Italian Population in Essex County, NJ by City : 2025 Ranking & Insights

The Italian population in Essex County, NJ is recorded at 65,062 residents, based on the latest U.S. Census estimates. Every city in Essex County reports some Italian residents. With no unincorporated share evident in the totals, this points to a completely city-based population. The sections below explores how Italian residents are distributed in New Jersey and the U.S.

Top 5 cities with the largest Italian population in Essex County

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  • 1
    Nutley township
    Italian population in Nutley township is 8,435
    28.34% of Nutley township population is Italian
  • 2
    Bloomfield township
    Italian population in Bloomfield township is 8,200
    15.48% of Bloomfield township population is Italian
  • 3
    Newark
    Italian population in Newark is 4,569
    1.49% of Newark population is Italian
  • 4
    Montclair township
    Italian population in Montclair township is 4,507
    11.30% of Montclair township population is Italian
  • 5
    Belleville township
    Italian population in Belleville township is 4,379
    11.60% of Belleville township population is Italian

Overview of Italian population in Essex County

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey data shows Essex County contains 65,062 Italian residents (7.6% of 854,130 total county population), ranking the jurisdiction at the 98th percentile nationally among counties and 57th percentile within New Jersey for Italian demographic concentrations across both absolute and proportional measures.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: Census Bureau's ACS data documents Essex County's Italian demographic representation of 7.6%, exceeding the national average of 4.9% while remaining below New Jersey's elevated state average of 14%, placing the county above national concentration levels while below state demographic averages.
  • Share of Total State Population: Official American Community Survey data documents Essex County with 65,062 Italian residents, representing 5% of New Jersey's total Italian population of 1.3 million.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey indicate Essex County's density of 516 Italian Americans per square mile exceeds New Jersey's average of 176.5 per square mile by more than double, establishing the county as a significant concentration center for Italian demographic communities.
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22 Cities in Essex County Ranked by Italian Population

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ACS data [1] confirm Italian populations in every incorporated city in the county, with the largest counts in Nutley township, Bloomfield township, Newark, and Montclair township. The table below provides detailed figures, including total population, density measures, and demographic distributions, based on the current ACS data for all 22 incorporated cities included in this analysis*.
cities in Essex County, NJ ranked by Italian population count
Rank by Italian Population
City
Italian Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total Essex County Italian Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Nutley township 8,435 28.34% 12.96%
2 Bloomfield township 8,200 15.48% 12.60%
3 Newark 4,569 1.49% 7.02%
4 Montclair township 4,507 11.30% 6.93%
5 Belleville township 4,379 11.60% 6.73%
6 Verona township 4,271 29.58% 6.56%
7 Fairfield township 3,483 45.16% 5.35%
8 3,406 25.70% 5.24%
9 3,371 30.94% 5.18%
10 3,078 9.89% 4.73%
11 3,077 6.37% 4.73%
12 2,379 9.36% 3.66%
13 2,292 25.76% 3.52%
14 2,121 32.03% 3.26%
15 1,474 23.73% 2.27%
16 1,428 7.80% 2.19%
17 1,427 18.23% 2.19%
18 1,366 6.27% 2.10%
19 738 31.81% 1.13%
20 413 1.22% 0.63%
21 350 0.58% 0.54%
22 298 0.43% 0.46%
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Methodology

This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks city in Essex County, NJ by their Italian population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census defines Italian population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their ancestry, meaning individuals can write upto ancestries when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as having Italian ancestry, whether alone or in combination with another ancestry.
Here are a few important things to know about how ancestry is reported:
  • Some people identify as Italian alone, while others identify as Italian along with another race (such as Italian and German).
  • We’ve used the “Italian alone or in any combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Italian population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Italian alone or in combination in city. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total City Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as Italian .
  2. % of Total Essex County Italian Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Italian population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.

Things to Keep in Mind

Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
  • In places with very small Italian populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
  • Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
  • City that don’t have any reported Italian population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where Italian populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

  1. 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.
  2. 2023.