ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — No matter what zip code they live in, New Jersey residents are struggling to overcome a chronic racial wealth gap that is “pervasive in all our backyards,” advocates say.
But some backyards are more equal than others, it seems.
The Newark-based New Jersey Institute for Social Justice (NJISJ) recently released a study that did a county-by-county analysis of racial imbalances throughout the state, including Essex County. Read the full study, “Two New Jerseys: One State of Inequity,” and see its methodology here.
Here are some local statistics for Essex County that the nonprofit found in their research:
HOMEOWNERSHIP – In Essex County, there are more white homeowning households than Black and Latino/Latina households combined – despite those numbers being roughly flipped when compared by population.
INCOME – In Essex County, the median income for white households is $125,000 compared to $54,700 for Black families – an income gap of $70,400. Latino/Latina households also face a large gap when compared to white families – about a $64,900 difference.
POVERTY – In Essex County, about one in five Black residents live in poverty. The same totals are seen in the county’s Latino/Latina population.
INTERNET ACCESS – In Essex County, more than 10% of Latino/Latina households and 7.4% of Black households don’t have an internet subscription.
The U.S. Census Bureau breaks down Essex County’s 849,477 residents as follows (noting that some overlap may occur):
- White alone – 48.5%
- White alone, not Hispanic or Latino – 29.5%
- Black or African American alone – 41.4%
- Hispanic or Latino – 24.6%
- Asian alone – 6.6%
- Two or More Races – 2.5%
- American Indian and Alaska Native alone – 0.9%
- Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone – 0.2%
The stark paradox of wealth and poverty is hard to ignore in Essex County, which is home to the state’s most populated city, Newark.
The county has the most homeless residents in the entire state, the overwhelming bulk of whom live in Newark, where about half of the homes in the entire city are owned by corporations. But just a 20-minute drive away in the Millburn/Short Hills area, some of the “richest people in America” reside in a neighborhood filled with huge mansions.
HOMEOWNERSHIP GAP IN NEW JERSEY
The disparity in homeownership seen in Essex County is also felt on the state level, advocates say.
“White homeownership in 19 of New Jersey’s 21 counties exceeds 70 percent,” NJISJ researchers said. “By stark contrast, Black and Latina/o homeownership rates in about two-thirds of counties are under 50 percent.”
The statewide homeownership rate for white New Jersey households is 76.4 percent: nearly double the homeownership rates for Black and Latina/o New Jersey households, who have homeownership rates of 39.7 and 39.6 percent, the NJISJ noted.
The nonprofit isn’t the only organization that has taken note of a lingering homeownership gap in New Jersey – and America as a whole.
Last week, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) announced that homeownership rates for racial minorities in the United States increased in 2022, with Asian and Hispanic Americans achieving “historic peaks” on the national level.
Despite these advancements, disparities persist among racial and ethnic groups, with Black homeownership lagging behind, the NAR reported:
“The Hispanic American homeownership rate rose to a record high of 51.1% in 2022. In the past decade, Asian Americans experienced the sharpest increase in homeownership rate, reaching 63.3% – a gain of 6.1 percentage points, or an addition of 1.5 million homeowners since 2012 – also a record high. While homeownership rates improved across all racial and ethnic groups over the past decade, the homeownership rate among Black individuals continues to trail at 44.1%.”
Here are the latest homeownership rates by race in New Jersey, according to the NAR:
- White – 76%
- Black – 40%
- Asian – 66%
- Hispanic – 42%
Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com. Learn more about advertising on Patch here. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site.
