Census Data Show New Jersey�s Median Age Highest Ever and Increasing Diversity

TRENTON, May 23, 2001 � The median age of New Jersey�s population increased from 34.4 years in 1990 to 36.7 years in 2000 according to the latest figures from Census 2000, the state Labor Department�s State Data Center said today.� The increase reflects the aging of the baby boomers.� However, the growth of the population aged 65 and over during the past decade (7.8%) was slower than the total population (8.9%) in both the state and the nation (12.0% for the over 65 and 13.2% for the total) due to the relatively low number of births in the Great Depression era. The national median age also increased 2.4 years, from 32.9 in 1990 to 35.3 in 2000.

According to the 2000 Census, Cape May surpassed Ocean as the county with the oldest population in New Jersey with a median age of 42.3 years.� Ocean County�s median age was 41.0 years.� The slower increase of Ocean County�s median age reflected a fast growing under-65-population in the county.� The number of persons under 65 years of age grew by a hefty 19.5 percent in Ocean County but just increased by 7.5 percent in Cape May County during the 1990s.� Hudson County was New Jersey�s youngest county with a median age of 33.6 years.

The Census figures released today also include the first population totals for selected groups of Asian and Hispanic (or Latino) populations.� Like the nation, the state�s Hispanic (or Latino) population soared, led by a hefty 258 percent increase of Mexicans in the past decade.� The number of Cubans living in New Jersey decreased by 9.4 percent during the same time period.� Puerto Ricans remained the largest Hispanic group in the state and accounted for 32.8% of the state�s total Hispanic population in 2000.�� Mexican was the largest Latino group in the nation as a whole, accounting for 58.5% of the nation�s total Hispanics in 2000.

The number of Mexicans more than quadrupled in five New Jersey counties during the 1990s � Cumberland (+560%), Ocean (+474%), Atlantic (+401%), Monmouth (+363%) and Middlesex (+335%).� The largest increases of Mexicans occurred in Passaic County (+14,669), Middlesex County (+10,980) and Hudson County (+7,912).� These three counties accounted for 45.2 percent of the state�s total increase of Mexicans.

Among New Jersey�s Asians, Asian Indian was the fastest growing group (+113%) during the 1990s, and continued to be the largest group.� Japanese was the only Asian group to experience a decline (-15%) between 1990 and 2000.� Consequently, Japanese became the smallest Asian group in the state in 2000, surpassed by the fast growing Vietnamese (+107%).�� Nationally, the number of Asian Indians (+106%) also grew faster than any other Asian groups while the number of Japanese (-6%) also declined.� However, Chinese was the largest Asian group in the nation as a whole, followed by Filipinos and Asian Indians.

(Caution: Multiracial persons (about 2.5% of New Jersey�s total residents) were excluded from this comparison.)

The number of Asian Indians more than doubled in nine New Jersey counties.� Middlesex County had the largest gain of Asian Indians (+35,770), followed by Hudson County (+8,934) and Bergen County (+8,082).� Together with Morris and Somerset Counties, these five counties accounted for more than two-thirds (67.5%) of the state�s total Asian Indian population as of April 1, 2000.

Besides the data on age, race and ethnicity, the profile also contains data on sex, household relationship and household type, housing units, vacancy status, and renters and homeowners.� The profile is available for New Jersey and the state�s 21 counties and 566 municipalities on the Internet by clicking on the Labor Market Information button on www.wnjpin.net

Other highlights:

The proportion of children under 18 years old increased in the state from 23.3% in 1990 to 24.8% in 2000. The 1.5 percentage point increase was the second highest among the nation�s 50 states, next only to Connecticut�s 1.9 percentage point increase. The change was due largely to the influx of foreign immigrants and the slow growth of the state�s adult population.� The number of persons 18 years old and over increased 6.7 percent in New Jersey (ranked 40^th in the nation) during the 1990s while the increase in Connecticut was a mere 1.0% (ranked 50^th in the nation).

Ocean County had the largest percentage of persons aged 65 and over (22.2%) in the state in 2000, followed by Cape May (20.2%) and Bergen (15.2%) counties.� Ocean County�s senior population (113,260) was second only to Bergen County (134,820) in terms of size.� Middlesex County added the most persons 65 and over, growing by 13,773 from 1990 to 2000 to reach a total of 92,590.
The number of nonfamily households grew substantially faster than family households (17.7% vs. 6.6%) between 1990 and 2000 in New Jersey.� The rate of growth in the nation was 22.8% and 11.3% for nonfamily and family households, respectively.
The number of nonfamily households grew by more than 30% in Sussex, Somerset, Burlington and Ocean Counties.� The rate of growth in the state was 17.7%.� Somerset and Ocean Counties also had the fastest growth in family households (+20.0% and +14.0%, respectively).
The state�s families headed by women with no husband present (+14.3%) increased more than three times as fast as married-couple families (+3.8%) in the past decade.� The increase was 20.9% and 7.5% for the number of female-headed and married-couple families in the nation, respectively.
Ocean, Gloucester and Somerset counties� female-headed households each grew by 25%.� However, the proportions of family households headed by a woman were still relatively low in these counties.� Married-couple households declined in Cumberland (-5.5%), Salem (-5.2%), Camden (-4.0%), Essex (-3.7%), Union (-3.1%), and Passaic (-0.6%) counties.� The proportions of married-couple families have been relatively low in these counties.
New Jersey�s average household size was 2.68 in 2000, down slightly from the 1990�s 2.70, but still larger than the national figure. Nationally, the average household size was 2.63 and 2.59 in 1990 and 2000, respectively.
The reduction in the average household size was most evident in Burlington (from 2.79 to 2.65), Gloucester (from 2.87 to 2.75) and Sussex (from 2.91 to 2.80) counties.� Five counties with large volumes of recent foreign immigrants increased their average household sizes in the past decade: Passaic (+.07), Union (+.06), Atlantic (+.03), Middlesex (+.03) and Somerset (+.02).
Of the more than three million occupied housing units in 2000, approximately two million were occupied by owners and another one million by renters.� The state�s homeownership rate increased from 64.9 percent in 1990 to 65.6 percent in 2000.� The national homeownership rates were 64.2 percent and 66.2 percent in 1990 and 2000, respectively.
Homeownership rates were highest in Hunterdon (83.6%), Ocean (83.2%) and Sussex (82.7%) counties.� These counties also had high proportion of non-Hispanic white residents who tend to have higher homeownership rates than their nonwhite and Hispanic counterparts.
Housing vacancy rates decreased in the state during the 1990s, from 9.1 percent in 1990 to 7.4 percent in 2000.� The decrease/increase of vacancy rates varied among counties, ranging from a 4.9 percentage point decline in Hudson County (from 9.1% to 4.2%) to a 1.0 percentage point increase in Camden County (from 6.0% to 7.0%).
Essex, Mercer and Middlesex Counties led the state in group quarters population in 2000.� Essex County had the largest institutionalized population while large college campuses in Mercer and Middlesex counties made up most of their group quarters populations.� Cumberland County�s group quarters population showed the largest percentage gain (85.9%) from 1990 to 2000, adding 5,700 persons � a reflection of the opening of new state and federal correctional institutions in the county during the 1990s.
The state�s largest Hispanic group � Puerto Rican had moderate growth (+14.6%) in New Jersey during the 1990s.� Substantial growth of Puerto Ricans was observed in Middlesex, Camden, Bergen and Union counties.� These four counties accounted for 46.1 percent of the state�s total increase of 46,655 Puerto Rican residents from 1990 to 2000.� Hudson, Essex, Passaic, Middlesex and Camden counties had the majority (65.4%) of the state�s Puerto Ricans in 1990.� They still had 60.3 percent of the state�s Puerto Ricans as of 2000.
The number of Cubans declined by 8,041 in New Jersey from 1990 to 2000.� The most substantial declines occurred in Hudson (-10,214), Union (-2,253) and Essex (-1,002) counties.� However, Bergen County had a net gain of 2,397 Cubans in the 1990s.� More than three of every four (76.5%) of New Jersey�s Cubans resided in these four counties as of 2000.� They had 82.2 percent of the state�s total Cuban population in 1990.
Chinese was the second largest Asian group in New Jersey.� The number of Chinese more than doubled in three New Jersey counties � Atlantic (+129%), Somerset (+128%) and Middlesex (+103%).� Middlesex County also had the largest gain of Chinese (+11,147) during the 1990s, followed by Bergen (+5,178) and Somerset (+4,569) counties.� More than three in every five (62.8%) of New Jersey�s Chinese population resided in Middlesex, Bergen, Morris, Monmouth and Somerset counties as of April 1, 2000.
The number of Filipinos more than doubled in three New Jersey counties in the past decade � Hunterdon (+174%), Atlantic (+118%) and Sussex (+107%) from relatively small bases.� More than two-thirds (68.8%) of the state�s Filipino population resided in Hudson, Bergen, Middlesex, Essex and Union counties, according to the 2000 Census.
Japanese was the sole declining Asian group in New Jersey.� New Jersey�s Japanese population decreased by 2,581 during the 1990s.� Bergen County alone experienced a net loss of 2,528 Japanese.� However, with 7,662 Japanese residents, Bergen County still had more than one-half (52.2%) of the state�s total Japanese population in 2000.
The number of Korean residents more than doubled in Bergen County (+20,002 or 124%) during the 1990s.� Consequently, Bergen County alone accounted for more than one in every two (55.2%) Korean residents in the state in 2000.
Vietnamese was the second fastest growing group in the past decade, next only to Asian Indian, among the state�s Asians.� The number of Vietnamese more than doubled in five New Jersey counties � Warren (+268%), Camden (+221%), Atlantic (+205%), Ocean (+151%) and Middlesex (+125%) from 1990 to 2000.� The majority of the state�s Vietnamese population (61.9%) was concentrated in four counties � Camden, Atlantic, Middlesex and Hudson as of 2000.

For more information, please contact David Joye or Sen-Yuan Wu at (609)292-0076 or djoye@dol.state.nj.us.