Somerset County, New Jersey

Somerset County population, land area and income

Somerset County had 357,467 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 301.9 square miles of land. It ranks 13th of 21 in New Jersey by population and 13th by land area. That works out to 1,184.2 people per square mile, 12.3 times the US average of 96.3, and in the top tenth nationally.

The median county-equivalent in New Jersey has 475,515 residents; Somerset County is somewhat smaller.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $140,242 is the 9th highest among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Somerset County's population changed since 2020

Somerset County gained 12,679 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a rise of 3.7%. That ranks 2nd of 21 in New Jersey for growth. The median New Jersey county changed by +2.3%, and the state as a whole by +2.5%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Somerset County recorded 13,511 births and 11,477 deaths, a natural change of +2,034. Net international migration added +11,713 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to -1,815. The largest single component was international migration, which added 11,713 people.

Where Somerset County is

The Census internal point of Somerset County is at 40.565500, -74.619900. It sits in UTM zone 18N. The map shades New Jersey's 21 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Somerset County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in Somerset County

9 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Somerset County, 91,951 people together, or 26% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Somerset County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is North Plainfield with 23,072.

Counties bordering Somerset County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 5 neighbors for Somerset County. The most populous is Middlesex County, NJ, with 890,119 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

• Middlesex County

  890,119 people

  14 mi SE

• Union County

  594,160 people

  18 mi ENE

• Morris County

  523,053 people

  21 mi N

• Mercer County

  392,138 people

  20 mi SSW

• Hunterdon County

  131,708 people

  15 mi W

Distance to Trenton and the nearest big city

Trenton is 24.9 miles SSW of Somerset County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Elizabeth, NJ (population 140,413), 23.4 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Somerville, NJ (population 14,428), 0.7 miles away.

Somerset County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Somerset County is 34035: state code 34 for New Jersey plus county code 035. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $140,242.