Census-designated place · Gloucester County, New Jersey

Oak Valley, New Jersey

Oak Valley is a census-designated place in Gloucester County, New Jersey, part of the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro area. It has 4,413 residents. Oak Valley, New Jersey has a quality-of-life score of 61 out of 100 (high), ranking #6,092 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within New Jersey it ranks #440 of 552 cities and towns. It ranks best on unemployment rate (low), mental health care shortage (low) and primary care shortage (low). It ranks worst on rent as share of income (high), effective property tax rate (high) and preventable hospital stays (high).

61High

Quality-of-life score: #6,092 of 15,651 cities and towns
New Jersey: #440 of 552 in NJ
Population: 4,413 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 6,326.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 3454060

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 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.

Safety71#4,566/15,637
Economy67#5,195/15,631
Housing15#12,679/14,977
Health59#6,433/15,609
Healthcare60#6,312/15,650
Environment71#4,505/15,453
Education54#7,204/15,649
Infrastructure71#4,467/15,650
Community62#5,874/15,651
Leisure & amenities28#11,282/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Unemployment rate · low0.3%
96/100New Jersey 5.2%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Mental health care shortage · low0.0
91/100New Jersey 1.2United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationGloucester County value
Primary care shortage · low0.0
90/100New Jersey 1.0United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationGloucester County value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100New Jersey 1United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteGloucester County value
Distance to an airport · low11 mi
85/100New Jersey 21 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauGloucester County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.352
84/100New Jersey 0.478United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083

Weaknesses

Rent as share of income · high51.0%
2/100New Jersey 30.9%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071At least this value: the publisher's top bracket is open-ended
Effective property tax rate · high2.30%
3/100New Jersey 1.88%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Preventable hospital stays · high3,953 /100k
10/100New Jersey 3,143 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteGloucester County value
Average commute time · high26.7 min
14/100New Jersey 30.5 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Restaurants and bars · low5.6 /10k
15/100New Jersey 8.8 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsGloucester County value
Social associations · low7.1 /10k
23/100New Jersey 8.1 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteGloucester County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
3,345 (2015-2019) → 4,413 (2020-2024)
+32%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
37.7% (2015-2019) → 72.3% (2020-2024)
+35 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
26.0% (2015-2019) → 51.0% (2020-2024)
+25 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Child poverty rateWorsening
11.9% (2015-2019) → 35.3% (2020-2024)
+23 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Poverty rateWorsening
5.2% (2015-2019) → 16.2% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
11.3% (2015-2019) → 3.2% (2020-2024)
−8.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%

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, Oak Valley, New Jersey improved on 1 of 10 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 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.

Improved1

Uninsured−8.1 points11.3% → 3.2%

Declined1

Rent / income+25 points26.0% → 51.0%

All 10 measures

Change of every measure of Oak Valley, New Jersey between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	32.8 min2015-2019	26.7 min2020-2024	−6.1 min	Within the margin of error	93%
Bachelor's degree or higher	13.0%2015-2019	17.8%2020-2024	+4.9 points	Within the margin of error	67%
Broadband subscriptions	87.8%2015-2019	94.1%2020-2024	+6.3 points	Within the margin of error	40%
Effective property tax rate	2.82%2015-2019	2.30%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Within the margin of error	91%
High school diploma or higher	89.3%2015-2019	93.6%2020-2024	+4.3 points	Within the margin of error	78%
Home price to income ratio	2.0×2015-2019	2.6×2020-2024	+0.6×	Within the margin of error	41%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3042015-2019	0.3522020-2024	+0.048	Within the margin of error	17%
Median household income	$85,3132015-2019	$93,4722020-2024	+9.6%	Within the margin of error	16%
Rent as share of income	26.0%2015-2019	51.0%2020-2024	+25 points	Declined	1%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	11.3%2015-2019	3.2%2020-2024	−8.1 points	Improved	94%

“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 Oak Valley, New Jersey five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Oak Valley, 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, Oak Valley, New Jersey itself moved −5.6 points in standing on average over the same 9 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

4,413 residents (±702)

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

1,262 households (±213)

Oak Valley, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Under $25k14%†172
$25k–50k6.2%†78
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,262 households (±213)

Oak Valley, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Own87%1,096
Rent13%†166

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

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

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

1,978 workers (±396)

Oak Valley, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Drive alone77%1,514
Carpool7.9%†157
Public transit1.0%†

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 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD

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 Gloucester County, the county holding most of Oak Valley's residents.

Gloucester County has 6,298 employer establishments, 204 for every 10,000 residents (0.82× the US rate of 248; 0.81× New Jersey's), with 107,864 paid employees at an average annual pay of $54,514. The Census Bureau also counts 21,145 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 6,298; 21,145 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 204; US 248 · New Jersey 253
Paid employees: 107,864
Average annual pay: $54,514; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	578	18.7	0.90×About typical	6,164	$70,091	1,015
Restaurants and other eating places	504	16.3	0.89×About typical	9,523	$21,877	74
Specialty trade contractors	475	15.4	0.99×About typical	5,688	$80,270	1,124
Services to buildings and dwellings	255	8.3	1.23×About typical	2,165	$46,662	714
Personal care services	251	8.1	1.70×More than typical	1,656	$25,278	539
Limited-service restaurants	249	8.1	1.01×About typical	4,239	$19,181	37
Building equipment contractors	212	6.9	1.14×About typical	2,275	$79,286	228
Construction of buildings	195	6.3	0.84×About typical	1,414	$80,984	469
Offices of physicians	186	6	0.93×About typical	2,086	$96,257	165
Full-service restaurants	179	5.8	0.76×Fewer than typical	4,458	$25,248	19
Lessors of real estate	169	5.5	0.44×Fewer than typical	459	$48,702	2,569
Offices of other health practitioners	161	5.2	0.86×About typical	1,018	$44,283	549

Rank places for an industry Open Gloucester County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 308,693 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 Valley, New Jersey: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
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

3.1KFY2017

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

Oak Valley, New Jersey's figures are part of those of Gloucester County, NJ ($28.3M 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 Valley is mostly in Gloucester County.

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

House

Senate

County

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

Gloucester County84100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD73

Other cities and towns in Gloucester 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
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/3454060

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends