3.4 million properties analyzed to map where flood risk threatens people, budgets, and public assets. Without government intervention, many residents may lack the resources to move out of harm’s way.
Choose a county from the dropdown or search an address to jump to county-level findings.
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Toggle groups by flood exposure and financial capacity.
Displacement risk groups combine flood exposure and financial capacity to show who may be most vulnerable to forced relocation.Since 1987, NJ's Blue Acres program has purchased 1,677 parcels (388.1 acres) of flood-prone properties.
By 2050, nearly 1.3 million New Jerseyans face displacement — half are lower-income residents with limited means to relocate.
We looked at the flood risk to public assets — like schools, fire stations, and hospitals — in every city and town in New Jersey. Explore any place and download its fact sheet.
Explore Cities →Rebuild by Design analyzed county-level flood risk, population vulnerability, economic exposure, and public asset risk across New Jersey using parcel-level property data, current and projected floodplain extents, tax assessments, census demographics, and federal/state infrastructure datasets.
Flood scenarios represent water-level–based flooding only and do not include rainfall-driven runoff, stormwater ponding, or sewer system impacts.
Parcels were classified as high flood risk if ≥ 50% of land area overlapped both floodplains.
Public asset locations were buffered by 100 ft to account for building footprints, access constraints, and localized service disruption. Assets were classified as exposed if their buffered area intersected either floodplain.
Parcel-level tax assessments from the MOD-IV system. Assessed values were converted to market value using county-level Equalizer Ratios (NJ Division of Taxation, 2024).
Population from 2020 Census blocks. Median household income from ACS 2022 (B19013) by block group. Lower income defined as ≤ $97,800 (HUD 2024, 4-person household).
NJ’s Blue Acres program purchases flood-damaged and flood-prone properties and permanently converts them to open space. Green parcels on the map represent properties already acquired statewide.
| Aviation facilities | USDOT |
| Fire departments | FEMA RAPT / US Geological Survey |
| Floodplain (2025) | Rutgers NJ FEMA 1% Chance |
| Floodplain (2050) | Rutgers / NJDEP Inland Flood Rule + 3 ft |
| Hospitals | NJ Office of GIS |
| Insurance non-renewals | Senate Budget Committee (2018–2023) |
| Known contaminated sites | NJDEP |
| Libraries | NJDCA GIS |
| Parks | Trust for Public Land |
| Police stations | FEMA RAPT / HiFLD |
| Population & income | U.S. Census / ACS 2022 |
| Power plants | U.S. EIA |
| Property assessments | NJ MOD-IV / Division of Taxation |
| Schools | NJ Office of GIS |
| Solid waste & landfills | NJDEP Bureau of GIS |
| Superfund sites | EPA NPL |
| Wastewater treatment | EPA |
Rebuild by Design thanks Milliman, Rutgers University, the NJ Department of Environmental Protection, Urban Systems Lab, Dan Milo, and The Revolving Door Project for their contributions. Full report →