# Essex, New Jersey — #3,116 of 3,144 counties

> Liberty Moving composite score 3.95 of 10. FIPS 34013. Population 851,117. v4 — beta, 30 October 2026, sourced values.

About 851,100 people live in Essex, New Jersey. It ranks #3,116 of 3,144 counties for liberty, and #19 of 21 in New Jersey. The combined sales tax is 6.62%, lower than in 51% of counties. Property tax takes at least 2% of a home's value each year, more than in 98% of counties. Local government employs a smaller share of working residents than in 70% of counties. The homicide rate is higher than in 86% of counties. Life expectancy is about 79.7 years, longer than in 89% of counties. Air quality is worse than in 69% of counties (a typical day's air quality index is 45), and flood and hurricane risk is higher than in 97% of counties. On this site's state scores, New Jersey gets 5.7 of 10 for economic freedom, based on the Fraser Institute's ranking, and 1 of 10 for gun rights.

## Scores

| Factor | Level | Score (0–10) | Flag |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fraser Institute state ranking | state | 5.70 |  |
| 2A | state | 1.00 |  |
| Air quality | county | 5.52 |  |
| GOP + LP vote for President | county | 2.70 |  |
| Homicide rate | county | 5.72 |  |
| Sales tax | county | 3.98 |  |
| Property tax | county | 0.00 |  |
| Floods / hurricanes | county | 0.12 |  |
| Life expectancy | county | 9.70 |  |
| Government employees | county | 6.96 |  |
| Single-parent households | county | 1.65 |  |

"est" marks a derived or placeholder value with no published county figure.

## Neighbors

- #2885 Bergen, New Jersey — https://libertymoving.org/counties/34003.md
- #2958 Hudson, New Jersey — https://libertymoving.org/counties/34017.md
- #3037 Union, New Jersey — https://libertymoving.org/counties/34039.md
- #3009 Passaic, New Jersey — https://libertymoving.org/counties/34031.md
- #2820 Morris, New Jersey — https://libertymoving.org/counties/34027.md

## Links

- Page: https://libertymoving.org/counties/34013
- Compare: https://libertymoving.org/compare?a=34013
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