The Somerset County Board of Freeholders and the Somerset County Business Partnership have announced the completion of an updated Community Profile that will help support economic-development efforts in this Central Jersey county. (Click on the graphic below to view the report.)

“Somerset County has a lot to offer both new and existing businesses,” said Freeholder Deputy Director Mark Caliguire, liaison to the Partnership. “This Community Profile features up-to-date statistics on population, diversity, household incomes, educational attainment, employment and other factors that can help businesses start or grow here in Somerset County. The data shows concentrations of employment in high-knowledge occupations, reinforcing our talented workforce.”

“The Somerset County Business Partnership is committed to providing resources to businesses, a priority established in our Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy and endorsed by our business community,” said Partnership President and CEO Michael Kerwin. “Our Community Profile helps business understand and evaluate Somerset County, New Jersey, as a location and communicates our competitive advantages.”

The report shows a five-year projected population increase of 1.4 percent to 330,946 by 2018. Median household income is expected to rise by almost 7 percent during the same period, to $102,828. As of 2013, more than 60 percent of households had incomes greater than $75,000.

More than 50 percent of residents have had 16 or more years of education; 27 percent hold bachelor’s degrees and 22 percent have attained graduate degrees. Somerset County is known for its bi-county community college and its vocational-technical schools, as well as the primary and secondary schools in its 21 municipalities.

As of December 2013, unemployment in Somerset County stood at only 5.1 percent, compared to 7.8 percent statewide.

The Somerset County, New Jersey, Community Profile is available at http://bit.ly/EconProfile2014 For more information, email info@scbp.org or call 908-218-4300.