Middlesex is New Jersey’s most racially and ethnically diverse county, which meant that its launch of an age-friendly community initiative could not take a one-size fits all approach.
The 25 municipalities in this Central Jersey county are also a mix of urban and suburban environments, both of which present different types of aging-in-place challenges.
To undertake its age-friendly grant project, the county hired the consulting firm Janus Solutions to design and implement a community needs assessment and produce an action plan report.
That needs assessment was conducted between the months of January and May 2026 as two parallel surveys, one in English and one in Spanish, both of which garnered a total of 374 responses. In addition, the consultants held six focus groups with a total of 165 residents.
Not surprisingly, findings of both revealed a gap in access to resources between the Spanish-only speaking and English-speaking senior population as well as different aging-in-place challenges and opportunities among suburban and urban towns in Middlesex.
“The data reveals a population that is largely stable, community-rooted, and aging in place — but facing intersecting pressures around housing affordability, financial insecurity, transportation access, and healthcare navigation,” the final report issued in June stated. “The Spanish-speaking cohort surfaced distinct vulnerabilities, including significantly higher rates of financial hardship, lower educational attainment, and language-access barriers that compound existing service gaps.”
Located in the central portion of the state, Middlesex County extends inland from the Raritan Valley region to the northern portion of the Jersey Shore. The county seat is New Brunswick, known as a center for the sciences, arts, and cultural activities as well as the headquarters of state’s flagship academic institution, Rutgers University. The largest community by population is Edison, a large commercial hub with more than 108,000 residents.
The county estimates that about 47,000 of their residents have limited English proficiency, and
Middlesex’s significant concentration of Asian Indians makes it one of the most diverse South Asian cultural hubs in the United States.
Research gathered during the initiative found significant disparities related to language among the county’s 190,000 older residents, with English-speaking residents having higher rates of home ownership and vehicle ownership, while many Spanish-only speaking residents face financial insecurity. About 58% of Spanish-language-only older residents live on less than 20,000 dollars a year.
Additionally, only 28.4% of Spanish-only speaking older residents drive cars, instead relying on public transportation and walking.
The action plan derived from the survey results addresses different needs for different geographical locations. In urban communities like New Brunswick and Perth Amboy, for example, improving infrastructure and walkability were cited as high priorities, in addition to affordable housing support and language assistance.
Priorities cited in suburban communities, such as Cranbury, Metuchen, and South Brunswick which have more limited public transportation options, included the need for more home-delivery services, transportation access, and the creation of “community hubs” for improving engagement and quality-of-life for isolated seniors.
Overall, the action plan identified five “priority need areas”: financial security and housing affordability; health care access and navigation; transportation and mobility; social isolation and loneliness and language access and digital equity.