Self-employed workers in New Jersey’s 21 counties

About 9 in every 100 working people in New Jersey are self-employed, a little under the national figure of about 10 in 100. The share is highest in Hunterdon County, at about 12 in 100, with Cape May County and Bergen County at about 11. It is smallest in Gloucester, Salem and Cumberland counties, at a little over 7. Here is the table for all 21 counties, from U.S. Census Bureau figures, with the margins of error and how it was worked out.

I put it together because a business owner’s income often looks different on a mortgage application than a salary does.

The table: all 21 counties

“Per 100” means out of every 100 employed workers aged 16 and over. The margin of error is the Census Bureau’s, at 90 in 100 confidence: the true share is likely within that distance either way.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020-2024, table B24080, read from data.census.gov on November 3, 2026. Shares and margins worked out by Fidelity Residential.

How the figures were worked out

• Self-employed: people whose main job is in their own business, profession, trade or farm. Unpaid family workers are left out.
• Incorporated: the Census Bureau counts the owner of an incorporated business as a paid employee of their own company, on a separate line. They are added to the self-employed here.
• Per 100: self-employed workers divided by all employed workers, times 100, men and women added together.
• Margins of error: combined from the Census Bureau’s own margins with its published formulas, so they are approximations.

What it can and cannot tell you

It counts people who work for themselves, not what they earn:

• Main job. Each worker is classed by the job they worked the most hours at, so a salaried worker with a side business counts as an employee.
• Where people live. Workers are counted in the county where they live, not where the business is.
• Survey estimates. These are five-year averages from a sample. In the smaller counties (Salem, Cape May, Cumberland, Warren and Hunterdon) the margin is about 1 in 100, so counties a place or two apart may not really differ.

What the table shows

• Three counties are clearly above the national figure. Hunterdon County (12.2 in 100), Cape May County (11.3) and Bergen County (11.1) are above the national 10.0 by more than their margins of error. Monmouth, Morris and Ocean counties are close to it.
• The state is a little below the nation, and the gap is in businesses that are not incorporated. New Jersey has 8.9 self-employed in 100 workers against 10.0 nationally: 5.0 against 6.0 not incorporated, and 3.9 against 4.0 incorporated.
• Incorporated owners are most common in the north and center. Hunterdon (5.9), Bergen (5.5), Monmouth (5.0) and Morris (4.7) have the highest incorporated shares; Cumberland has the smallest, 2.4.
• Cape May leans to businesses that are not incorporated: 6.9 in 100 workers, the highest of the 21 counties.
• Bergen has the most self-employed people: 55,153, about 13 of every 100 self-employed workers in the state.
• South Jersey has the smallest shares. Gloucester (7.1), Salem (7.3) and Cumberland (7.4), with Middlesex (7.5) and Camden (7.7) close by.

What it means if you are self-employed and buying a home

On a standard loan, income comes from your tax returns: the net income left after write-offs. Self-employed people often find that their tax returns show less than the business brings in. There are other ways to show income:

• A bank statement loan works out a monthly income from the deposits in your bank statements instead of the income on your tax returns.
• A 1099 loan is for independent contractors, freelancers, gig workers and commission earners paid on IRS Form 1099. The lender uses the 1099 forms themselves instead of tax returns.
• A profit and loss loan uses a profit and loss statement for the business, prepared by an independent tax professional, instead of tax returns.

Your credit, your housing payment history, the money for the down payment and savings, the appraisal and your debts compared with your income are all still checked. Our page on bank statement loans in New Jersey explains how they work here.

Frequently asked questions

Where do these figures come from?

From the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 5-year estimates for 2020 to 2024, table B24080, for each New Jersey county, the state as a whole and the United States.

Does a side business count as self-employment here?

No. The survey classes each worker by the job they worked the most hours at, so a salaried worker with a side business is counted as an employee.

What if my tax returns show less than my business brings in?

On a standard loan, income comes from your tax returns after write-offs. A bank statement loan, a 1099 loan or a profit and loss loan uses other records instead. Your credit, savings, the appraisal and your debts compared with your income are still checked.

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