NEW JERSEY HEALTH STATISTICS, 2003

Postcensal estimates show that New Jersey’s population as of July 1, 2003 was 8,638,396.  The tables below contain population estimates by age, race/ethnicity, sex, and county of residence. 

Federal standards (OMB-15) required that the 2000 Census allow respondents to choose white, black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, some other race, or any combination of these six race groups to describe themselves.  In New Jersey, 2.5% of residents identified themselves as being of more than one race in the 2000 Census.  The OMB-15 guidelines will not go into effect for vital events data collection until after 2003, therefore informants could only select one of five mutually exclusive race groups on birth, death, and fetal death certificates in 2003:  white, black, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian or Pacific Islander, or other.  This complicates the calculation of race-specific rates since race data were not measured the same way in the numerator (e.g., the number of births or deaths) and the denominator (the population).  To address this statistical problem, the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), in collaboration with the Census Bureau, developed population estimates which assign multiple-race respondents to only one of the single-race categories to bridge the gap between the 2000 Census and the implementation of new vital event certificates.  Hence, these estimates are referred to as “bridged-race” population estimates.

The reporting and labeling of race and ethnicity groups has changed from previous reports in this series.  Data are presented here for non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic Asian/Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native, and Hispanics, who can be of any race.

The Department of Labor’s website has unbridged population and other Census data.

The Technical Notes section contains information on sources of data and racial and ethnic classification.