Well water hardness in New Jersey
Across 20 counties of New Jersey, the median well sampled by the USGS has 5.1 gpg of hardness. Counties range from 0.6 gpg (Ocean County) to 15.8 gpg (Essex County).
Millions of American households drink water from their own well. No utility tests that water and no water quality report covers it. These pages summarise the hardness the U.S. Geological Survey measured in wells county by county, so you know what to expect before you test your own well.
Counties, hardest first
| gpg | mg/L | wells | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essex County | 15.8 | 270 | 21 | very hard |
| Union County | 12.7 | 218 | 15 | very hard |
| Warren County | 12.6 | 216 | 63 | very hard |
| Sussex County | 12.6 | 215 | 105 | very hard |
| Somerset County | 10 | 172 | 44 | hard |
| Hunterdon County | 9.3 | 160 | 136 | hard |
| Bergen County | 9.2 | 158 | 129 | hard |
| Passaic County | 8.7 | 149 | 31 | hard |
| Mercer County | 8.2 | 141 | 138 | hard |
| Morris County | 6.8 | 117 | 361 | moderately hard |
| Salem County | 3.4 | 59 | 126 | soft |
| Camden County | 3.4 | 58 | 218 | soft |
| Burlington County | 2.8 | 48 | 227 | soft |
| Cape May County | 2.7 | 46 | 153 | soft |
| Cumberland County | 2.3 | 39 | 148 | soft |
| Gloucester County | 2.3 | 39 | 418 | soft |
| Middlesex County | 2.2 | 38 | 285 | soft |
| Monmouth County | 1.7 | 29 | 130 | soft |
| Atlantic County | 0.7 | 12 | 218 | soft |
| Ocean County | 0.6 | 11 | 384 | soft |
Counties with fewer than 10 sampled wells, or a median outside 5–500 mg/L, are not shown until the figure is reviewed.
New Jersey: tap water hardness by city → · Well water hardness by state and county →