10 Poorest Cities In New Jersey [2026]

Like all states, New Jersey has certain places that are going on hard times. These New Jersey places have an above-average percentage of people living in poverty, out of work, or not making as much as they should be.

Even as the economy continues to improve, it’s worthwhile to look at the places in each state struggling to make ends meet. So we set our sites on locating the poorest places in New Jersey.

To do so, we used Saturday Night Science to analyze the newest Census data from the American Community Survey for the 189 cities in New Jersey with more than 5,000 people.

Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table

The 10 Poorest Places In New Jersey For 2026:

Atlantic City
Camden
Salem
Prospect Park
Newark
Pleasantville
Bridgeton
Trenton
Passaic
New Brunswick

What’s the poorest city in New Jersey? According to the facts, Atlantic City is the poorest place in New Jersey for 2026.

This isn’t a commentary on the people that live there or the vibrant culture and traditions of these places. Instead, it’s just a look at the facts.

For more New Jersey reading, check out:

The 10 Poorest Cities In New Jersey For 2026

1. Atlantic City

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 38,632
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $41,028 (3rd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 32.3% (highest)
People In Poverty: 12,474
More on Atlantic City: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

Atlantic City, unfortunately, ranks as the poorest place in New Jersey thanks to combination of low pay and and a lack of jobs.

The city of 38,632 people averages the 3rd lowest median household income in New Jersey and the highest poverty rate. At the very least, the cost of living ranks in the bottom 15% of place in the state, so things like housing are relatively affordable.

2. Camden

Source: Wikipedia User Yann | CC BY 2.0

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 71,496
Rank Last Year: 3 (Up 1)
Median Income: $40,546 (2nd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 30.2% (3rd highest)
People In Poverty: 21,563
More on Camden: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers

The second poorest city in New Jersey is Camden.

The city ranks as having the 3rd highest incidence of poverty and 2nd lowest median household income. However, the unemployment rate ‘only’ ranks as the 2nd highest in the Garden State.

3. Salem

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 5,322
Rank Last Year: 4 (Up 1)
Median Income: $38,721 (lowest)
Poverty Rate: 24.8% (7th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,319
More on Salem: Data | Crime | Movers

Placing as the third poorest city, Salem’s median income ranks as the lowest.

And that’s a sign that there’s a relatively substantial jump in the quality of the economy from second to third place on our list. The poverty rate is 24.8% and ranks near the bottom of places in the state.

But what makes up for the relatively low incomes of the city is its low cost of living. The income you do make here goes further than in most parts of the Garden State.

4. Prospect Park

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 6,319
Rank Last Year: 6 (Up 2)
Median Income: $53,125 (6th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 28.3% (4th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,789
More on Prospect Park: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

Prospect Park ranks as the fourth poorest place in New Jersey.

The town ranks as having the 6th lowest median household income and the 4th highest incidence of poverty in the state.

That being said, there’s still a ton of cultural diversity in the city as it hosts many events throughout the year.

5. Newark

Source: Wikipedia User Jamaalcobbs at English Wikipedia | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 310,178
Rank Last Year: 7 (Up 2)
Median Income: $52,060 (4th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 23.4% (8th highest)
People In Poverty: 72,705
More on Newark: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

The fifth poorest city in New Jersey is Newark.

The city ranks as having the 4th lowest median income in the state. However, an extremely low cost of living prevents a good number of folks from living in poverty as the poverty rate only ranks as the 8th highest in New Jersey.

Still not the best news for Newark.

6. Pleasantville

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 20,712
Rank Last Year: 9 (Up 3)
Median Income: $53,661 (7th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 25.1% (6th highest)
People In Poverty: 5,200
More on Pleasantville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

Pleasantville ranks as the sixth poorest place in the Garden State.

It ranks as having the 6th highest incidence of poverty and the 12th highest unemployment rate.

7. Bridgeton

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 27,001
Rank Last Year: 2 (Down 5)
Median Income: $55,781 (9th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 27.2% (5th highest)
People In Poverty: 7,336
More on Bridgeton: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

Bridgeton places as the seventh poorest city in New Jersey.

The city of over 27,001 ranks as having the 5th highest incidence of poverty in the state. However, it has a very low cost of living which helps to pay the bills each month.

8. Trenton

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 90,338
Rank Last Year: 5 (Down 3)
Median Income: $52,537 (5th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 21.6% (13th highest)
People In Poverty: 19,513
More on Trenton: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

Trenton ranks as the eighth poorest city in New Jersey.

The big issue for the town is the unemployment rate which ranks as one of the highest in the state.

9. Passaic

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 70,002
Rank Last Year: 12 (Up 3)
Median Income: $55,371 (8th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 22.9% (10th highest)
People In Poverty: 16,023
More on Passaic: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

Passaic couldn’t stay out of the top ten poorest places in New Jersey; it ranks number 9.

While the median income is the 8th lowest, there are a substantial number of people that live below the poverty line. Overall, Passaic ranks as having the 10th most people living in poverty of all the places we analyzed in New Jersey.

10. New Brunswick

Source: Wikipedia User MJKazin at English Wikipedia | GFDL

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 56,345
Rank Last Year: 8 (Down 2)
Median Income: $65,810 (19th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 32.0% (2nd highest)
People In Poverty: 18,007
More on New Brunswick: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

And rounding out the top ten poorest cities in New Jersey is New Brunswick.

The city of 56,345 people ranks in the bottom 20% for both median income and poverty rate in the Garden State.

Methodology: How We Determined The Poorest Places In New Jersey for 2026

The first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they think about determining the poorest places is to simply the poverty rate. That is, the number of people living below a federally established level of income for a household of a certain size.

However, we don’t think that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the “poorest places”. So we used Saturday Night Science to look at this set of criteria from the newly released 2020-2024 American Community Survey:

Poverty Level
Median Household Income

After we collected the data for all 189 places with more than 5,000 people in New Jersey, we ranked each place from 1 to 189 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the poorest.

We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a “Poor Score” with the place having the lowest overall Poor Score, Atlantic City, crowned the “Poorest Place In New Jersey For 2026”.

This report has been updated for 2026, which is our eleventh time ranking the poorest places in New Jersey.

Summary: The Poorest Cities In New Jersey For 2026

Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the poorest places in New Jersey, we weren’t sure what we’d encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in New Jersey.

When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very bottom of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.

If you’re curious enough, here are the richest cities in New Jersey, according to data:

For more New Jersey reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Poorest Places To Live In New Jersey

Rank	City	Population	Poverty Rate	Median Income	People In Poverty
1	Atlantic City	38,632	32.3%	$41,028	12,474
2	Camden	71,496	30.2%	$40,546	21,563
3	Salem	5,322	24.8%	$38,721	1,319
4	Prospect Park	6,319	28.3%	$53,125	1,789
5	Newark	310,178	23.4%	$52,060	72,705
6	Pleasantville	20,712	25.1%	$53,661	5,200
7	Bridgeton	27,001	27.2%	$55,781	7,336
8	Trenton	90,338	21.6%	$52,537	19,513
9	Passaic	70,002	22.9%	$55,371	16,023
10	New Brunswick	56,345	32.0%	$65,810	18,007
11	Lindenwold	21,719	21.1%	$55,954	4,584
12	Paterson	158,735	21.2%	$55,997	33,731
13	Union City	66,463	23.1%	$64,310	15,359
14	Fairview	15,099	20.8%	$63,606	3,145
15	Perth Amboy	55,855	20.2%	$61,977	11,271
16	East Orange	70,090	16.4%	$60,830	11,501
17	Gloucester City	11,509	19.5%	$64,938	2,248
18	Phillipsburg	15,299	20.2%	$68,324	3,091
19	Asbury Park	15,295	21.9%	$75,544	3,357
20	Elizabeth	137,302	15.8%	$66,555	21,625
21	West New York	52,004	19.4%	$71,729	10,078
22	Paulsboro	6,248	15.2%	$64,239	947
23	Pine Hill	10,802	15.7%	$72,588	1,691
24	Guttenberg	11,754	19.2%	$75,683	2,256
25	Vineland	61,006	14.6%	$67,860	8,900
26	Dunellen	7,911	22.6%	$86,967	1,787
27	Newton	8,369	15.1%	$76,221	1,262
28	Long Branch	32,530	15.5%	$79,653	5,042
29	Dover	18,563	14.2%	$73,737	2,637
30	Burlington	9,993	16.6%	$84,813	1,659
31	Wildwood	5,130	13.7%	$75,222	702
32	Millville	27,511	12.5%	$70,275	3,433
33	Clementon	5,410	10.8%	$62,979	582
34	Woodbury	10,042	13.2%	$77,028	1,325
35	Bayonne	71,553	14.4%	$83,887	10,303
36	Garfield	32,783	13.4%	$79,700	4,383
37	Wharton	7,318	15.3%	$85,767	1,116
38	Plainfield	55,236	15.5%	$85,908	8,556
39	Kearny	40,614	12.5%	$79,154	5,088
40	Freehold	12,507	14.3%	$85,707	1,791
41	Somerdale	5,581	13.8%	$85,625	767
42	Ventnor City	9,265	10.1%	$68,671	934
43	Lodi	26,082	15.4%	$89,305	4,024
44	Hackensack	46,057	12.1%	$84,277	5,572
45	Glassboro	23,717	13.4%	$87,278	3,180
46	Wallington	11,889	12.2%	$85,862	1,451
47	Bellmawr	11,737	9.6%	$76,654	1,130
48	North Plainfield	22,809	13.2%	$87,349	3,008
49	Somers Point	10,515	9.2%	$71,062	967
50	Keansburg	9,719	10.7%	$81,428	1,035
51	Hammonton	14,840	9.6%	$78,087	1,421
52	Jersey City	294,078	15.6%	$97,710	45,964
53	Bound Brook	12,219	11.1%	$90,571	1,359
54	Palmyra	7,485	10.2%	$89,574	763
55	Keyport	7,171	9.1%	$82,321	651
56	Absecon	9,170	7.9%	$73,676	727
57	Harrison	20,369	11.8%	$93,013	2,407
58	South River	16,124	12.5%	$96,147	2,021
59	Washington	7,334	8.5%	$81,336	626
60	Manville	10,921	11.7%	$93,333	1,275
61	Collingswood	14,205	9.5%	$90,184	1,355
62	Cliffside Park	25,781	10.8%	$93,452	2,794
63	Rahway	30,109	9.5%	$91,461	2,869
64	Linden	44,192	9.6%	$92,915	4,224
65	Roselle	22,646	9.5%	$92,762	2,158
66	Ridgefield Park	13,235	11.9%	$100,718	1,576
67	Hackett	10,140	9.4%	$93,083	955
68	Elmwood Park	21,412	11.6%	$101,740	2,490
69	Palisades Park	20,290	9.4%	$94,743	1,909
70	Clayton	8,921	8.0%	$90,274	713
71	Stratford	7,018	9.8%	$98,427	687
72	Middlesex	14,645	11.3%	$105,000	1,659
73	Brigantine	7,674	9.4%	$97,250	719
74	Runnemede	8,355	8.0%	$91,302	665
75	Ocean City	11,261	9.8%	$101,782	1,109
76	Barrington	7,076	7.4%	$87,290	525
77	Haledon	8,980	8.5%	$95,870	765
78	Little Ferry	10,996	6.3%	$85,750	694
79	Red Bank	12,862	8.7%	$97,477	1,117
80	Carteret	25,496	8.2%	$96,862	2,095
81	Englewood	29,638	9.2%	$102,571	2,729
82	Caldwell	9,003	8.0%	$96,824	719
83	Belmar	5,869	7.7%	$93,573	448
84	South Amboy	9,989	6.5%	$91,997	651
85	Clifton	89,379	7.9%	$98,237	7,087
86	Berlin	7,539	8.4%	$102,855	631
87	Bloomingdale	7,716	11.9%	$127,500	920
88	East Rutherford	10,313	7.4%	$97,993	765
89	Butler	8,133	8.7%	$111,557	710
90	Matawan	9,710	10.5%	$123,354	1,021
91	Mount Arlington	5,935	4.9%	$92,264	289
92	Raritan	8,368	8.0%	$107,672	669
93	Eato	13,575	4.4%	$90,463	602
94	Carlstadt	6,378	9.0%	$115,444	575
95	Highland Park	15,121	7.5%	$104,694	1,140
96	Fort Lee	40,067	7.8%	$107,274	3,109
97	Boonton	8,854	8.1%	$114,302	717
98	Sayreville	45,838	6.2%	$99,979	2,837
99	North Arlington	16,461	4.3%	$94,201	704
100	Roselle Park	14,093	6.6%	$109,679	927