Census-designated place · Morris County, New Jersey

Oak Ridge, New Jersey

Oak Ridge is a census-designated place in Morris County, New Jersey, part of the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro area. It has 10,954 residents. Oak Ridge, New Jersey has a quality-of-life score of 96 out of 100 (very high), ranking #610 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within New Jersey it ranks #59 of 552 cities and towns. It ranks best on violent crime rate (low), traffic deaths (low) and premature death (low). It ranks worst on average commute time (high), effective property tax rate (high) and drought exposure (high).

96Very high

Quality-of-life score: #610 of 15,651 cities and towns
New Jersey: #59 of 552 in NJ
Population: 10,954 (2020-2024)
Land area: 13 mi²
Density: 822.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 3453910

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 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.

Safety100#16/15,637
Economy86#2,249/15,631
Housing19#12,166/14,977
Health97#433/15,609
Healthcare94#1,012/15,650
Environment59#6,335/15,453
Education94#880/15,649
Infrastructure83#2,629/15,650
Community98#257/15,651
Leisure & amenities84#2,498/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Violent crime rate · low33 /100k
99/100New Jersey 194 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationMorris County value
Traffic deaths · low4.0 /100k
99/100New Jersey 6.9 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataMorris County value
Premature death · low3,732 /100k
99/100New Jersey 6,017 /100kUnited States 8,123 /100k2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMorris County value
Gyms and fitness centers · high2.5 /10k
98/100New Jersey 1.7 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMorris County value
Injury deaths · low45 /100k
98/100New Jersey 65 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMorris County value
Average weekly wage · high$2,001
98/100New Jersey $1,659United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMorris County value

Weaknesses

Average commute time · high41.9 min
2/100New Jersey 30.5 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Effective property tax rate · high2.31%
3/100New Jersey 1.88%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Drought exposure · high70%
23/100New Jersey 61%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAMorris County value
Rent as share of income · high29.8%
23/100New Jersey 30.9%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071High uncertainty
Job growth · low-0.9%
29/100New Jersey 0.0%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataMorris County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.452
33/100New Jersey 0.478United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
11,639 (2016-2020) → 10,954 (2020-2024)
−5.9%4 yearsCensus table B01003US 331,578,104 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
39.9% (2016-2020) → 48.4% (2020-2024)
+8.5 pts4 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.1% → 51.1%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
3.0× (2016-2020) → 3.6× (2020-2024)
+20%4 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
40.4% (2016-2020) → 42.8% (2020-2024)
+2.4 pts4 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.9% → 35.7%
Income inequality (Gini index)Worsening
0.411 (2016-2020) → 0.452 (2020-2024)
+10%4 yearsCensus table B19083US 0.482 → 0.483
Child poverty rateImproving
5.5% (2016-2020) → 3.5% (2020-2024)
−2 pts4 yearsCensus table B17001US 15.7% → 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.

There is not enough history to compare Oak Ridge, New Jersey over five years.

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

The places whose measures looked most like those of Oak Ridge, 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.

No place that looked like Oak Ridge, New Jersey five years ago has more measures that improved than declined, with a higher standing among its peers today.

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

10,954 residents (±829)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

10,954 residents (±829)

Oak Ridge, New Jersey
New Jersey share

White78%8,554
Black3.7%†401
Hispanic or Latino11%1,239

Education

8,041 residents (±487)

Oak Ridge, New Jersey
New Jersey share

No high school diploma5.5%†445
High school or GED26%2,074
Some college19%1,488

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

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

Household income

4,347 households (±394)

Oak Ridge, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Under $25k13%†576
$25k–50k11%†499
$50k–75k8.5%†368
$75k–100k9.1%†397
$100k–150k19%814
$150k–200k15%†636
$200k or more24%1,057

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

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

Owners and renters

4,347 households (±394)

Oak Ridge, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Own87%3,761
Rent13%†586

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

533 households (±204)

Oak Ridge, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Under $75034%†179
$750–1,0002.1%†11
$1,000–1,50026%†136

Home values

3,761 homes (±400)

Oak Ridge, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Under $150k1.6%†61
$150k–250k3.7%†139
$250k–400k36%1,340

Age of homes

4,423 homes (±392)

Oak Ridge, New Jersey
New Jersey share

2010 or later2.7%†120
2000–200911%†487
1980–199939%1,729

Size of homes

4,423 homes (±392)

Oak Ridge, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom7.9%†349
2 bedrooms17%767

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

5,745 workers (±569)

Oak Ridge, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Drive alone76%4,383
Carpool6.9%†399
Public transit1.8%†106
Walk1.5%†84
Bike0.0%0
Work from home13%773
Other0.0%0

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

4,972 workers (±584)

Oak Ridge, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Under 15 min9.7%†483
15–29 min15%741
30–44 min31%1,521

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

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 Morris County, the county holding most of Oak Ridge's residents.

Morris County has 16,518 employer establishments, 320 for every 10,000 residents (1.29× the US rate of 248; 1.26× New Jersey's), with 301,249 paid employees at an average annual pay of $98,917. The Census Bureau also counts 52,973 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 16,518; 52,973 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 320; US 248 · New Jersey 253
Paid employees: 301,249
Average annual pay: $98,917; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	1,376	26.6	1.28×More than typical	16,926	$92,226	2,934
Restaurants and other eating places	1,142	22.1	1.20×About typical	16,094	$27,250	234
Specialty trade contractors	1,075	20.8	1.34×More than typical	9,600	$89,396	2,498
Services to buildings and dwellings	742	14.4	2.13×More than typical	8,913	$40,750	1,944
Lessors of real estate	622	12	0.98×About typical	4,234	$123,247	7,829
Construction of buildings	526	10.2	1.35×More than typical	2,390	$78,648	1,179
Full-service restaurants	517	10	1.30×More than typical	8,976	$30,772	96
Management, scientific and technical consulting	512	9.9	1.48×More than typical	7,866	$157,754	3,264
Building equipment contractors	509	9.8	1.64×More than typical	4,821	$87,965	535
Personal care services	484	9.4	1.96×More than typical	2,942	$27,386	793
Landscaping services	481	9.3	2.66×More than typical	2,587	$60,749	526
Computer systems design and related services	467	9	2.09×More than typical	4,373	$111,965	1,047

Rank places for an industry Open Morris County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 516,902 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 $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Oak Ridge, New Jersey: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0; −100% vs FY2025
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; 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

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

1.8MFY2017
1.6MFY2018
2.1MFY2019
2.5MFY2020
1.8MFY2021
4.9MFY2022
5.1MFY2023
313.6KFY2024
317KFY2025

What was bought

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

Oak Ridge, New Jersey's figures are part of those of Morris County, NJ and Passaic County, NJ ($878.5M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

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

See federal money in Morris 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.

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