Data / Rankings / Unemployed people / Cities in New Jersey

Cities in New Jersey by unemployed people

Newark, NJ had the highest unemployed people of 39 cities in 2020, at 17,675. Princeton, NJ had the lowest, at 662. The median was 2,381. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest17,675Newark, NJ
Lowest662Princeton, NJ
Median2,38139 cities

All cities, 2020

Newark, NJ: 17,675 personsNewark, NJ17,675Jersey City, NJ: 14,563 personsJersey City, NJ14,563Paterson, NJ: 11,843 personsPaterson, NJ11,843Elizabeth, NJ: 7,672 personsElizabeth, NJ7,672Clifton, NJ: 5,005 personsClifton, NJ5,005Union City, NJ: 4,812 personsUnion City, NJ4,812Trenton, NJ: 4,453 personsTrenton, NJ4,453East Orange, NJ: 4,332 personsEast Orange, NJ4,332Camden, NJ: 4,265 personsCamden, NJ4,265Bayonne, NJ: 4,212 personsBayonne, NJ4,212Atlantic City, NJ: 4,053 personsAtlantic City, NJ4,053Perth Amboy, NJ: 4,052 personsPerth Amboy, NJ4,052Passaic, NJ: 3,936 personsPassaic, NJ3,936West New York, NJ: 3,143 personsWest New York, NJ3,143Vineland, NJ: 3,123 personsVineland, NJ3,123Plainfield, NJ: 2,920 personsPlainfield, NJ2,920Hackensack, NJ: 2,751 personsHackensack, NJ2,751Kearny, NJ: 2,588 personsKearny, NJ2,588Linden, NJ: 2,437 personsLinden, NJ2,437Garfield, NJ: 2,381 personsGarfield, NJ2,381Sayreville, NJ: 2,129 personsSayreville, NJ2,129New Brunswick, NJ: 2,097 personsNew Brunswick, NJ2,097Lodi, NJ: 1,769 personsLodi, NJ1,769Hoboken, NJ: 1,674 personsHoboken, NJ1,674Fair Lawn, NJ: 1,590 personsFair Lawn, NJ1,590Fort Lee, NJ: 1,580 personsFort Lee, NJ1,580Rahway, NJ: 1,557 personsRahway, NJ1,557Millville, NJ: 1,536 personsMillville, NJ1,536Englewood, NJ: 1,487 personsEnglewood, NJ1,487Long Branch, NJ: 1,399 personsLong Branch, NJ1,399Carteret, NJ: 1,367 personsCarteret, NJ1,367Bergenfield, NJ: 1,301 personsBergenfield, NJ1,301Paramus, NJ: 1,180 personsParamus, NJ1,180South Plainfield, NJ: 1,153 personsSouth Plainfield, NJ1,153Cliffside Park, NJ: 1,151 personsCliffside Park, NJ1,151Bridgeton, NJ: 848 personsBridgeton, NJ848Westfield, NJ: 780 personsWestfield, NJ780Ridgewood, NJ: 710 personsRidgewood, NJ710Princeton, NJ: 662 personsPrinceton, NJ662Newark, NJ: 17,675 personsNewark, NJ17,675Jersey City, NJ: 14,563 personsJersey City, NJ14,563Paterson, NJ: 11,843 personsPaterson, NJ11,843Elizabeth, NJ: 7,672 personsElizabeth, NJ7,672Clifton, NJ: 5,005 personsClifton, NJ5,005Union City, NJ: 4,812 personsUnion City, NJ4,812Trenton, NJ: 4,453 personsTrenton, NJ4,453East Orange, NJ: 4,332 personsEast Orange, NJ4,332Camden, NJ: 4,265 personsCamden, NJ4,265Bayonne, NJ: 4,212 personsBayonne, NJ4,212Atlantic City, NJ: 4,053 personsAtlantic City, NJ4,053Perth Amboy, NJ: 4,052 personsPerth Amboy, NJ4,052Passaic, NJ: 3,936 personsPassaic, NJ3,936West New York, NJ: 3,143 personsWest New York, NJ3,143Vineland, NJ: 3,123 personsVineland, NJ3,123Plainfield, NJ: 2,920 personsPlainfield, NJ2,920Hackensack, NJ: 2,751 personsHackensack, NJ2,751Kearny, NJ: 2,588 personsKearny, NJ2,588Linden, NJ: 2,437 personsLinden, NJ2,437Garfield, NJ: 2,381 personsGarfield, NJ2,381Sayreville, NJ: 2,129 personsSayreville, NJ2,129New Brunswick, NJ: 2,097 personsNew Brunswick, NJ2,097Lodi, NJ: 1,769 personsLodi, NJ1,769Hoboken, NJ: 1,674 personsHoboken, NJ1,674Fair Lawn, NJ: 1,590 personsFair Lawn, NJ1,590Fort Lee, NJ: 1,580 personsFort Lee, NJ1,580Rahway, NJ: 1,557 personsRahway, NJ1,557Millville, NJ: 1,536 personsMillville, NJ1,536Englewood, NJ: 1,487 personsEnglewood, NJ1,487Long Branch, NJ: 1,399 personsLong Branch, NJ1,399Carteret, NJ: 1,367 personsCarteret, NJ1,367Bergenfield, NJ: 1,301 personsBergenfield, NJ1,301Paramus, NJ: 1,180 personsParamus, NJ1,180South Plainfield, NJ: 1,153 personsSouth Plainfield, NJ1,153Cliffside Park, NJ: 1,151 personsCliffside Park, NJ1,151Bridgeton, NJ: 848 personsBridgeton, NJ848Westfield, NJ: 780 personsWestfield, NJ780Ridgewood, NJ: 710 personsRidgewood, NJ710Princeton, NJ: 662 personsPrinceton, NJ662
persons. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2020
persons		Change on 2019
1Newark, NJ17,675+145.3%
2Jersey City, NJ14,563+187.6%
3Paterson, NJ11,843+191%
4Elizabeth, NJ7,672+172.2%
5Clifton, NJ5,005+209.5%
6Union City, NJ4,812+269.3%
7Trenton, NJ4,453+101.4%
8East Orange, NJ4,332+136.3%
9Camden, NJ4,265+110.2%
10Bayonne, NJ4,212+221.5%
11Atlantic City, NJ4,053+284.2%
12Perth Amboy, NJ4,052+190.5%
13Passaic, NJ3,936+179.3%
14West New York, NJ3,143+241.3%
15Vineland, NJ3,123+105.9%
16Plainfield, NJ2,920+111.9%
17Hackensack, NJ2,751+207.4%
18Kearny, NJ2,588+227.2%
19Linden, NJ2,437+176.3%
20Garfield, NJ2,381+209.6%
21Sayreville, NJ2,129+176.5%
22New Brunswick, NJ2,097+151.4%
23Lodi, NJ1,769+225.8%
24Hoboken, NJ1,674+146.2%
25Fair Lawn, NJ1,590+198.3%
26Fort Lee, NJ1,580+247.3%
27Rahway, NJ1,557+161.7%
28Millville, NJ1,536+114.8%
29Englewood, NJ1,487+207.9%
30Long Branch, NJ1,399+136.7%
31Carteret, NJ1,367+170.7%
32Bergenfield, NJ1,301+217.3%
33Paramus, NJ1,180+225.1%
34South Plainfield, NJ1,153n/a
35Cliffside Park, NJ1,151+230.7%
36Bridgeton, NJ848+59.4%
37Westfield, NJ780+130.8%
38Ridgewood, NJ710+177.3%
39Princeton, NJ662+110.2%

Other periods

About this ranking

Residents with no job who were available for work and had looked for work in the previous four weeks, or were waiting to be recalled from a layoff, annual average.

More on how it is measured
  • People aged 16 and over by place of residence, from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  • Active-duty military personnel and people living in institutions are excluded.

United States cities only for now. The survey definition, not a count of benefit claimants. BLS estimates cities by splitting county estimates with Census Bureau employment and population data and unemployment insurance claims, so city figures are less precise than state ones. BLS publishes cities of 25,000 or more, and smaller cities in New England.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the cities are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2026). Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average (Cities in New Jersey by unemployed people, 2020) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24

MLA 9

Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average, Cities in New Jersey by unemployed people, 2020. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 30 Sept. 2026, https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/new-jersey-cities?period=2020. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Cities in New Jersey by unemployed people, 2020. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/new-jersey-cities?period=2020.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average, Cities in New Jersey by unemployed people, 2020 [Dataset]. Available at: https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/new-jersey-cities?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_new_jersey_2020,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average: Cities in New Jersey by unemployed people, 2020}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/new-jersey-cities?period=2020. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
TI  - Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average: Cities in New Jersey by unemployed people, 2020
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/30
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/new-jersey-cities?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployed-people/new-jersey-cities?period=2020.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Rank Cities in New Jersey by unemployed people using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which city has the highest unemployed people?

Newark, NJ, with 17,675 in 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest unemployed people?

Princeton, NJ, with 662 in 2020.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Unemployed people: other rankings

Cities in New Jersey: more rankings