Kearny is a medium-sized coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of New Jersey. With a population of 39,862 people and 11 associated neighborhoods, Kearny is the 41st largest community in New Jersey. Kearny has a large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic towns in the country.

Housing costs in Kearny are among some of the highest in the nation, although real estate prices here don't compare to real estate prices in the most expensive communities in New Jersey.

Also of interest is that Kearny has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

Kearny is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Such areas are often places that visitors and locals go for waterfront activities or taking in the scenery.

One downside of living in Kearny, however, is that residents on average have to contend with a long commute, spending on average 32.28 minutes every day commuting to work. However, local public transit is widely used. For those who would prefer to avoid driving entirely and leave their car at home, it may be an option to use the transit instead.

Although the majority of commuting trips in the town are by private automobile, Kearny is somewhat unusual for a town of its size for having a substantial number of people who use public transportation. For a lot of people, the bus helps to get to and from their jobs every morning, which benefits everyone in the Kearny area by reducing both traffic and air pollution.

The overall education level of Kearny is somewhat higher than in the average US city of 21.84%: 28.63% of adults 25 and older in the town have at least a bachelor's degree.

The per capita income in Kearny in 2022 was $35,585, which is low income relative to New Jersey, and upper middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $142,340 for a family of four. However, Kearny contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Kearny is an extremely ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Kearny home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. People of Hispanic or Latino origin are the most prevalent group in Kearny, accounting for 54.66% of the town’s residents (people of Hispanic or Latino origin can be of any race). The greatest number of Kearny residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Kearny include Portuguese, Italian, Irish, Brazilian, and Polish.

Kearny also has a high percentage of its population that was born in another country: 45.88%.

The most common language spoken in Kearny is Spanish. Other important languages spoken here include English and Portuguese.