Newark’s Next Decade: Growth, Housing and What Comes Next

Newark is growing again

Newark is New Jersey’s largest city, and for two decades its population barely moved. The city counted about 275,000 residents in 1990 and about 277,000 in 2010.

Then it grew. The 2020 census counted more than 311,000 people, an increase of roughly 35,000 in ten years, and Census Bureau estimates put the city above 317,000 by 2024.

More people means more demand for housing, and Newark’s housing market has had trouble keeping up. This piece looks at the numbers behind that gap, the projects changing downtown, and where the market is heading over the next ten years.

The housing gap

Newark is a city of renters. Fewer than one in four households own their home, according to Census Bureau survey data, compared with a majority statewide.

For years, the city built very little. After the 2008 housing crash, Newark did not approve more than 1,000 new housing units in a single year until 2021. Approvals have picked up sharply since then. The city approved 6,783 units from 2020 through 2023, which is 61 percent more than it approved in the 13 years before.

What kind of housing is being built

Before 2008, almost half of Newark’s new homes were single-family houses. Since then, single-family homes have made up about 14 percent of new units. Most of the new supply is in large apartment buildings downtown and near transit.

That leaves a gap in the middle. Towers add units quickly, but they do little for the family that wants a house with a yard, or the renter who wants a two-family home in a residential neighborhood. Much of that housing already exists in Newark’s one- to four-family homes, and keeping it in good condition matters as much as building new.

What housing costs

Median rent takes up about 34.5 percent of the median household’s income in Newark. More than half of the city’s renters spend over 30 percent of their income on housing, and about a quarter spend 50 percent or more.

What is being built

The city’s Newark 360 master plan, released in 2022, put housing at the center of its growth strategy. In the years after its release, about 6,400 units were completed or started construction, and roughly a quarter of them are designated affordable. A few projects show the direction of downtown:

• NJPAC arts district. A $336 million mixed-use district around the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, including Artside, a 350-unit rental building. Construction began in 2024, with residential units slated for 2027.
• Mulberry Commons Pedestrian Bridge. A $110 million bridge over McCarter Highway linking Newark Penn Station, the Prudential Center and the Ironbound. It broke ground in 2023.
• Summit Tower. A 41-story, 514-unit residential tower near Broad and Market, approved in 2024.
• Indigo Residences and The Distrikt. Former hotel and office buildings converted into 100 and 92 apartments. Both opened to renters in 2024.

The office conversions point to a broader shift. With hybrid work leaving downtown office space underused, city planners have said they want the business district to become a place where people live as well as work. Changes under discussion include loosening downtown height limits and making older buildings easier to convert to housing.

Transit is a big part of the case. Newark has two NJ Transit rail hubs, Amtrak, PATH service to Manhattan, light rail and about 50 bus routes. Close to 44 percent of renter households in the city do not own a car, which makes housing near transit especially valuable.

Where things are heading

The numbers point in one direction. Newark has more residents than it has had in decades, most of them rent, and new construction is concentrated in large buildings downtown. Demand for well-kept rental homes in the neighborhoods is likely to stay strong. Three things to watch over the next decade:

1. Whether approvals turn into buildings

Approvals are well above anything Newark saw in the decade after 2008. Some large projects, including the three-tower Halo development downtown, have run into legal and financing delays, so completions will tell the real story.

2. How the city’s housing goals play out

Newark set goals to add 3,000 new homes, fund 6,600 affordable units and support 1,500 new low- and moderate-income homeowners. Programs like Live Newark, which offers first-time buyers a $20,000 no-interest loan, and the 2023 change allowing accessory dwelling units in single-family zones both aim at the middle of the market.

3. Rules that shape rental investment

Newark caps annual rent increases at 5 percent on eligible buildings and requires 20 percent affordable units on projects of 15 units or more. Anyone buying or financing rentals in the city needs to underwrite with those rules in mind.

Leverage Companies in Newark

Leverage Companies has been based in Newark since 2019, at 50 Park Place downtown. Two of its five divisions work in the part of the market this piece describes.

Leverage Homes buys houses across New Jersey for cash, in any condition, which helps homeowners sell properties that would be hard to sell on the open market. Brick City Capital, named for Newark’s nickname, provides DSCR loans to real estate investors buying and refinancing rental properties.

Newark’s next decade will be shaped by how well the city houses the people moving here. We plan to be part of that work.