Health Profile of New Jersey
New Jersey Health Score
The Map AI Health Index is a score that reflects local life expectancy, disease rates, healthcare access, and physical environment to help you quickly compare the overall health and well-being of different areas.
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B
New Jersey Around averageHealthier than 82% of states in US
Source: Map AI Methodology
Healthiest and Least Healthy Counties in New Jersey
- Morris County (106% of U.S. avg)
- Hunterdon County (105% of U.S. avg)
- Somerset County (105% of U.S. avg)
- Cumberland County (99% of U.S. avg)
- Salem County (100% of U.S. avg)
- Passaic County (100% of U.S. avg)
Ranked by the Map AI Health Index, which combines life expectancy, disease rates, healthcare access, and physical environment.
General Health Overview
| Metric | New Jersey | US Average |
|---|---|---|
| Life Expectancy (years) | 79.4 | 78.3 |
| Uninsured Population (%) | 7.5% | 8.4% |
| Self-Rated Poor Health | 12.9% | 16.3% |
Life expectancy in New Jersey is 79.4 years, about 1.1 years longer than the US average of 78.3 years. The uninsured rate is 7.5%, lower than the US average of 8.4%. Self-rated poor health is reported by 12.9% of residents, lower than the US average of 16.3%.
Population by Age
Older residents
3,351,670 residents in New Jersey are age 50 or older.
- 85+ 193,485 67,981 men · 125,504 women
- 75–84 455,624 193,230 men · 262,394 women
- 65–74 831,675 381,673 men · 450,002 women
- 50–64 1,870,887 912,589 men · 958,298 women
Younger residents
1,961,346 residents in New Jersey are age 17 or younger.
- 12–17 613,454 311,495 boys · 301,959 girls
- 7–12 581,454 298,693 boys · 282,761 girls
- 3–7 442,064 228,359 boys · 213,705 girls
- 0–3 324,375 166,485 boys · 157,890 girls
About 415,364 residents in New Jersey (4.4% of the population) are older than the area's life expectancy of 79.4 years.
The highlighted slice of the age axis is the share of residents older than the life-expectancy mark.
Disease Prevalence
| Disease / Condition | New Jersey | US Average |
|---|---|---|
| Diabetes | 9.6% | 11.3% |
| Cancer | 6.3% | 6.9% |
| Heart Diseases | 5.8% | 7.1% |
| Adult Obesity | 28.9% | 34.3% |
The rate of heart disease in New Jersey is about 18% lower than in US. The rate of obesity in New Jersey is about 16% lower than in US.
Health Behaviors
| Behavior | New Jersey | US Average |
|---|---|---|
| Smokers | 14.2% | 19.0% |
| Binge Drinking | 17.2% | 16.5% |
| Sedentary Lifestyle | 21.9% | 25.1% |
The rate of smoking in New Jersey is about 25% lower than in US.
Assuming each smoker smokes 10 cigarettes a day, that's about 10.4 million cigarettes a day, 311.6 million a month, or 3.8 billion a year! At 11 minutes* of life lost per cigarette, that's about 114.2 million minutes a day and 41.7 billion a year lost to smoking overall - and since life expectancy in New Jersey is 79.4 years, that's roughly equivalent to 2.74 lifetimes a day, or 1000 lifetimes a year.
* Source: Shaw M, Mitchell R, Dorling D. "Time for a smoke? One cigarette reduces your life by 11 minutes." BMJ. 2000;320:53.
Illustrative only. This is not an estimate of how many people actually die from smoking each day or year - it's a rough, order-of-magnitude comparison meant to help grasp the scale of smoking in this area. We take no responsibility for any decisions made based on this figure.
Air Quality
| Metric | New Jersey | US Average |
|---|---|---|
| Air Pollution (μg/m³) | 6.82 | 6.09 |
With an annual average of 6.8 µg/m³ of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), air quality in New Jersey is good — generally safe air quality for the vast majority of residents.
New Jersey Health Compared With Nearby States
New Jersey is the 2nd largest of the 6 states compared here, 9,334,304 residents against a local median of 3,347,044. Where New Jersey breaks from the states next to it is uninsured, sitting 42% above the local median of 5.3% at 7.5%. That is the weaker end of the local range on this measure.
The states themselves spread 2.7% on uninsured, so New Jersey sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. New Jersey has the 6th lowest uninsured of the 6 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Life expectancy | Uninsured | Obesity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | 9,334,304 | 79.4 yrs #3/6 | 7.5% #6/6 | 28.9% #2/6 |
| Delaware | 1,017,061 | 77.7 yrs | 6.3% | 36.6% |
| Maryland | 6,204,886 | 78.4 yrs | 6.3% | 34.0% |
| Connecticut | 3,347,044 | 80.1 yrs | 5.3% | 30.1% |
| District of Columbia | 678,314 | 76.4 yrs | 3.6% | 25.3% |
| New York | 19,748,855 | 80.3 yrs | 5.0% | 30.2% |
Conclusion
Considering all these factors, New Jersey has an overall health index grade of B, making it somewhat better than the country as a whole.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about health in New Jersey.
How healthy is New Jersey?
New Jersey has a Map AI Health Index grade of B, based on life expectancy, disease rates, healthcare access, and the physical environment; a B grade means residents are somewhat healthier than the U.S. average.
Is New Jersey one of the healthiest states in the U.S.?
New Jersey ranks 10th healthiest out of 51 states in the U.S. by the Map AI Health Index, which measures life expectancy, disease rates, healthcare access, and the physical environment.
What is the life expectancy in New Jersey?
People in New Jersey can expect to live 79.4 years on average, 1.1 years longer than the US average of 78.3.
What percentage of New Jersey residents are uninsured?
7.5% of residents in New Jersey have no health insurance, about 1 in 13 people, 0.9 points below the US rate of 8.4%.
What percentage of New Jersey residents are obese?
28.9% of adults in New Jersey are classified as obese, about 1 in 3, 5.4 points below the US rate of 34.3%.
How many cigarettes do smokers in New Jersey go through, and how much life does that cost?
Assuming each smoker smokes 10 cigarettes a day, that's about 10.4 million cigarettes a day, 311.6 million a month, or 3.8 billion a year! At 11 minutes* of life lost per cigarette, that's about 114.2 million minutes a day and 41.7 billion a year lost to smoking overall - and since life expectancy in New Jersey is 79.4 years, that's roughly equivalent to 2.74 lifetimes a day, or 1000 lifetimes a year.
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