Town · Hudson County, New Jersey

Kearny, New Jersey

Kearny is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, part of the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro area. It has 40,614 residents. Kearny, New Jersey has a quality-of-life score of 51 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #7,605 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within New Jersey it ranks #482 of 552 cities and towns. It ranks best on access to exercise opportunities (high), distance to an emergency room (low) and distance to an airport (low). It ranks worst on effective property tax rate (high), hospital quality rating (low) and average commute time (high).

51Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #7,605 of 15,651 cities and towns
New Jersey: #482 of 552 in NJ
Population: 40,614 (2020-2024)
Land area: 9 mi²
Density: 4,592.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 3436510

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
Economy47#8,246/15,631
Housing15#12,742/14,977
Health85#2,415/15,609
Healthcare38#9,752/15,650
Environment28#11,136/15,453
Education54#7,129/15,649
Infrastructure60#6,291/15,650
Community51#7,645/15,651
Leisure & amenities72#4,401/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Kearny, 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

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
Distance to an Amtrak station · low3 mi
99/100New Jersey 11 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauHudson County value
Public transit commuters · high12.6%
98/100New Jersey 8.1%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301

Weaknesses

Effective property tax rate · high2.30%
3/100New Jersey 1.88%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Hospital quality rating · low1.8
3/100New Jersey 3.1United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesHudson County value
Average commute time · high33.0 min
4/100New Jersey 30.5 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
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
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.

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
86.6% (2015-2019) → 92.0% (2020-2024)
+5.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
25.7% (2015-2019) → 30.6% (2020-2024)
+4.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
4.7× (2015-2019) → 5.8× (2020-2024)
+23%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
High school diploma or higherImproving
81.7% (2015-2019) → 84.8% (2020-2024)
+3.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Public transit commutersWorsening
15.3% (2015-2019) → 12.6% (2020-2024)
−2.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B08301US 5.0% → 3.2%
Median household incomeImproving
$70,702 (2015-2019) → $79,154 (2020-2024)
+12%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, Kearny, New Jersey improved on 4 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 9 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.

Improved4

Property tax−0.7 points3.00% → 2.30%
Bachelor's++4.9 points25.7% → 30.6%
Broadband+5.3 points86.6% → 92.0%
Household income+12%$70,702 → $79,154

Declined2

Unemployment+2 points4.6% → 6.6%
Price / income+1.1×4.7× → 5.8×

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Kearny, New Jersey between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	32.8 min2015-2019	33.0 min2020-2024	+0.2 min	Within the margin of error	45%
Bachelor's degree or higher	25.7%2015-2019	30.6%2020-2024	+4.9 points	Improved	67%
Broadband subscriptions	86.6%2015-2019	92.0%2020-2024	+5.3 points	Improved	34%
Child poverty rate	15.6%2015-2019	15.5%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	46%
Effective property tax rate	3.00%2015-2019	2.30%2020-2024	−0.7 points	Improved	97%
High school diploma or higher	81.7%2015-2019	84.8%2020-2024	+3.1 points	Within the margin of error	69%
Home price to income ratio	4.7×2015-2019	5.8×2020-2024	+1.1×	Declined	19%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3982015-2019	0.4122020-2024	+0.015	Within the margin of error	38%
Median household income	$70,7022015-2019	$79,1542020-2024	+12%	Improved	19%
Poverty rate	10.3%2015-2019	12.5%2020-2024	+2.2 points	Within the margin of error	25%
Public transit commuters	15.3%2015-2019	12.6%2020-2024	−2.7 points	Within the margin of error	11%
Rent as share of income	30.0%2015-2019	31.6%2020-2024	+1.6 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Rent-burdened households	49.9%2015-2019	51.8%2020-2024	+1.9 points	Within the margin of error	49%
Unemployment rate	4.6%2015-2019	6.6%2020-2024	+2 points	Declined	16%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	15.1%2015-2019	17.0%2020-2024	+1.9 points	Within the margin of error	26%

“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 Kearny, New Jersey five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Kearny, 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, Kearny, New Jersey itself moved −3.7 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

40,614 residents (±55)

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

14,751 households (±461)

Kearny, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Under $25k11%1,647
$25k–50k15%2,201
$50k–75k21%3,154

Homes

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

Owners and renters

14,751 households (±461)

Kearny, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Own43%6,333
Rent57%8,418

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (−3.8 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

20,438 workers (±827)

Kearny, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Drive alone63%12,843
Carpool11%2,253
Public transit13%2,585

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 Kearny'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 $201.4K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Kearny, New Jersey: $4.96 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $201.4K; +62,071% vs FY2025
Per resident: $4.96; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; 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

Department of the Army$201.4K100%

Top recipients

ROGERS SURVEYING, PLLC$201.4K100%

Spending by fiscal year

-308.2KFY2017
4.8MFY2018
0FY2019
37.3KFY2020
25.5KFY2021
44.1KFY2022
207.2KFY2023
734.7KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$201.4K100%

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

MULTIBEAM SURVEYS OF PASSAIC RIVER, NJ AND HACKENSACK RIVER, NJ$201.4K
ROGERS SURVEYING, PLLC· Hudson County, NJ· Construction & real property· Dec 29, 2025 – Dec 29, 2025· W912DS26FA012

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

Kearny, 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: Kearny 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.

Kearny, 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/3436510

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends