is an acronym for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, and represents the growing number of families who are unable to make ends meet. In this report, the United Way quantifies the size of the workforce in our state that is struggling financially and explains the reasons why.
Legal Services of New Jersey 2022 True Poverty Tracker, a Poverty Benchmarks Report Series
This report provides poverty statistics for each of the state's 21 counties, as well as for the state as a whole. It also provides some recommendations for some legislative changes that could help alleviate the growing poverty issues that nearly a third of the population of our state, one of the nation's wealthiest, are dealing with today.
Every year, the National Low Income Housing Coalition reports on the Housing Wage (the hourly wage a full-time worker must earn to afford a modest and safe rental home without spending more than 30 percent of his or her income on housing costs) for all states and counties in the country. The report highlights the gap between what renters earn and what it costs to afford a home at FMR. This year’s report shows NJ stuck as the sixth most expensive place to rent and housing advocates are urging state leaders not to divert funds needs to create affordable homes.