The city of Elizabeth, New Jersey has a population of around 125,000 people. It has an unemployment rate of 12%, higher than both the state and national rates. Major employers include a regional medical center, plastics manufacturer, and trucking company. Over half of the population works in trade, transportation, professional services, education, or healthcare. The city is diverse, with Hispanic/Latino and white residents each making up around 30% of the population.

1. CITY OF ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY
OVERVIEW LABOR FORCE & EMPLOYMENT
CURRENT CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
56,200 12% 9.8% NJ
8.3% US
TOTAL EMPLOYED PER CAPITA PERSONAL INCOME
49,100 $19,131 $50K NJ
$39K US
MAJOR PRIVATE SECTOR EMPLOYERS
Company Industry 2011 Employment
The City of Elizabeth, located in Union Trinitas Regional Med Center Gen Med/Surgical Hospital 1,265
County, New Jersey, is the largest city in Hayward Industrial Plastics Hardware/Products 600
the county and 4th largest in the State New England Motor Freight Trucking 400
Ikea Holding Us Inc Furniture Stores 300
Motto: Where History Meets Present Elmora Hills Health Nursing Care Facilities 220
Alpha Wire Corp Wire & Cable 175
Elizabeth is home to Bayway Refinery, a
ConocoPhillips refining facility, supplying LARGEST EMPLOYMENT SECTORS (TOP 5)
petroleum-based products to the NY/NJ Rank Sector Union NJ U.S.
area. 1 Trade, Transportation & Utilities 23% 21% 19%
2 Professional & Business Services 16% 23% 14%
3 Education & Healthcare Services 13% 15% 13%
CURRENT POPULATION
4 Manufacturing 12% 7% 10%
124,969
5 Leisure & Hospitality 6% 9% 10%
LARGEST OCCUPATIONS (TOP 5)
HISTORY Rank Occupation Elizabeth
1665 : Founded; Served as 1st capital 1 Production, Transportation & Material Moving 26%
of NJ (1855 city incorporated) 2 Sales & Office 24%
1857: Became part Union County 3 Service 22%
4 Management, Professional & Related 17%
1895: 1st major industry, Singer Sewing
5 Construction, Extraction, Maintenance & Repair 10%
Machine Co. & 1st car co’s, Electric
Carriage and Wagon Co. founded
1897: USS Holland launched EDUCATION ATTAINMENT
1921: Port Authority of NY and NJ formed
1928: Newark Int’l Airport opened
4% 35% % of HS Grads
continue to 4
35% % of HS Grads
continue to 2
9% Less than H.S.
2008: Named one of "America's 50 Yr College Yr College
30% H.S. Diploma
Greenest Cities“, Popular Science Mag. 19%
Some College INSTITUTE OF HIGHER EDUCATION
4 Yrs of College Institute (2-4 Yr) TOTAL ENROLLMENT
TAX INFORMATION 2011 38% > 4 Yrs of College Kean University 15,051
 Corporate Income Tax = 9% Union County CC 12,751
 Personal Income = 8.97% (max) Rutgers Univ. Newark 11,501
 Sales Tax = 7% NJ Inst. of Tech 8,840
 Property Tax = $2,372 per capita
 Median Property Taxes Paid in ETHNICITY/DIVERSITY AGE MEDIAN AGE
county= $7,075 56%
SHOPS & ENTERTAINMENT 47%
33
37%
 Jersey Gardens Outlet Mall
 Elizabeth Center 29% 32%
Hispanic/Latino
20% 22%
Under 25
5% 9%
White
45-64
Black
25-44
Other
Asian
65+
www.choosenj.com/cityofelizabeth.pdf

2. CITY OF ELIZABETH TRANSPORTATION/MOBILTY COST OF DOING BUSINESS
AVG COMMUTE TIME (MINS) CARPOOL 2011 WAGES
25 30 NJ
25 US 13% Occupation
Bus. & Fin. Operations
Union
County
$74,600 $72,740
NJ
USE PUBLIC TRANSIT USE OTHER MEANS
Construction and Extraction $56,190 $53,760
11% 22% Food Prep & Serving related
Healthcare Practitioners
$23,640
$82,330
$23,300
$80,590
Install, Maint & Repair $47,830 $46,930
AVAILABLE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS Management $129,680 $124,790
Elizabeth has two transit lines: NJ Transit's North Jersey Coast Line Office & Admin Support $36,860 $35,660
& the Northeast Corridor Line; one of the highest in transit Production $35,020 $34,690
ridership among US cities
Sales & Related $44,960 $42,850
KEY ROADS Trnsp and Material Moving $38,310 $33,080
Elizabeth has several major highways: Turnpike, Interstate 95, 78,
Route 1/9, 22, 27, 28, 82 and 439. SPACE AVAILABILITY
Type Sq Ft/Acre Occupancy Costs
MILEAGE TO NEAREST AIRPORT ABOUT NEWARK INT’L AIRPORT
Land 12.5 acres $22.00 / sf
 12th busiest in US (29th worldwide)
3 To Newark
Int’l Airport  34.1 million passengers (2010)
 860 million short tons of cargo
Industrial
Office
2,551,000 sq ft
147,000 sq ft
$6.40 / sf
$18.92 /sf
19 To LaGuardia
Airport
ABOUT LAGUARDIA AIRPORT
 24.0 million passengers (2010)
 Smallest of 3 NY Metro Airports
Type of Utility
Gas
UTILITY COSTS
Utility Provider
$2.63
Cost
2nd lowest
 Busiest in the US for non-stop
Electric 14.8 cents / Deregulated 7th highest
service to and from Europe
Telecom Varies by location NA
ABOUT JFK INT’L AIRPORT
23 To JFK Int’l
Airport  #18 busiest worldwide
 46.5 Million passengers (2010)
Waste/Sewer Varies by location NA
 Leading freight gateway to US FINANCING / INCENTIVES
(value of shipments) ECONOMIC REDEVELOPMENT & GROWTH GRANT (ERGG): Tax-increment
MILEAGE TO NEAREST PORT ABOUT PORT OF NY/NJ financing available to close financing and competitive cost gaps
 Largest port on East Coast between New Jersey and alternative locations
5 To Port of
NY/NJ  3rd Largest port in the US
 Handled 5.3 million loaded and
BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT INCENTIVE PROGRAM (BEIP): Annual grants
available to projects relocating or hiring new jobs in the State
unloaded 20 ft equiv units
 Value of cargo that moved URBAN TRANSIT HUB TAX CREDIT (UTHTC): Income tax credits to
through port exceeds $190 Billion projects involving new construction or large-scale renovation
locating within 1/2 mile of a designated transit hub or a site
served by rail
URBAN ENTERPRISE ZONES: Exemption from sales tax on construction
materials, FFE and other taxable purchases
BUSINESS RETENTION AND RELOCATION ASSISTANCE GRANT (BRRAG):
Corporate income tax credit to companies relocating from one
location to another in New Jersey or making capital investment
equal to the value of the tax credits
KEY RESOURCES & CONTACTS
TRACYE MCDANIEL | PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
MICHAEL CHROBAK | CHIEF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OFFICER
EconDev@choosenj.com
609-297-2200
www.ChooseNJ.com
SOURCES: NJ Department of Labor & US Bureau of Labor Statistics; American
Community Survey, 2005-2009 Estimates,; NJ State Police & FBI, Uniform Crime Report;
NJ Monthly Magazine, 2010; NJ State Department of Education, Spring 2010; Board of
Public Utilities; Tax Foundation; Infoplease.com; Travelmath; CoStar; Hoovers; Institute
for Energy Research; Data current as of September 2011
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