Financial Literacy in Salem County, New Jersey

Salem County, New Jersey is home to about 65,874 people. The population has grown 1.6% since 2020, from 64,843 to 65,874. The median age is 41.9.

24% of Salem County residents 25 and older have completed a bachelor's degree or more. That sits 19.2 points below the New Jersey average of 43.2%. Put the other way round: of the 45,363 adults 25 and over counted in the 2019–2023 ACS, roughly 34,476 — 76% — are building their financial lives without a four-year degree behind them.

The typical household here earns $78,412 a year. That is $23,443 below the New Jersey median. About 12.8% of residents live below the poverty line. The median home is valued at $223,000, roughly 2.8× median household income.

Salem County by the numbers

Measure	Value
Population (2024)	65,874
Change since 2020	+1.6%
Median household income	$78,412
Adults 25+ with a bachelor’s degree	24%
Adults 25+ with a high school diploma	90.1%
Median age	41.9
Poverty rate	12.8%
Unemployment rate	7.5%
Median home value	$223,000
Land area	331.861 sq mi
Population density	198 / sq mi

What New Jersey teaches — and to whom

New Jersey requires a half-year of financial literacy in middle school rather than a high-school graduation course. Which means for most residents of Salem County, whatever they know about money they picked up somewhere other than a classroom.

LearnLife organises this the way the decisions actually arrive: Money — budgeting, credit, debt and taxes — the mechanics nobody is formally taught; Legal literacy — leases, contracts, employment rights and what a signature actually commits you to; Emotional regulation — the self-management that decides whether the other skills ever get used.

Where to start in Salem County

Treat income stability as a skill

Unemployment in Salem County sits at 7.5%. Where work is less certain, the practical skills are the defensive ones: what unemployment insurance actually pays and how fast, how to read a severance agreement, and which bills to triage first when income stops.

Questions people ask about Salem County

Do high school students in Salem County, New Jersey have to take a personal finance class?

No. New Jersey sets no statewide requirement that students complete personal finance before graduating.

How many adults in Salem County, New Jersey have a college degree?

24% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor's degree or higher, based on the Census Bureau's 2019–2023 American Community Survey. The remaining 76% are managing their finances without one.

What is the median household income in Salem County, New Jersey?

$78,412, per the Census Bureau's 2019–2023 American Community Survey.

Where can adults in Salem County, New Jersey learn personal finance?

Graduation requirements only ever reach people still in school. For adults, LearnLife covers the same ground on demand — money, legal literacy and the self-management that decides whether either gets used.

Start with whichever one is costing you money right now.

Browse the LearnLife catalog

Nearby in New Jersey

All New Jersey locations →

Population and demographic figures: U.S. Census Bureau — 2024 Gazetteer, Vintage 2024 Population Estimates, and the American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-year estimates. Graduation-requirement status: NGPF Live U.S. Dashboard, read 2026-09-14. Figures marked as unavailable are suppressed by the Census Bureau for small populations.