Newark is one of the most attractive larger cities for people who are young, single, educated, and upwardly-mobile career starters. This makes it a good place to live for young singles in their 20s and 30s and who have undergraduate or graduate degrees and are starting their professional careers. Although Newark is a large city, this demographic is significant enough that young professionals will find many others like themselves here, with really good opportunities for friendships, recreation, romance, and more.
Newark 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. Quite often, nautical areas such as these attract visitors and locals who come to enjoy the scenery and various waterfront activities.
One downside of living in Newark is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In Newark, the average commute to work is 32.87 minutes, which is quite a bit higher than the national average. On the other hand, local public transit is widely used in the city, so leaving the car at home and taking transit is often a viable alternative.
One of the benefits of being a big city like Newark is having a public transportation system, but in Newark the transit system is the mode of choice for lots of people getting to and from work every day. You will find many people using the bus for their daily commute, even though other transportation options exist. If you ask these commuters, many will tell you that not having to drive in the snarl of big city traffic is one of main reasons for leaving the car at home, or even not owning a car at all. With so many people taking the bus Newark benefits from a reduction in air pollution and traffic.
The citizens of Newark are slightly less educated than the national average of 21.84% for the average city or town: 16.97% of adults in Newark have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree
The per capita income in Newark in 2022 was $24,716, which is low income relative to New Jersey, and lower middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $98,864 for a family of four. However, Newark contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
Newark is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Newark home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Newark residents report their race to be Black or African-American, followed by White. Newark also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 37.23% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Newark include Brazilian, Portuguese, African, Nigerian, and Haitian.
Foreign born people are also an important part of Newark's cultural character, accounting for 34.71% of the city’s population.
The most common language spoken in Newark is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Portuguese.
