Elizabeth is home to 137,302 people in New Jersey. 26% of homes are owner-occupied. The foreign-born share is 52%. 15% of adults hold a bachelor's degree, below the 36% national rate. Density works out to 11,146 people per square mile. That trails the New Jersey median by roughly 36%.
At a glance
Lower income
median household income $66,555, below the US median
US median: $82,259
Younger
median age 35.8
US median: 38.9
Less educated
15% hold a bachelor's degree
US average: 36%
Less affordable
home values up 60%, inflation adjusted
US median home: $376,019
Unique to this place
What stands out about Elizabeth
What changed most since 1990
Hispanic share38.9% → 67.4%(+28.5 pts)US over the same years: +9.9 pts
Adults with a bachelor's degree11.5% → 14.6%(+3.1 pts)US over the same years: +15.3 pts
White share40.0% → 12.1%(−28.0 pts)US over the same years: −17.8 pts
Elizabeth's population equals 24% of Union County's. Its number of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher equals 8.4% of the county's. Its number of people who work from home equals 9.7% of the county's.
Shares are "alone or in combination": a person with both Medicare and Medicaid counts in each, so categories overlap and do not sum to 100%.
Section 09 · Service history
Veterans
Veterans by period of service, 2024
Gulf War (2001 or later)26.4%(379)
US avg: 26.4%
Gulf War (1990s)17.6%(253)
US avg: 24.3%
Vietnam era29.2%(420)
US avg: 33.1%
Korean War9.6%(138)
US avg: 4.5%
World War II2.6%(38)
US avg: 1%
Share of the 1,437 veterans here. A veteran who served across eras counts in each, so shares can total more than 100%. Peacetime-only service is included in the total but not shown as an era.
BAR + DOT: THIS PLACE · TICK: US AVERAGE
Over time
Elizabeth, decade by decade
Elizabeth population, inflation-adjusted income and home value, education, and diversity by year
Year
Population
Median household income
Median home value
Bachelor's degree+
Diversity score
1990
110,002
$66,316
$348,010
11.5%
81.8
2000
120,568
$64,077
$281,628
12.1%
81.0
2010
124,969
$62,966
$512,994
11.7%
72.3
2020
137,298
$61,386
$353,067
14.4%
65.7
2024
137,302
$66,555
$449,300
14.6%
63.5
Census years come from the decennial census and the latest year from the American Community Survey, so part of any change between those two rows can reflect the different surveys. Dollar figures are adjusted for inflation to 2024 dollars; a figure ending in "+" was at the Census Bureau's reporting cap that year. The diversity score runs from 0 to 100; see how it's calculated.
