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HUD data

Difficult Development Areas in New Jersey (2026)

HUD's New Jersey DDA designations — metro SDDA ZIP codes and non-metro counties where costs run high against local incomes. Each qualifies for LIHTC's 30% basis boost.
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Total DDAs
145
Metro SDDA ZIPs
145
Non-Metro county DDAs
0

Metro SDDA ZIP codes

ZIPMetro area
07004Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07006Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07016Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07020Bergen-Passaic, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07021Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07023Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07024Bergen-Passaic, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07028Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07030Jersey City, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07033Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07039Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07040Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07041Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07042Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07043Bergen-Passaic, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07043Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07044Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07045Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07052Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07058Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07068Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07069Middlesex-Somerset-Hunterdon, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07076Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07078Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07079Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07081Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07082Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07083Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07086Jersey City, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07088Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07090Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07092Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07094Jersey City, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07302Jersey City, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07310Jersey City, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07311Jersey City, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07401Bergen-Passaic, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07417Bergen-Passaic, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07421Bergen-Passaic, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07423Bergen-Passaic, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07430Bergen-Passaic, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07444Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07450Bergen-Passaic, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07456Bergen-Passaic, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07457Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07458Bergen-Passaic, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07460Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07465Bergen-Passaic, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07481Bergen-Passaic, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07620Bergen-Passaic, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07624Bergen-Passaic, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07626Bergen-Passaic, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07627Bergen-Passaic, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07630Bergen-Passaic, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07632Bergen-Passaic, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07640Bergen-Passaic, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07648Bergen-Passaic, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07652Bergen-Passaic, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07670Bergen-Passaic, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07675Bergen-Passaic, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07676Bergen-Passaic, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07702Monmouth-Ocean, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07722Monmouth-Ocean, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07733Monmouth-Ocean, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07739Monmouth-Ocean, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07746Monmouth-Ocean, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07750Monmouth-Ocean, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07751Monmouth-Ocean, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07755Monmouth-Ocean, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07757Monmouth-Ocean, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07803Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07836Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07847Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07856Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07865Warren County, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07865Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07871Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07874Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07876Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07878Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07885Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07901Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07920Middlesex-Somerset-Hunterdon, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07920Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07922Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07926Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07927Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07928Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07930Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07931Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07932Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07933Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07935Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07936Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07939Middlesex-Somerset-Hunterdon, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07940Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07945Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07946Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07950Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07960Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07970Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07974Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07976Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
07981Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
08201Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
08205Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
08215Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
08221Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
08225Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
08234Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
08240Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
08241Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
08317Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
08318Vineland, NJ MSA
08321Vineland, NJ MSA
08326Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
08329Vineland, NJ MSA
08330Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
08340Vineland, NJ MSA
08344Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
08344Vineland, NJ MSA
08345Vineland, NJ MSA
08346Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
08349Vineland, NJ MSA
08352Vineland, NJ MSA
08402Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
08403Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
08406Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
08502Middlesex-Somerset-Hunterdon, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
08525Trenton-Princeton, NJ MSA
08534Trenton-Princeton, NJ MSA
08535Monmouth-Ocean, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
08540Trenton-Princeton, NJ MSA
08542Trenton-Princeton, NJ MSA
08544Trenton-Princeton, NJ MSA
08550Trenton-Princeton, NJ MSA
08551Middlesex-Somerset-Hunterdon, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
08555Monmouth-Ocean, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
08560Trenton-Princeton, NJ MSA
08561Trenton-Princeton, NJ MSA
08648Trenton-Princeton, NJ MSA
08691Monmouth-Ocean, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
08691Trenton-Princeton, NJ MSA
08730Monmouth-Ocean, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
08802Warren County, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area

What is a Difficult Development Area?

HUD designates a metro ZIP code (SDDA) or non-metro county as a DDA when its Fair Market Rent or construction costs are high relative to area median income. New LIHTC construction in a DDA qualifies for a 130% qualified basis — the same 30% boost QCTs receive. For New Jersey investors, DDA and QCT overlays together map where affordable-housing capital is flowing hardest.

All states →QCTs in New JerseyFair Market Rents in New JerseySection 8 DSCR loans in New Jersey

New Jersey Difficult Development Areas — FAQs

What is a Difficult Development Area in New Jersey?

A Difficult Development Area (DDA) is a HUD-designated metro ZIP code or non-metro county where land, construction, and utility costs are high relative to Area Median Income. HUD republishes the New Jersey list annually.

What is the LIHTC basis boost for a DDA?

A LIHTC project in a designated DDA may qualify for a 30% increase in eligible basis — the same boost available in a Qualified Census Tract — which raises the credit amount the project can claim.

What is the difference between an SDDA and a non-metro DDA?

Small Area DDAs (SDDAs) are designated at the ZIP-code level inside metro areas, so one New Jersey metro can contain both designated and undesignated ZIPs. Non-metro DDAs are designated at the county level.

How do DDAs affect an investor buying a rental?

DDA status signals a high-cost submarket relative to local incomes, which usually means higher purchase prices and construction budgets. It does not change loan eligibility on its own; business-purpose financing is underwritten on the property's economics and lender guidelines.

Local market news & updates

What the latest published data says about New Jersey

Every update below is a published figure from a named federal source, shown with the exact period that source covers. Where a dataset is only produced at county or state level, it is labelled that way rather than presented as city data. These are market statistics for informational purposes only — they are not rates, loan terms, or an offer of credit.

  • State dataData through ACS estimates, ACS 5-Year 2023

    New Jersey housing costs — ACS estimates, ACS 5-Year 2023

    The most recent published Census reading for New Jersey shows a median owner-occupied home value of $427,600, a median gross rent of $1,653 per month. These are survey estimates for the period shown, not live listing prices, and they are the starting point investors use to sanity-check a rent assumption before underwriting a DSCR file.

    Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey

  • State dataData through ACS estimates, ACS 5-Year 2023

    New Jersey renter demand indicators — ACS estimates, ACS 5-Year 2023

    Census reports a population of 9,267,014, a median household income of $101,050, a rental vacancy estimate of 7.9% for New Jersey. Income and vacancy set the practical ceiling on achievable rent, which is what a DSCR calculation is ultimately built on.

    Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey

Source periods represented above: ACS estimates, ACS 5-Year 2023. Each figure updates only when its publisher releases a new period — we never restamp an older reading with a newer date.

Informational market data only. Nothing in this section is a rate, an annual percentage rate, a payment, a loan term, an approval, or an offer or commitment to lend. Citing a federal dataset does not imply the agency endorses, sponsors or is affiliated with Simply Approved Mortgages LLC (NMLS #2620881). Financing referenced on this page is business-purpose investment property financing.

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How We Evaluate This Scenario

A DSCR file is judged on the property, not your tax returns: qualifying rent divided by PITIA — principal, interest, taxes, insurance, plus HOA and flood where they apply. Most programs use the lesser of the in-place lease rent and the appraiser's market rent, so a lease signed below market usually caps the ratio no matter how strong the comps look.

Three inputs move the outcome more than anything else: rent support on the appraiser's rent schedule (Form 1007 or 1025), the LTV tier, and the credit tier. Dropping leverage by five points or moving up a FICO band frequently changes pricing more than shopping a different lender does.

Before you write an offer, price taxes and insurance at post-sale levels rather than the seller's current bill. In reassess-on-transfer states and in coastal insurance markets, that single adjustment is the most common reason a deal that penciled at contract fails the ratio at underwriting.

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