Nonprofits Told: Morris' Poor, Elderly Need Help

The latest census numbers for Morris County pointed to a known fact—that Morris County is among the richest places in the United States,  Christine Marion, Morris County’s planning director said Thursday.

But the numbers also revealed some population trends that might cause some on the managers in the audience at the eighth annual Conference for Not-For-Profit Organizations to rethink their missions, she said.

Marion said that it is important to look below the surface of the numbers.

There is the easy to understand stuff: Morris County has the second-highest median income in New Jersey, $96,787, second only to Hunterdon County’s $100,729.

That median income makes it the sixth highest in the country, she said.

And 15.9 percent of households earn more than $200,000, nearly double the number statewide.

The median value of a home in Morris is $458,200, she said. In the last 10 years that value rose $200,800, or 78 percent.

Part of that rise can be attributed to the lack of land to develop, Marion said, which drives up the value of the land that contains development.

Other good signs: nearly half the working population is in management or professional jobs, 50 percent of the county’s population 25 and older has at least a bachelor’s degree, the highest total in New Jersey.

Morris County has the lowest percentage of residents living in poverty, about 3.5 percent.

Overall, Marion said, the county is getting older—the median age is now 41, up from 37.9 years in 2000. And its more diverse—the while population is now 75 percent of the total, down from  82 percent a decade ago, while the Asian population is up to 8.9 percent, the Hispanic population is up to 11.5 percent, and families with two or more races equal 14 percent lf the population, up from 1.1 percent in 2000.

Looking below those numbers are some different conclusions, and that’s where the non-profit agencies need to look for trends, she said.

In the age of the population, 52.3 percent are older than 40, she said. Of that group, 37.8 percent are between 40 and 64, in their working years of highest wages.

But the number of senior citizens increased by nearly 2 percent in a decade and number of 25 to 39 year olds, dropped by nearly 6 percent in a decade and the number of children under 5 dropped 1.2 percent in 10 years.

Those are numbers that agencies which supply services for senior citizens and pre-schoolers should examine, she said.

The income and employment numbers also hold concerns, Marion said.

The state labor department says that there will be more service jobs created through 2018 than professional jobs, she said.

Marion said some evidence of that can be seen in the  number of former manufacturing sites that have been replaced by retail development.

Since service jobs pay less than professional jobs, that could be a concern, she said.

That concern could be coupled with the increasing gap between home values and income, and the rising number of homeowners and renters who are paying 30 percent or more for housing.

And even though there are low poverty numbers for Morris County, Marion said of the 2,290 households  living in poverty in 2009, 681 are headed by a single woman.

“That is a significant number,” she said.

Mary Jo Buchanan, Morris County’s director of human services, said the aging of the population and the disparity in housing cost are real concerns.

Providers should also be aware of the projections of the growth of lower income jobs, she said.

Changes in ethnicity raise questions of how to meet potential demands for service, she said.

“The Asian population is culturally different,” she said. “How willing are they to accept help?”

And the apparent smaller number of  young children could mean some pre-school providers might need to rethink their missions.

John Franklin, chief executive officer of the United Way of Northern New Jersey, including Morris County, said the census numbers show that the United Way was correct in choosing for its  mission, youth services  housing, income stability and health.

His concern is with the numbers that show a declining number of higher paying jobs.

“Many people in Morris County earn $20 an hour,” he said. “That is $10,000 to $15,000 annually.”

When she was describing earnings and poverty rates, Marion asked, “Can you imagine living on $21,000 a year, the federal poverty rate?”

Franklin said the United Way’s report called ALICE: Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed,” showed how hard it is for Morris residents earning between $20,000 to $60,000 to make ends meet. In the initial ALICE report, 25 percent of Morris County’s population was considered the working poor. A new survey is upcoming, he said.

If there are more lower paying jobs to come, Franklin said, the ALICE population will grow.

“ALICE is the pipeline to poverty,” Franklin said.

In remarks to the  audience at the opening of the conference, Franklin challenged the non-profit agencies and the business community to step up and find solutions to the issues raised  by the census numbers.