Counties with the most born-and-bred residents in New Jersey

Many people choose not to leave the state they were raised in for reasons ranging from wanting to be close to family, to not having the resources to leave, to sticking with a lower cost of living.

In order to determine where people stay put in your home state, Stacker compiled a list of counties with the most born-and-bred residents in New Jersey using data from the Census Bureau. Counties are ranked by the highest percentage of residents who were born in the state according to the latest data, which is 2024 five-year estimates. The percentage of residents who were born in another state, a U.S. territory, and another country is also included.

Read on to find out where the most loyal New Jersey residents live.

21. Hudson County
- Population: 718,323
- Born in New Jersey: 250,024 (34.8% of population)
- Born in a different state: 136,674 (19.0% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 23,867 (3.3% of population)
- Born in another country: 307,758 (42.8% of population)

20. Bergen County
- Population: 962,316
- Born in New Jersey: 399,171 (41.5% of population)
- Born in a different state: 236,205 (24.5% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 20,974 (2.2% of population)
- Born in another country: 305,966 (31.8% of population)

19. Middlesex County
- Population: 871,290
- Born in New Jersey: 381,844 (43.8% of population)
- Born in a different state: 161,751 (18.6% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 19,307 (2.2% of population)
- Born in another country: 308,388 (35.4% of population)

18. Union County
- Population: 579,290
- Born in New Jersey: 267,091 (46.1% of population)
- Born in a different state: 100,979 (17.4% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 16,584 (2.9% of population)
- Born in another country: 194,636 (33.6% of population)

17. Essex County
- Population: 863,002
- Born in New Jersey: 402,091 (46.6% of population)
- Born in a different state: 170,507 (19.8% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 30,321 (3.5% of population)
- Born in another country: 260,083 (30.1% of population)

16. Mercer County
- Population: 385,864
- Born in New Jersey: 186,376 (48.3% of population)
- Born in a different state: 82,881 (21.5% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 12,300 (3.2% of population)
- Born in another country: 104,307 (27.0% of population)

15. Cape May County
- Population: 94,941
- Born in New Jersey: 46,028 (48.5% of population)
- Born in a different state: 42,885 (45.2% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 1,694 (1.8% of population)
- Born in another country: 4,334 (4.6% of population)

14. Passaic County
- Population: 521,012
- Born in New Jersey: 261,349 (50.2% of population)
- Born in a different state: 68,343 (13.1% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 18,798 (3.6% of population)
- Born in another country: 172,522 (33.1% of population)

13. Somerset County
- Population: 349,846
- Born in New Jersey: 177,467 (50.7% of population)
- Born in a different state: 68,527 (19.6% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 6,358 (1.8% of population)
- Born in another country: 97,494 (27.9% of population)

12. Burlington County
- Population: 467,805
- Born in New Jersey: 250,941 (53.6% of population)
- Born in a different state: 153,760 (32.9% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 11,553 (2.5% of population)
- Born in another country: 51,551 (11.0% of population)

11. Camden County
- Population: 527,257
- Born in New Jersey: 285,178 (54.1% of population)
- Born in a different state: 159,939 (30.3% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 17,239 (3.3% of population)
- Born in another country: 64,901 (12.3% of population)

10. Atlantic County
- Population: 276,270
- Born in New Jersey: 157,637 (57.1% of population)
- Born in a different state: 65,563 (23.7% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 9,155 (3.3% of population)
- Born in another country: 43,915 (15.9% of population)

9. Morris County
- Population: 514,528
- Born in New Jersey: 296,545 (57.6% of population)
- Born in a different state: 106,919 (20.8% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 9,275 (1.8% of population)
- Born in another country: 101,789 (19.8% of population)

8. Monmouth County
- Population: 645,353
- Born in New Jersey: 372,336 (57.7% of population)
- Born in a different state: 176,414 (27.3% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 8,760 (1.4% of population)
- Born in another country: 87,843 (13.6% of population)

7. Gloucester County
- Population: 306,954
- Born in New Jersey: 183,587 (59.8% of population)
- Born in a different state: 99,774 (32.5% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 4,777 (1.6% of population)
- Born in another country: 18,816 (6.1% of population)

6. Hunterdon County
- Population: 130,160
- Born in New Jersey: 81,037 (62.3% of population)
- Born in a different state: 33,870 (26.0% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 1,460 (1.1% of population)
- Born in another country: 13,793 (10.6% of population)

5. Warren County
- Population: 110,849
- Born in New Jersey: 70,183 (63.3% of population)
- Born in a different state: 27,615 (24.9% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 1,280 (1.2% of population)
- Born in another country: 11,771 (10.6% of population)

4. Salem County
- Population: 65,275
- Born in New Jersey: 42,004 (64.3% of population)
- Born in a different state: 19,821 (30.4% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 1,462 (2.2% of population)
- Born in another country: 1,988 (3.0% of population)

3. Ocean County
- Population: 654,362
- Born in New Jersey: 434,286 (66.4% of population)
- Born in a different state: 155,121 (23.7% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 12,499 (1.9% of population)
- Born in another country: 52,456 (8.0% of population)

2. Cumberland County
- Population: 153,305
- Born in New Jersey: 102,088 (66.6% of population)
- Born in a different state: 22,906 (14.9% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 8,825 (5.8% of population)
- Born in another country: 19,486 (12.7% of population)

1. Sussex County
- Population: 145,807
- Born in New Jersey: 100,217 (68.7% of population)
- Born in a different state: 30,939 (21.2% of population)
- Born in U.S. territories: 1,894 (1.3% of population)
- Born in another country: 12,757 (8.7% of population)

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