Elizabeth, New Jersey Demographics
Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.
Elizabeth, NJ Population Density Map and Area Scores
Area Score
Health, income and education, each graded from F to A+. Explore interactive maps for deeper analysis.
-
C
Health Below average
-
D
Income Well below average
-
F
Education Well below average
Source: Map AI Methodology
Population
| Metric | Elizabeth | New Jersey Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 137,246 | 9,334,304 | 337,468,954 |
| Population density (per sq mi) | 10063.2 | 1071.4 | 86.4 |
| Population growth (%/yr) | 0.88% | 0.59% | 0.59% |
| Median age | 36.3 | 40.2 | 37.3 |
| Households | 46,053 | 3,503,323 | 130,235,071 |
Population in Elizabeth grew by 10.5% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 137,246 in 2024.
Population Growth 2009–2024
Race & Ethnicity
Age & Sex
The largest generation in Elizabeth is Millennials, aged 29–44, at 23.5% of residents. That is 1.8 points above New Jersey as a whole.
- Gen Z 13–28 30,954 22.6% +2.4 pts
- Millennials 29–44 32,309 23.5% +1.8 pts
- Gen X 45–60 27,912 20.3% -1.1 pts
- Boomers 61–79 16,199 11.8% -5.0 pts
Residents by birth cohort, from the 2025 age distribution. The right-hand figure is how far each cohort's share sits above or below New Jersey, in percentage points. Children younger than Gen Z and the generations before the Boomers are counted in the population but not shown here, so these shares do not add up to 100%.
Male and female share
Women are 49.8% of the people living in Elizabeth and men 50.2%.
- Women 49.8% New Jersey 50.9%
- Men 50.2% New Jersey 49.1%
How many residents match a customer profile?
Residents matching this profile
100% of everyone living in Elizabeth
Pick an age range and a women/men split and the figure above answers with how many residents that profile reaches.
Economy
Elizabeth has a the economy index of D, which means it is barely prosperous.
| Metric | Elizabeth | New Jersey Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $66,034 | $103,817 | $80,455 |
| Income growth (%/yr) | 5.27% | 4.37% | 4.80% |
| Unemployment rate | 7.7% | 6.3% | 5.2% |
The median household income in Elizabeth is about 36% lower than in New Jersey.
Housing
| Metric | Elizabeth | New Jersey Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $456,683 | $352,792 | $248,835 |
| Median rent | $1,523 | $1,719 | $1,407 |
| Homeownership rate | 25.6% | 63.8% | 65.2% |
The median home price in Elizabeth is about 25.0 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $1,523 per month for that long.
Commute Time & Mobility
Commuters in Elizabeth spend about 46 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 193 hours, about 8.0 full days, spent commuting.
| Metric | Elizabeth | New Jersey Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-way commute (min) | 23.1 | 26.2 | 22.4 |
| Round-trip commute (min) | 46.2 | 52.4 | 44.8 |
| Yearly time spent (hours) | 193 | 218 | 187 |
| Estimated yearly cost | $5,973 | $6,764 | $5,790 |
| Work from home | 6.3% | 16.8% | 15.0% |
| Highway traffic (vehicles/day) | 21,777 | 14,317 | 8,813 |
| Local road traffic (vehicles/day) | 3,960 | 2,109 | 1,355 |
The average commute time in Elizabeth is 23 minutes, shorter than the 26 minutes in New Jersey.
Estimated yearly cost applies a single national wage rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area. Traffic volume figures come from proprietary Ticon and TrafficZoom data.
Education & Households
Elizabeth has a education index of F, which means it scores poorly in education.
| Metric | Elizabeth | New Jersey Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 13.3% | 39.6% | 31.6% |
| Average household size | 2.95 | 2.61 | 2.53 |
Health
Elizabeth has a health index of C, which means it is somewhat healthy.
| Metric | Elizabeth | New Jersey Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy (years) | 78.9 | 79.4 | 78.3 |
| Self-rated poor health | 20.8% | 12.9% | 16.3% |
| Smokers | 17.4% | 14.2% | 19.0% |
Elizabeth, NJ Compared With Nearby Cities
Elizabeth, NJ is the 2nd largest of the 4 cities compared here, 137,246 residents against a local median of 44,201. Elizabeth, NJ's median home price, at $456,683, runs 140% above the $190,352 typical of the cities around it.
Median household income tells the same story from another angle: $66,034 against a local median of $91,192, 28% below it. The picture is mixed rather than uniform: commute runs ahead of the neighbourhood while median household income runs behind it, so Elizabeth, NJ is trading one against the other rather than simply out-performing what surrounds it. The cities themselves spread $401,344 on median home price, so Elizabeth, NJ sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Elizabeth, NJ has the highest median home price of the 4 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Median household income | Median home price | Commute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elizabeth, NJ | 137,246 | $66,034 #3/4 | $456,683 #1/4 | 23.1 min #1/4 |
| Newark, NJ | 309,652 | $52,688 | $190,352 | 30.2 min |
| Linden, NJ | 44,201 | $91,192 | $48,655 | 27.0 min |
| Roselle, NJ | 22,520 | $91,958 | $450,000 | 30.8 min |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Elizabeth, New Jersey.
How big is Elizabeth, New Jersey by population?
About 137,246 people live in Elizabeth, New Jersey, in 46,053 households of 2.9 people on average. The median age is 36.3, close to the U.S. median of 37.3.
Is Elizabeth, New Jersey mostly urban or rural?
Averaged over its land area, Elizabeth, New Jersey has 10,063 people per square mile, a density typical of a city. That is about 116 times the U.S. average of 86.
Can a typical household afford a home in Elizabeth, New Jersey?
The median home costs 6.9 times the median household income ($456,683 against $66,034), compared with 3.1 times nationally. A ratio of about 3 is traditionally considered affordable. Median rent of $1,523 a month takes about 28% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.
Is unemployment high in Elizabeth, New Jersey?
Unemployment in Elizabeth, New Jersey is 7.7%, well above the U.S. rate of 5.2%, so job seekers may face more competition than elsewhere.
How common is a college degree in Elizabeth, New Jersey?
13.3% of adults in Elizabeth, New Jersey hold a bachelor's degree or higher (about 1 in 8), well below the U.S. share of 31.6%.
Analyze any area in the US
Get local demographics for any address, aggregated by drive time or radius, on the interactive map.
Explore the map →