Economic Development | Somerset County

Established in 2021, the Office of Economic Development creates and facilitates access to programs and resources that advance regional economic development and deepen human capital. We support businesses of all sizes, across our region’s diverse sectors; we’ve identified four with an outsized influence on our economy based on industry density and growth potential.

TARGET SECTORS

Location

Our unique location in the center of the state gives us access to the world. From semirural farmland, to thriving downtowns—we have it all!

30 miles to NYC & 40 miles to Philadelphia
220 miles to DC & 260 miles to Boston
1-hour drive to beaches and skiing
7 airports within a 2-hour drive, with EWR just 30-mins away
33% of U.S. population within a day's drive
50-mins to largest U.S. east coast shipping port
Truck route access to NJTP, I-278, I-78, Rt. 22, Rt. 202, Rt. 206
Conrail & Norfolk Southern Lehigh Freight Line and CSX West Trenton Freight Line
To learn more, visit whysomersetnj.org

Talent

We became the 1st county government in New Jersey to launch a Talent Attraction Tool: Why Somerset. Employers of all sizes tell us their #1 consideration when making business investments in Somerset County is access to our highly skilled and educated workforce. Of our 345,000+ residents:

23.6% are young professionals (20 to 39 years old)
26.5% of county residents are foreign-born; we're ranked highly for the racial and gender diversity of our workforce
Ranked #2 County in NJ for Labor Force Participation
New Jersey is #1 in Year-Over-Year Growth Rate in the Northeast with a 1.3% growth rate

Education

New Jersey has the #1 Public School System in the U.S., with Somerset County's Public School Districts ranked among the Top 1%.

K-12 Public Schools have a 94% graduation rate, which is 3% higher than state average. Public preschool and full-day kindergarten available. Explore our school districts.

Somerset County Vocational-Technical School has 18 programs in topics ranging from healthcare to agricultural science and theatre, and following a campus expansion, will offer global logistics, finance, mechatronics, and engineering programs.

Raritan Valley Community College offers 90+ degree and certificate programs at less than $200 per credit, is the #1 community college for career training in New Jersey, and a federally recognized Hispanic Serving Institution. There were about 1,200 Associate Degrees & Certificates awarded in 2022.

Higher-Education: Minutes from Princeton University & Rutgers University campuses, 16,289+ Undergrad & Graduate Degrees were awarded within 10 miles of Somerset County in 2025.

RESOURCES