Town · Hudson County, New Jersey

Harrison, New Jersey

Harrison is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, part of the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro area. It has 20,369 residents. Harrison, New Jersey has a quality-of-life score of 64 out of 100 (high), ranking #5,606 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within New Jersey it ranks #419 of 552 cities and towns. It ranks best on public transit commuters (high), access to exercise opportunities (high) and distance to an emergency room (low). It ranks worst on average commute time (high), hospital quality rating (low) and social associations (low).

64High

Quality-of-life score: #5,606 of 15,651 cities and towns
New Jersey: #419 of 552 in NJ
Population: 20,369 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 16,817.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 3430210

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.

Safety66#5,267/15,637
Economy57#6,696/15,631
Housing42#8,649/14,977
Health91#1,474/15,609
Healthcare37#9,900/15,650
Environment28#11,136/15,453
Education71#4,512/15,649
Infrastructure65#5,448/15,650
Community56#6,810/15,651
Leisure & amenities72#4,401/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Harrison, New Jersey ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Hudson 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

Public transit commuters · high29.5%
100/100New Jersey 8.1%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301
Access to exercise opportunities · high100.0%
100/100New Jersey 95.9%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHudson County value
Distance to an emergency room · low1.6 mi
100/100New Jersey 3.9 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesHudson County value
Distance to an airport · low6 mi
100/100New Jersey 21 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauHudson County value
Traffic deaths · low3.2 /100k
100/100New Jersey 6.9 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataHudson County value
Depression · low13.7%
100/100New Jersey 15.6%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate

Weaknesses

Average commute time · high40.7 min
1/100New Jersey 30.5 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Hospital quality rating · low1.8
3/100New Jersey 3.1United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesHudson County value
Social associations · low5.1 /10k
7/100New Jersey 8.1 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHudson County value
Voter turnout · low53.5%
8/100New Jersey 67.2%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionHudson County value
Effective property tax rate · high1.95%
8/100New Jersey 1.88%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Child care cost burden · high40.2%
8/100New Jersey 34.2%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHudson County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
17,213 (2015-2019) → 20,369 (2020-2024)
+18%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedWorsening
26.7 /1k (2021) → 4.4 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−83%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
41.5% (2015-2019) → 50.7% (2020-2024)
+9.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Public transit commutersWorsening
37.3% (2015-2019) → 29.4% (2020-2024)
−7.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B08301US 5.0% → 3.2%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
38.5% (2015-2019) → 46.3% (2020-2024)
+7.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$69,604 (2015-2019) → $93,013 (2020-2024)
+34%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

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, Harrison, New Jersey improved on 5 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 8 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.

Improved5

Property tax−1.1 points3.01% → 1.95%
Bachelor's++9.3 points41.5% → 50.7%
Poverty−4.5 points16.4% → 11.8%
Household income+34%$69,604 → $93,013
Broadband+4.7 points87.5% → 92.2%

Declined2

Transit use−7.9 points37.3% → 29.4%
Rent / income+3.7 points25.0% → 28.7%

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Harrison, New Jersey between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	36.5 min2015-2019	40.7 min2020-2024	+4.1 min	Within the margin of error	13%
Bachelor's degree or higher	41.5%2015-2019	50.7%2020-2024	+9.3 points	Improved	88%
Broadband subscriptions	87.5%2015-2019	92.2%2020-2024	+4.7 points	Improved	30%
Child poverty rate	21.3%2015-2019	16.8%2020-2024	−4.4 points	Within the margin of error	66%
Effective property tax rate	3.01%2015-2019	1.95%2020-2024	−1.1 points	Improved	99%
High school diploma or higher	84.2%2015-2019	89.5%2020-2024	+5.4 points	Within the margin of error	84%
Home price to income ratio	4.8×2015-2019	5.4×2020-2024	+0.6×	Within the margin of error	39%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4382015-2019	0.4212020-2024	−0.017	Within the margin of error	65%
Median household income	$69,6042015-2019	$93,0132020-2024	+34%	Improved	63%
Poverty rate	16.4%2015-2019	11.8%2020-2024	−4.5 points	Improved	78%
Public transit commuters	37.3%2015-2019	29.4%2020-2024	−7.9 points	Declined	3%
Rent as share of income	25.0%2015-2019	28.7%2020-2024	+3.7 points	Declined	29%
Rent-burdened households	38.5%2015-2019	46.3%2020-2024	+7.8 points	Within the margin of error	29%
Unemployment rate	5.6%2015-2019	5.3%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	56%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	14.7%2015-2019	19.3%2020-2024	+4.6 points	Within the margin of error	12%

“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 Harrison, New Jersey five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Harrison, 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, Harrison, New Jersey itself moved −2 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

20,369 residents (±49)

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

9,389 households (±472)

Harrison, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Under $25k12%1,159
$25k–50k13%1,179
$50k–75k19%1,767

Homes

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

Owners and renters

9,389 households (±472)

Harrison, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Own21%1,985
Rent79%7,404

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (−5.3 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

12,212 workers (±673)

Harrison, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Drive alone31%3,826
Carpool7.2%†874
Public transit29%3,596

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 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-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 Hudson County, the county holding most of Harrison's residents.

Hudson County has 14,119 employer establishments, 196 for every 10,000 residents (0.79× the US rate of 248; 0.77× New Jersey's), with 253,652 paid employees at an average annual pay of $95,558. The Census Bureau also counts 78,158 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 14,119; 78,158 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 196; US 248 · New Jersey 253
Paid employees: 253,652
Average annual pay: $95,558; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	1,473	20.5	1.11×About typical	17,472	$28,621	1,148
Ambulatory health care services	1,161	16.1	0.77×Fewer than typical	10,189	$61,860	2,617
Lessors of real estate	654	9.1	0.74×Fewer than typical	3,811	$81,868	7,748
Full-service restaurants	630	8.8	1.14×About typical	8,829	$32,885	600
Limited-service restaurants	597	8.3	1.03×About typical	6,561	$24,186	408
Truck transportation	580	8.1	1.59×More than typical	6,642	$58,177	3,063
Personal care services	476	6.6	1.39×More than typical	1,907	$27,816	2,539
Specialty trade contractors	431	6	0.39×Fewer than typical	3,264	$77,162	2,293
Offices of physicians	428	5.9	0.92×About typical	2,927	$98,564	383
Management, scientific and technical consulting	416	5.8	0.86×About typical	2,979	$102,521	2,958
Grocery and convenience stores	378	5.3	1.77×More than typical	3,990	$33,235	419
Construction of buildings	359	5	0.66×Fewer than typical	1,485	$83,552	2,122

Rank places for an industry Open Hudson County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 719,682 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 $138.3K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Harrison, New Jersey: $6.79 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $138.3K; −99% vs FY2025
Per resident: $6.79; US $1,994
Sole-source: 100%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; 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

U.S. Cyber Command$138.3K100%

Top recipients

UNIT 221B, INC.$138.3K100%

Spending by fiscal year

89.2KFY2021
38.8MFY2024
19.2MFY2025
138.3KFY2026

What was bought

IT & telecom$138.3K100%

Top industries (NAICS)

Computer systems design and related services · 5415$138.3K100%

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Harrison, New Jersey

EWITNESS-PROFESSIONAL EDITION$300K
UNIT 221B, INC.· Hudson County, NJ· IT & telecom· Apr 23, 2025 – Apr 21, 2026· HB000125C0009

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 Harrison, New Jersey, so they do not add up across cities.

Harrison, New Jersey's figures are part of those of Hudson County, NJ ($149.8M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.1% of that total.

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

See federal money in Hudson 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.

Harrison, New Jersey is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

Andy KimD-

County

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

Hudson County66100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ68

Other cities and towns in Hudson 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/3430210

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends