Erin O'Neill | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
A county-by-county breakdown of N.J.'s moving patterns
The top 3 destinations for N.J.'s 21 counties
Every year tens of thousands of Garden State residents pack up and head out of state. But many movers stay within New Jersey's borders, opting to change counties rather than change states.
Data from the American Community Survey shows where people moved to and from on a county-by-county basis. The numbers reveal a few surprising destinations, as well as some long-standing population trends.
The following slides highlight the top three places where more residents moved to than from each year for every county in the state based on the most recent data available. That data was collected between 2009 and 2013.
Erin O'Neill | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Atlantic County
In Atlantic County, 1,125 residents moved to Cumberland County, the data shows, while 619 people made the reverse move. That makes Cumberland County the top destination for Atlantic County movers, with a net loss of 506 residents.
James Hughes, dean of the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University, identified several patterns in the data for New Jersey overall, including retirees moving to more affordable places and urban to suburban flows. For the movement from Atlantic County to Oklahoma County, Hughes said the energy boom in the midwest at the time the data was collected may have played a role.
Erin O'Neill | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Bergen County
The Big Apple is a popular spot for residents of two New Jersey counties, Bergen and Mercer, both of which saw more residents leave for New York County (which is Manhattan) than vice versa. Manhattan also made the top three for two other counties: Morris and Somerset.
"That movement is probably maturing baby boomers leaving their very large, expensive houses in suburbia and moving into a condominium in Manhattan," Hughes said.
Erin O'Neill | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Burlington County
Three counties that are located in the southern half of the state, including Burlington County, share a common top destination. A greater number of residents from Burlington, Cumberland and Salem counties moved to Gloucester County than the other way around.
The other top spots for Burlington County residents were also close to home: Camden County and Philadelphia.
Erin O'Neill | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Camden County
Camden County is one of only four counties in New Jersey where all of the top destinations for movers were in the Garden State — and one of three counties where Middlesex County was the number one spot for movers.
"We still have sort of urban to suburban flows, like from Camden to Middlesex, Essex to Middlesex, Hudson to Middlesex," Hughes said. "That’s pretty standard."
Erin O'Neill | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Cape May County
Residents of the state’s southernmost county ditched New Jersey in exchange for another county that borders the Atlantic Ocean. Horry County, S.C., home of Myrtle Beach, topped the list for Cape May County, followed by Camden County and Pinellas County, Fla., where St. Petersburg is located.
Among the trends Hughes said appeared to be represented in the data was a movement of retirees to places like South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland and Pennsylvania. "You do have those retirees moving to more affordable places," he said.
Erin O'Neill | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Cumberland County
While nearby Gloucester County ranked as the top destination for Cumberland County movers, many ventured across the Delaware River and picked the First State as their next home.
Erin O'Neill | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Essex County
Like Camden County, all of the three top destinations for movers from Essex County are located in New Jersey and Middlesex County tops the list.
Essex County is only one of two counties where Union County was a top destination and the only county where Hudson County fell in the top three.
Erin O'Neill | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Gloucester County
This southern New Jersey county represents one of four counties in the state where the top three biggest net losses of residents were to out-of-state counties. Gloucester County is also the only place in New Jersey that lost the most net residents to a Florida county.
Fort Lauderdale is the county seat of Broward County, Fla., which is home to nearly 1.9 million people — and growing.
Erin O'Neill | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Hudson County
Regarding the movement of people from Hudson County to Middlesex and Bergen counties, Hughes said this may represent "some people suburbanizing."
"That could be older millennials raising families. So when they were swinging young millennials. they were happy in Jersey City and Hoboken and the like but now they need more space for their kids," he said.
The flow of people to Mecklenburg County, N.C. — where Charlotte is the county seat — may again reflect retirees moving to more affordable areas, Hughes said.
Erin O'Neill | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Hunterdon County
Roughly 184 people said goodbye to Hunterdon County and hello to Atlantic County, the data shows, while only 45 people made the reverse move. That net loss of 139 residents is the largest for the nearly 428-square-mile county in the western section of New Jersey.
Hunterdon County also lost residents to Northampton County, Pa., and Warren County.
Erin O'Neill | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Mercer County
The home to the state’s capital is also one of the four counties in New Jersey where all of the biggest net losses of residents were to out-of-state counties. Manhattan topped the list for Mercer County, as it did for Bergen County.
"People in their 50s and 60s really want to be in a New York City-type environment. The live, work, play environment," Hughes said. "So we have that flow of affluent people into New York City."
Erin O'Neill | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Middlesex County
Middlesex County is losing residents to its neighbor. The home of Perth Amboy and New Brunswick lost 3,053 residents to Somerset County compared to 2,374 who made the reverse move.
No other county in New Jersey had Somerset County in the top three.
Erin O'Neill | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Monmouth County
Monmouth County is among the four New Jersey counties where out-of-state destinations dominate — but it’s the only county in the Garden State with Nassau County on Long Island in the top three.
Erin O'Neill | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Morris County
Morris County movers are trading their Garden State digs for the Keystone State. Northampton County, Pa., leads among the counties drawing more residents from Morris County than it’s sending back.
The county is also losing residents to Ocean County and Manhattan.
Erin O'Neill | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Ocean County
For Ocean County, the top destination for movers is a bordering county. Ocean County lost the most net residents to Monmouth County, with 589 movers ditching the home of Seaside Heights for the home of Asbury Park.
Ocean County is also among the four places in New Jersey where Garden State locales comprised the top three destinations for movers.
Erin O'Neill | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Passaic County
Passaic County gave up more of its residents to Morris County than anywhere else, with a net loss of more than 700 people to its neighbor. Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida, was not far behind at 693 people.
Erin O'Neill | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Salem County
Also one of the four counties in New Jersey where the top destinations were all located within the state’s borders, Salem County experienced the greatest net loss of residents to neighboring Gloucester County.
Union County also made the top three, as it did with only one other county: Essex.
Erin O'Neill | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Somerset County
Somerset County kept it pretty local, with its greatest net losses of residents to Hunterdon and Mercer counties.
The third-greatest loss was to Manhattan, which may be part of the trend Hughes identified regarding wealthy baby boomers trading their suburban homes for a more urban lifestyle.
Erin O'Neill | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Sussex County
The northernmost county in New Jersey sent residents south to the Jersey Shore and Delaware, but it also saw residents head even further north to Massachusetts.
The migration to Norfolk County may be connected to technology and pharmaceutical jobs that moved to the Boston area, Hughes said, as well as higher education.
Erin O'Neill | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Union County
More than 1,460 people ditched Union County for Morris County, while less than half that amount made the reverse move, data from the American Community Survey shows.
That makes Morris County the top destination for Union County residents, followed by Palm Beach County, Fla., and Mercer County.
Erin O'Neill | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Warren County
Warren County stands out as one of the four counties in New Jersey where all of the top destinations for movers were out of state. The rural western New Jersey county also has a unique destination among its top three: Travis County, Texas.
Hughes said that may be a reflection of younger, college-educated residents heading to Austin, which is located in Travis County.
Where have you moved?
Have you moved away from — or around — the Garden State recently? Tell us about where you went, and why, in the comments.
(Photo by Nicolas Huk | Flickr)
Ad Choices