Borough · Warren County, New Jersey

Alpha, New Jersey

Alpha is a borough in Warren County, New Jersey, part of the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ metro area. It has 2,436 residents. Alpha, New Jersey has a quality-of-life score of 73 out of 100 (high), ranking #4,249 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within New Jersey it ranks #358 of 552 cities and towns. It ranks best on students per teacher (low), hospital quality rating (high) and violent crime rate (low). It ranks worst on effective property tax rate (high), average commute time (high) and rent as share of income (high).

73High

Quality-of-life score: #4,249 of 15,651 cities and towns
New Jersey: #358 of 552 in NJ
Population: 2,436 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 1,449.4 /mi²
FIPS code: 3401030

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety92#1,316/15,637
Economy82#2,833/15,631
Housing22#11,677/14,977
Health75#3,934/15,609
Healthcare84#2,529/15,650
Environment65#5,415/15,453
Education58#6,573/15,649
Infrastructure33#10,485/15,650
Community71#4,532/15,651
Leisure & amenities46#8,521/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Alpha, New Jersey ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Warren County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Students per teacher · low10.6×
96/100New Jersey 12.0×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsWarren County value
Hospital quality rating · high4.5
94/100New Jersey 3.1United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesWarren County value
Violent crime rate · low70 /100k
94/100New Jersey 194 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationWarren County value
Uninsured residents (under 65) · low1.7%
93/100New Jersey 9.0%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010High uncertainty
Mental health care shortage · low0.0
91/100New Jersey 1.2United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationWarren County value
Primary care shortage · low0.0
90/100New Jersey 1.0United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationWarren County value

Weaknesses

Effective property tax rate · high2.13%
5/100New Jersey 1.88%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Average commute time · high26.3 min
18/100New Jersey 30.5 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Rent as share of income · high41.8%
18/100New Jersey 30.9%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Rent-burdened households · high70.5%
18/100New Jersey 51.6%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Drought exposure · high68%
25/100New Jersey 61%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAWarren County value
Preventable hospital stays · high3,359 /100k
25/100New Jersey 3,143 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWarren County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
2,082 (2015-2019) → 2,436 (2020-2024)
+17%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
33.5% (2015-2019) → 70.5% (2020-2024)
+37 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
New homes permittedImproving
0.9 /1k (2021) → 2.5 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+182%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
23.2% (2015-2019) → 41.8% (2020-2024)
+19 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
82.2% (2015-2019) → 90.1% (2020-2024)
+7.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateImproving
10.0% (2015-2019) → 4.7% (2020-2024)
−5.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Alpha, New Jersey improved on 2 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 7 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Broadband+7.9 points82.2% → 90.1%
Household income+25%$72,463 → $90,333

Declined2

Rent / income+19 points23.2% → 41.8%
Rent burden+37 points33.5% → 70.5%

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Alpha, New Jersey between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	29.2 min2015-2019	26.3 min2020-2024	−2.9 min	Within the margin of error	79%
Bachelor's degree or higher	20.7%2015-2019	21.7%2020-2024	+0.9 points	Within the margin of error	34%
Broadband subscriptions	82.2%2015-2019	90.1%2020-2024	+7.9 points	Improved	49%
Effective property tax rate	2.89%2015-2019	2.13%2020-2024	−0.8 points	Within the margin of error	98%
High school diploma or higher	89.9%2015-2019	91.5%2020-2024	+1.6 points	Within the margin of error	54%
Home price to income ratio	2.7×2015-2019	2.9×2020-2024	+0.2×	Within the margin of error	66%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4142015-2019	0.3732020-2024	−0.041	Within the margin of error	80%
Median household income	$72,4632015-2019	$90,3332020-2024	+25%	Improved	43%
Poverty rate	6.0%2015-2019	5.8%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	46%
Rent as share of income	23.2%2015-2019	41.8%2020-2024	+19 points	Declined	3%
Rent-burdened households	33.5%2015-2019	70.5%2020-2024	+37 points	Declined	1%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Alpha, New Jersey five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Alpha, New Jersey in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Alpha, New Jersey itself moved −12.5 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

2,436 residents (±206)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

1,060 households (±88)

Alpha, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Under $25k11%†121
$25k–50k15%†161
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

1,060 households (±88)

Alpha, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Own76%804
Rent24%256

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+8.6 points).

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

1,288 workers (±176)

Alpha, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Drive alone77%987
Carpool10%†130
Public transit0.1%†

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Warren County, the county holding most of Alpha's residents.

Warren County has 2,286 employer establishments, 205 for every 10,000 residents (0.82× the US rate of 248; 0.81× New Jersey's), with 28,428 paid employees at an average annual pay of $54,557. The Census Bureau also counts 8,901 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,286; 8,901 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 205; US 248 · New Jersey 253
Paid employees: 28,428
Average annual pay: $54,557; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Warren County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	193	17.3	0.83×About typical	2,037	$70,959	343
Restaurants and other eating places	189	16.9	0.92×About typical	2,274	$22,411	56
Specialty trade contractors	185	16.6	1.07×About typical	930	$63,930	677
Services to buildings and dwellings	95	8.5	1.26×More than typical	765	$42,778	501
Building equipment contractors	90	8.1	1.34×More than typical	367	$67,676	171
Full-service restaurants	87	7.8	1.01×About typical	1,065	$25,177	24
Limited-service restaurants	80	7.2	0.89×About typical	969	$19,715	22
Personal care services	75	6.7	1.41×More than typical	293	$23,870	193
Automotive repair and maintenance	74	6.6	1.32×More than typical	316	$50,114	116
Landscaping services	72	6.4	1.84×More than typical	186	$63,296	187
Construction of buildings	68	6.1	0.81×About typical	183	$81,546	294
Offices of other health practitioners	64	5.7	0.94×About typical	342	$44,848	191

Rank places for an industry Open Warren County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 111,651 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $10.5K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Alpha, New Jersey: $4.32 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $10.5K; −59% vs FY2025
Per resident: $4.32; US $1,994
Sole-source: 19%; US 30%
Single offer: 22%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Defense Logistics Agency$7,36570%
Department of the Army$2,29622%
Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons$6856.5%
Federal Acquisition Service$5174.9%

Top recipients

MAGNETIKA INC$7,36570%
ABSOLUTE SHREDDING LLC$2,29622%
INFINITT NORTH AMERICA INC$6856.5%
CURTISS-WRIGHT ELECTRO-MECHANICAL CORPORATION$5174.9%
ELECTRONIC RISKS CONSULTANTS, INC.-$3350.0%

Spending by fiscal year

16.4KFY2017
26.1KFY2018
18KFY2019
21.9KFY2020
33.6KFY2021
31.7KFY2022
33.6KFY2023
12.7KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Semiconductor and other electronic component manufacturing · 3344$3,71435%
Electrical equipment manufacturing · 3353$2,74426%
Other support services · 5619$2,29622%
Other general purpose machinery manufacturing · 3339$9078.6%
Computer systems design and related services · 5415$6856.5%
Metalworking machinery manufacturing · 3335$517

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Alpha, New Jersey, so they do not add up across cities.

Alpha, New Jersey's figures are part of those of Warren County, NJ ($4.2M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.3% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Alpha is mostly in Warren County.

See federal money in Warren County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Alpha, New Jersey is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Thomas H. Kean, Jr.R-NJ-7 · 100% of residentsWith party 93%Missed 21.6%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Warren County87100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ74

Other cities and towns in Warren County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/3401030

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends