The local economy of New Jersey and its counties, metro areas and cities, from official US government data, plus daily local gas prices for the state, its counties and metro areas.
Unemployment rate
4.3%
-1.2 ptsvs a year ago
Counties: lowest Hunterdon County 3.7%, highest Cumberland County 7.4%.
August 2026, seasonally adjusted, preliminary
Average weekly pay
$1,879
+3.3%vs a year ago
4,247,817 jobs at 343,397 business locations.
Q1 2026, all jobs
New homes permitted
31,546
-3.3%this year vs last year
Most in Essex County 4,667, Hudson County 4,219.
Homes in the last 12 months, to August 2026
People moving in
-32,182
-4.3 per 1,000residents
177,236 moved in and 209,418 moved out. Most newcomers came from New York.
Net people, 2022 to 2023, the newest year published
New Jersey gas price
$4.28
+$1.25vs a year ago
Counties: lowest Warren County $4.21, highest Cape May County $4.49. Counties and metro areas
Regular, per gallon, New Jersey, October 9, 2026
Newest data: -. Not seasonally adjusted: compare with the same month a year earlier. Click a row for the history of that area.
The state, its counties and metro areas, updated daily. A separate series from the weekly survey prices above.
Business locations, employees and payroll by industry, 2023. Click an industry for its US report.
Business locations
238K
+0.2%vs 2022
2023, places with paid employees
Employees
3.95M
+3.4%vs 2022
Largest sector: Health Care and Social Assistance (16.1%).
2023, mid-March
Annual payroll
$292.1B
Wages and salaries paid during the year.
2023, all industries
Average pay
$74,045
Highest sector: Management of Companies and Enterprises $148,498.
Per employee per year
Share of New Jersey's employees, 2023
| Industry | Employees | Average pay |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurants and Other Eating Places | 249,796 | $26,709 |
| Employment Services | 232,145 | $51,880 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals | 152,705 | $82,453 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 122,744 | $148,498 |
| Grocery Stores | 87,775 | $32,668 |
| Computer Systems Design and Related Services | 85,654 | $112,797 |
| Offices of Physicians | 82,376 | $108,303 |
| Warehousing and Storage | 66,084 | $59,820 |
| Services to Buildings and Dwellings | 63,757 | $42,188 |
| Depository Credit Intermediation | 61,678 | $128,070 |
| Building Equipment Contractors | 59,377 | $82,612 |
| Individual and Family Services | 53,690 | $38,013 |
Most values are changed slightly to protect the privacy of single businesses; a few are withheld and shown as a range. Counties and metro areas have the same numbers in the area card above (Industries).
Cost, students and graduate earnings of the colleges in the state, from official public data.
The newest unemployment rate, pay, new home permits, moves and gas price for New Jersey, updated as new official numbers come out.
Unemployment for New Jersey is seasonally adjusted; for its counties, metro areas and cities it is not, so compare a month with the same month a year earlier. Pay covers all jobs that pay into unemployment insurance. Building permits count homes approved to be built, not homes sold. Moves count households by where they filed their tax returns in two years in a row. Daily gas prices are average pump prices for New Jersey, its counties and metro areas on the day shown. The weekly gas prices in the explorer come from a separate weekly survey that publishes a price for only some states, so a state without one shows the price of its region there; the two series are never combined.
The unemployment rate in New Jersey was 4.3% in August 2026 (seasonally adjusted, preliminary), compared with 5.5% a year earlier. 4,705,446 people were employed out of a labor force of 4,918,162. Among its counties, Hunterdon County had the lowest rate (3.7%) and Cumberland County the highest (7.4%, not seasonally adjusted).
Average weekly pay in New Jersey was $1,879 in Q1 2026, up 3.3% from a year earlier, across 4,247,817 jobs at 343,397 business locations.
Building permits were issued for 2,200 new homes in New Jersey in August 2026 (979 single-family and 1,056 in buildings with 5 or more units). From January to August the total was 20,527, down 3.3% from the same months last year, and 31,546 in the last 12 months. The most homes were permitted in Essex County (4,667), Hudson County (4,219), Bergen County (3,818) over the last 12 months.
No, more people moved out than in. From 2022 to 2023, 177,236 people moved to New Jersey and 209,418 moved away, a net loss of 32,182 (-4.3 per 1,000 residents). Most newcomers came from New York, Pennsylvania, Florida, and most people who left went to New York, Florida, Pennsylvania.
Regular gasoline in New Jersey averaged $4.28 per gallon on October 9, 2026, up $1.25 from a year earlier. Diesel averaged $6.33. Among its counties, Warren County had the lowest regular price ($4.21) and Cape May County the highest ($4.49).
Health Care and Social Assistance (635,422 employees), Retail Trade (465,759 employees), Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services (395,891 employees) were the largest sectors in New Jersey in 2023. In all, 237,968 business locations employed 3,945,019 people at an average pay of $74,045 a year.