Morris County, NJ
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 40.86, -74.55.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 97th pct · 69th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 85th pct · 4th of 21 New Jersey counties · median $579,852
- 52nd pct · 11th of 22 counties in the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro · median $680,195
- 62nd pct · 1,145th of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 60th pct · 9th of 21 New Jersey counties · median +3.1%
- 38th pct · 14th of 22 counties in the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro · median +4.7%
- 97th pct · 38th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 95th pct · 2nd of 21 New Jersey counties · median $2,291
- 61st pct · 9th of 22 counties in the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro · median $2,825
- 96th pct · 106th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 85th pct · 4th of 21 New Jersey counties · median 188,702
- 52nd pct · 11th of 22 counties in the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro · median 283,785
- 99th pct · 20th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 95th pct · 2nd of 21 New Jersey counties · median $1,446
- 90th pct · 3rd of 22 counties in the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro · median $1,632
- 73rd pct · 805th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 35th pct · 14th of 21 New Jersey counties · median 6.1
- 14th pct · 19th of 22 counties in the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro · median 8.4
Typical home value divided by the average annual wage of one covered job.
A percentile here is a min-max scaling of average rank: the smallest published value in the cohort is 0 and the largest is 100, and tied values share the average of the ranks they span. It is not the share of entities below the value, so 0 means smallest, not none below. Entities that did not publish the metric are outside the cohort entirely and are counted in neither the rank nor its denominator.
Home values #
Typical home $701,797 (Sep 2026), +3.9% over one year, +32.4% over five
- 97th pct · 69th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 85th pct · 4th of 21 New Jersey counties · median $579,852
- 52nd pct · 11th of 22 counties in the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro · median $680,195
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Morris County, NJ | $701,797 · +3.9% 1-yr |
Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), typical value of homes in the 35th to 65th percentile, smoothed and seasonally adjusted; a model estimate of value, not a sale price. Data through Zillow Research.
Rents #
Typical rent $2,909/mo (Sep 2026), +1.2% over one year; price-to-rent 20.1
- 97th pct · 38th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 95th pct · 2nd of 21 New Jersey counties · median $2,291
- 61st pct · 9th of 22 counties in the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro · median $2,825
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Morris County, NJ | $2,909/mo · +1.2% 1-yr |
Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI), smoothed, all homes and multifamily; price-to-rent = typical home / (typical rent × 12).
What the typical home costs to carry #
Principal and interest of $3,887 a month on $701,797 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $10,565 a month: 36.8% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $701,797 × 80% = $561,438, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $3,887/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $2,438 × 52 / 12 = $10,565) = 37% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $701,797 / ($2,438 × 52) = 5.5
- price-to-rent = $701,797 / ($2,909 × 12) = 20.1
The wage is one covered job’s average, not a household’s income, so this is the share of a single paycheque and not a mortgage underwriting ratio.
Estimate. Principal and interest on the typical home with 20% down over 30 years at this week's Freddie Mac average rate; compared with the average weekly wage of all jobs covered by unemployment insurance in the area (BLS QCEW), which is pay per job, not household income.
Jobs & wages #
297,982 jobs at 18,563 employers (2026 Q1); -0.9% jobs and +5.0% average weekly wage over the year
- 96th pct · 106th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 85th pct · 4th of 21 New Jersey counties · median 188,702
- 52nd pct · 11th of 22 counties in the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro · median 283,785
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Morris County, NJ | 297,982 jobs · $2,438/wk · -0.9% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 46,507 | $1,617 | 1.04 | +1.1% |
| Professional and technical services | 38,216 | $4,388 | 1.86 | -4.3% |
| Retail trade | 26,553 | $914 | 0.91 | -1.9% |
| Administrative and waste services | 23,081 | $1,411 | 1.36 | -0.6% |
| Accommodation and food services | 21,497 | $640 | 0.80 | -0.9% |
| Finance and insurance | 18,396 | $5,622 | 1.52 | +2.5% |
| Manufacturing | 17,527 | $2,623 | 0.73 | -1.8% |
| Wholesale trade | 14,286 | $3,423 | 1.25 | -0.1% |
| Management of companies | 12,963 | $6,523 | 2.60 | +8.0% |
| Construction | 11,253 | $1,805 | 0.72 | -1.2% |
| Other services | 10,257 | $963 | 1.15 | -5.5% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 8,010 | $1,370 | 0.64 | -3.9% |
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, all ownerships, total covered employment in the quarter's third month; over-the-year changes as published. Suppressed cells stay blank.
Drought #
No drought class at this point (USDM covers the United States only)
Sites found: 5, searched within 0 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 0 km away are not.
US Drought Monitor current week; the highest class of any polygon containing the point.
Reservoirs #
Surface water layer not loaded
Sites found: 0, searched within 150 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 150 km away are not.
Σ(capacity × percent full) / Σ capacity over TWDB reservoirs within 150 km. Texas only; elsewhere USGS reservoir elevation/storage is listed without a capacity to normalise by.
Stream gauges #
Surface water layer not loaded
Sites found: 0, searched within 75 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 75 km away are not.
USGS latest readings screened against EPA freshwater criteria (DO ≥ 5 mg/L, pH 6.5–9, conductance, turbidity, temperature); NWS flood categories where a NWPS gauge is co-located.
Groundwater #
No USGS monitoring wells within 75 km (or above 1,500 km)
Sites found: 0, searched within 75 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 75 km away are not.
USGS latest daily water levels. A single latest reading says where the table is, not which way it is moving; select a well for its 365-day trace.
Water stress #
low (0.00)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.00 / 0.35
Banks & federal dollars #
$28.6 bn in deposits at 155 offices of 28 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 890, unconcentrated. $3.7 bn federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $2.8 bn, contracts $787.0 m), $12,388 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $4.0 bn · 14.1% share · 17 offices | |
| Bank of America, National Association | $3.9 bn · 13.5% share · 14 offices | |
| TD Bank, National Association | $3.4 bn · 11.8% share · 13 offices | |
| Morris, NJ | $3.7 bn FY2026 · $12,388/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $2.7 bn · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $4,040,724,000 | 14.1% | 17 |
| Bank of America, National Association | $3,879,841,000 | 13.5% | 14 |
| TD Bank, National Association | $3,392,972,000 | 11.8% | 13 |
| Provident Bank | $2,734,503,000 | 9.5% | 16 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $2,484,990,000 | 8.7% | 14 |
| Valley National Bank | $2,247,367,000 | 7.8% | 14 |
| HSBC Bank USA, National Association | $2,033,861,000 | 7.1% | 1 |
| PNC Bank, National Association | $1,875,540,000 | 6.5% | 11 |
| Peapack Private Bank & Trust | $1,287,827,000 | 4.5% | 6 |
| Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company | $653,333,000 | 2.3% | 7 |
Deposit concentration is 890 across 26 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls unconcentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 26 banks with deposits in the county = 14.1² + 13.5² + 11.8² + … (23 more) = 890
FDIC Summary of Deposits: deposits at every insured office as of June 30, annual; HHI is the sum of squared county deposit shares (DOJ 1995 bank merger screen: 1000 / 1800). USAspending: obligations by place of performance for the latest complete federal fiscal year (Oct 1 to Sep 30), what agencies committed, not what they paid out; recipients are legal entities. Per-job divides obligations by BLS QCEW covered employment.
Federal obligations #
USAspending place-of-performance obligations for FY2026, by awarding agency.
| Awarding agency | Obligations |
|---|---|
| Social Security Administration | $2,624,043,653 |
| Department of Defense | $533,732,001 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $170,612,895 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $141,567,711 |
| Department of Transportation | $136,422,639 |
| General Services Administration | $29,943,314 |
| Department of Education | $14,942,881 |
| Department of Homeland Security | $12,661,987 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $9,263,545 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $4,723,309 |
| Department of Commerce | $3,478,824 |
| Department of State | $2,456,592 |
That is $12,388 per covered job, against 297,982 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $3.7 bn / 297,982 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $12,388
USAspending obligations are recorded where the work is performed, so a prime award performed here is counted here even when the recipient is headquartered elsewhere. Recipients are legal entities, never people.
National context, not this county #
These are United States, single-gauge, single-state and port series. None of them is keyed to this county.
| Series | Latest | As of | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi River at Memphis, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Mississippi River at St. Louis, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Ohio River at Louisville, stage · ft | 17.95 | 2026-10-18 | -2.6% |
| Missouri River at St. Joseph, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Colorado River below Hoover Dam, flow (Hoover releases) · ft³/s | 5,170.00 | 2026-02-05 | -25.3% |
| Texas reservoirs, statewide percent full · % | 72.20 | 2026-10-19 | +0.0% |
| Laredo truck crossings, monthly · trucks | 258,700.00 | 2026-08-01 | -0.4% |
| Los Angeles + Long Beach container volume, annual · TEU | 10,513,167.00 | 2023-01-01 | -13.5% |
| Containerships waiting for a berth, all US ports · ships | 7.00 | 2026-10-13 | +133.3% |
| Shanghai to Los Angeles container rate · $ per 40 ft box | 7,848.00 | 2026-09-01 | +14.9% |
| US diesel retail price · $ per gallon | unavailable | not published | |
| WTI crude oil, spot · $ per barrel | 101.91 | 2026-10-14 | +1.0% |
| 30-year fixed mortgage rate · % | 7.40 | 2026-10-15 | +0.0% |
| Housing starts, annual rate · thousands of units | 1,275.00 | 2026-08-01 | -2.6% |
| Building permits, annual rate · thousands of units | 1,403.00 | 2026-08-01 | -2.1% |
| Case-Shiller US home price index · index, Jan 2000 = 100 | 337.31 | 2026-07-01 | +0.1% |
| Unemployment rate · % | 4.20 | 2026-09-01 | +2.4% |
| US goods and services trade balance, monthly · $ millions | -105,572.00 | 2026-08-01 | -13.7% |
| Retail sales excluding food services, monthly · $ millions | 652,115.00 | 2026-09-01 | +0.7% |
The indicator registry has no county-keyed series and no geographic selection: every entry is national, a named gauge, a single state or a port. They are here as the backdrop the county's own numbers move against, and they are never this county's readings.
What changed #
Morris County, NJ: 15 findings, 2 at a watch level and 13 noted
watchMorris County, NJ's covered employment is -0.9% against a year earlier, a watch level here: covered employment below the same quarter a year earlier (BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level). The previous published period is not in this table, so this is a standing level rather than a change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- test: jobs.yoy.emp = -0.9 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchMorris County, NJ's years of wages of 5.5 scores 74 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 35 across New Jersey counties, a gap of 39 points.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- 39 = |74 across US counties - 35 across New Jersey counties|
- typical home value / (average weekly wage × 52); one average covered job, not a household
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteMorris County, NJ's average weekly wage was 5.0% higher than the same quarter a year earlier in 2026 Q1, on BLS QCEW's published over-the-year change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- +5 % = BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change for 2026 Q1, as published
- the newest QCEW file carries no year-earlier level, so no move from one level to another is printed
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published
noteMorris County, NJ's covered employment was 0.9% lower than the same quarter a year earlier in 2026 Q1, on BLS QCEW's published over-the-year change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- -0.9 % = BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change for 2026 Q1, as published
- the newest QCEW file carries no year-earlier level, so no move from one level to another is printed
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published
noteMorris County, NJ's typical asking rent fell 0.3% from $2,919 in August 2026 to $2,909 in September 2026, on Zillow ZORI.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- -0.3% = (2909.2439710194926 - 2918.696104366671) / 2918.696104366671 × 100
- 2909.2439710194926 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-09
- 2918.696104366671 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-08
Read all 12 findings in the full brief
Every finding is produced by a fixed rule table and a fixed sentence for each rule. Nothing here is generated prose.