When the rest of the world thinks of New Jersey, they think of the Jersey Shore (and usually they think of the MTV show). When locals think of Jersey, we think of beautiful beaches, beautiful people, and a lot of rich culture that gets overshadowed by chants of gym, tan, laundry from outsiders. Today, we’re not here to try and get the rest of the world to understand how great New Jersey is. We’re going to tackle something much more complicated—dating in Jersey.
Free dating sites in new jersey
More specifically, we’re going to share some ways to meet singles in the state and talk about some of our top picks for the best dating apps in New Jersey. In such a relatively small state that’s so interconnected with other areas of the northeast like NYC, the strategies and technological assets (dating apps) you use to find someone special need to be tweaked a little bit.
That’s what we’re getting into today.
The Top 5 Dating Apps in New Jersey
| Rank | Site | Free Trial Link | |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | eHarmony | Free Trial | |
| #2 | Zoosk | Free Trial | |
| #3 | Higher Bond | Free Trial | |
| #4 | Elite Singles | Free Trial | |
| #5 | The League | Free Trial |
Why the Top Dating App in New Jersey is eHarmony
We probably don’t have to tell you this, but when we start talking about what dating in New Jersey is like we’re quick to point out that it’s not all MTV’s Jersey Shore, random hookups, and casual dating. In fact, over 52% of the population is married, which is several percentage points higher than the national average.
We share this because, often, when people are recommending dating apps for New Jersey singles they tend to run to the Tinder’s and other hookup/casual apps of the world. But if you’re from New Jersey and you want a real relationship, you need to give eHarmony a try.
Here’s why. 100% designed for serious relationships. 2 million+ people who have already found love here. 2.3 million+ messages sent every week. An even 51% men to 49% women split. And a safe and inclusive environment built with New Jersey singles in mind.
> Claim an eHarmony Free Trial Now
An Alternate Casual Option for New Jersey – Zoosk
New Jersey is a pretty diverse state for an area of only 7,354 square miles. Not only is the state ethnically and culturally diverse, but there’s quite a bit of diversity when it comes to relationship goals. Often, the younger people who may be deep into the nightlife and party scene may be looking for casual dating. But just because some people like to live it up doesn’t mean all 9 million+ people in New Jersey are looking for casual dating. Some are looking for something serious.
Why do we share all of this? Because it’s key to selected the best dating apps for New Jersey singles. Zoosk is the leader when it comes to apps that offer solutions for serious committed dating as well as for casual dating (and even hookups). Usually when sites try and do too much, it doesn’t work. But Zoosk masterfully does this, and is probably the reason there are over 35 million members!
If you’re looking for a great NJ dating app with a ton of members and affordable pricing for premium (and a great free trial), go with Zoosk.
Additional Resources for New Jersey Singles
- What Makes These the Best New Jersey Dating Apps?
- What is the New Jersey singles scene like?
- NJ Metros Make List of Best Cities for Singles
- New Jersey Cities With the Most Interest in Online Dating
- New Jersey Dating Apps FAQ
What Makes These the Best New Jersey Dating Apps?
For transparency sake, we really want to make sure you understand why we made these selections for our favorite New Jersey dating apps. We’ve already shared why Zoosk takes the top spot (based on the unique and varying needs of New Jersians), but now we want to talk about why we made the other selections. Here are the top five reasons we feel these truly are the best New Jersey dating apps and sites on the market that you can join.
1. You’ll find singles from Jersey and the surrounding areas.
Jersey is a smaller state with just under 10 million people. And because of the smaller landmass size and people living close to other state’s borders, it’s important that a top NJ dating app not only have quality singles from the state but from the surrounding states too. Additionally, top sites should include the ability to search by distance and not just by city or state to accommodate the close quarters.
Think about it…if you live down around the southside of Jersey and are just a few minutes from Philly, aren’t you going to want to see the options available there? Or if you live up north around Newark and those suburbs, tons of singles a train ride away in New York! These apps make sure you get the best of all worlds.
2. Jersey singles like pictures and need dating apps to support that.
Many people who live in the Jersey area care about how they look and also how a potential partner looks. And while that might sound shallow, it’s okay to care about your body and want to date someone you’re attracted to. All of the New Jersey dating apps we recommend have several different ways for singles to showcase their looks and also to check out their potential matches. We tried so hard not to make a Gym, Tan, Laundry reference in this section—but here we are.
3. Safety should be paramount when it comes to dating online.
Online dating used to be the wild wild west. Nowadays, it’s much safer and even may be safer than randomly meeting people in person. Of course, this is only true if the New Jersey dating sites you’re using take security seriously. This means things like proper encryption, secure billing, the ability to report and block problem users, and support staff ready to help with any questions or needs at a moment’s notice.
4. Jersey dating apps need to be as mobile as you are.
Yes, some people like to do their online dating from a desktop. Other people like to do it on the go from their mobile phone. We think that everyone should have both options at their disposal without needing to create more than one account. Each of the top NJ dating apps recommended here works masterfully from your desktop, mobile phone, or tablet without the need to create multiple accounts. So whether you’re down at The Shore partying it up, at the office on a break, or just cruising the beautiful east coast—you have options.
5. Jersey singles can be picky and need to be able to find what they want.
People from New Jersey know what they want. And if a dating app can’t hang with that, we’re not interested. The best NJ dating apps give you the ability to rack, stack, and sort your matches by whatever parameters you want. This can be things like age, distance, demographics, interests, religious affiliations, and more.
What is the New Jersey single’s scene like?
Dating in New Jersey is, well, interesting. That’s the nicest word we could come up with to describe a scene that varies pretty aggressively from what you might see in a state like Georgia or Kansas. A lot of this has to do with the culture in New Jersey as well as the close proximity to Philadelphia and New York.
Here are a few things we think you should know about the New Jersey dating scene. As always, keep in mind that these are not going to be true for everyone.
- It’s not all Jersey Shore. – If you live in NJ already, you know this is the truth. However, for any singles who are new to the state, it’s not like what you see on TV everywhere. Sure, there are pockets, but there is some normalcy to dating in the state.
- People really do date across state lines. – The number of singles in Jersey who date people in Pennsylvania or New York is pretty high. Sure, it might be a bit annoying because of the commute, but it happens a lot. If you don’t like that, you can still find love locally; just set your dating app search parameters appropriately.
- Meetups and speed dating actually happen. – There are quite a few people who have luck dating through meetups, happy hours, and even speed dating events. You’ll probably have to go to New York for speed dating, but it could be right for you.
- Diversity makes the scene fun. – Contrary to popular belief of people outside of Jersey, there is a lot of diversity within the cultures and ethnic backgrounds. If you’re open to meeting someone from a different or more unique culture, you’re going to get that chance in NJ.
Some Data About the Jersey Dating Scene
In addition to the things we’ve outlined above, we wanted to share some data on dating in NJ. Here are some takeaways and some raw data about what you can expect to see out there. Unlike the previous things we shared about the scene, these are actual data points that aren’t up to interpretation. While this may seem a little dry, it will give you a good idea of what to expect out there, which is always a positive.
- Jersey City ranks 48th and Newark ranks 67th in a recent data study on the best cities in America for singles.
- NJ singles can use location-based search filters when dating online to find singles within the state as well as singles who are close but live across state lines.
- The NJ suburbs outside of New York that are included in the New York City metropolitan showed the highest interest in online dating apps, according to internet search traffic.
- There are more women than men in NJ with a breakdown of 51% women and 49% men.
- Over 40% of the people in NJ have a bachelor’s degree or higher, which is 25% higher than the national average (33.1%). This means that the single population in Jersey is a lot more educated than other areas of the country.
- 12.1% of people in NJ take public transit to work, which is over double the rate in the US as a whole. This means that meeting singles on the way to work could be a great option if you’re looking to meet people in person.
Total Population
- 9,267,130
Population in New Jersey by Gender
- 50.8% of women
- 49.2% of men
Overall Singles by Gender
- 51% of females in New Jersey are single
- 46% of males in New Jersey are single
Education in NJ
- 90.3% of the population have a high school degree or higher
- 41.2% of the population have a bachelor’s degree or higher
% Households With Internet in NJ
- 84.1% of households in New Jersey have internet access
Population in New Jersey by Age
- The median age in NJ is 40.3 years old.
- 12.2% aged from 20-29 years old
- 13.2% aged from 30-39 years old
- 12.8% aged from 40-49 years old
- 13.9% aged from 50-59 years old
- 23.7% aged 60+
Demographics of the State
- White – 52.1%
- Black – 12.3%
- Native – 0.1%
- Asian – 9.9%
- Islander – 0.0%
- Other – 0.8%
- Two – 3.3%
- Hispanic 21.5%
Source(s): Census.gov
Two NJ Metropolitan Areas Make the List of Top Cities for Singles
While this doesn’t directly deal with dating apps, it certainly has an indirect effect that is worth measuring. Our team conducted a study of the biggest cities in America to see how they fared for dating climate. (You can probably guess how the dating climate would have an effect on dating app usage and quality).
Both Jersey City and Newark made the list of cities studied in a recent look at the best cities in the USA for single men and women. Jersey City came in the highest at 48th, with a strong showing in the dating amenities category, a middle-of-the-road showing in the quality of the dating pool, and a poor showing in the cost of dating category.
Newark came in 67th place with a slightly above average showing in the cost of dating and dating amenities categories, but a rather poor showing in the quality of the dating pool category, which looked at things like how many people are single, education levels, diversity of the population, interest in online dating, and more.
- 48th – Jersey City
- 67th – Newark
Areas of NJ Where Online Dating is Most Popular
While New Jersey is one of the smaller states in the country, the geography of the state does allow it to have some different areas where there are different dating scenes. Something we wanted to figure out was where in the state online dating was most popular. The results are not going to surprise you one bit.
Many of the cities in NJ are included in the major metropolitan areas of big cities in nearby states when looking at demographics data. The same is true when you breakdown Google Trends and search traffic data (which is what we did here). This can give us a great look into what areas of New Jersey have the most interest in online dating.
Below, you’ll find those results! What’s great, though, is that New Jersey is a small state in size, so you should be able to meet singles from anywhere within the state or neighboring states with a lot of ease.
- New York, NY (and included NJ suburbs)
- Philadelphia, PA (and included NJ suburbs)
New Jersey Dating Apps FAQ
What’s the best dating app in New Jersey?
We believe the best dating app in New Jersey is Zoosk because it has millions of members and offers options for serious or casual dating which heavily suits the divided New Jersey dating scene.
Is online dating popular in New Jersey?
Yes, online dating is very popular in New Jersey, especially in cities and suburbs around Philadelphia and in the northern areas with a quick commute to New York City.
Are there any free New Jersey Dating apps?
Absolutely there are, but unfortunately most of them are free for a reason (Low quality, few members, full of scammers, etc…). Instead of trying a low quality free site we would encourage you to find a site you’re really interested in and then explore the free trial options they have available. You can find free trial info for all the New Jersey dating sites list on this page and more on our free trials guide.
Can I meet someone special online in New Jersey?
Yes, there are a lot of singles in the state who are looking for a serious relationship and have found the fruitfulness of online dating. If you’re open to meeting someone who lives across state lines or in New York City, your chances and options increase greatly.