Only half of Gloucester County's housing predates 1980, one of the lowest shares in New Jersey. In Woolwich, Harrison and East Greenwich, most homes were built after 1980, so many rentals there fall outside the lead-safe law.
The older county is a ring of boroughs: Woodbury (88% pre-1980, 35% pre-1940), Pitman (89%, 45%), Westville, Paulsboro, National Park, Wenonah and Swedesboro, where almost half the housing went up before 1940. Those towns are why a Gloucester County portfolio can't be judged by the county average.
Two of Gloucester County's 24 municipalities are on NJ DCA's 2025-26 dust wipe list, and both sit on the Delaware side of the county. Everything else is visual. Every covered rental in Westville or Paulsboro needs dust wipe samples tested by a certified lab.
| Town | Method | Share renting | Built before 1980 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Westville | Dust wipe | 43% | 82% |
| Paulsboro | Dust wipe | 38% | 88% |
| Woodbury | Visual | 35% | 88% |
| Pitman | Visual | 26% | 89% |
| Glassboro | Visual | 40% | 43% |
| Deptford | Visual | 24% | 55% |
| Washington Twp | Visual | 17% | 43% |
Westville's neighbor across Big Timber Creek, Brooklawn, is a dust wipe town too, on the Camden County side. If you own on both sides of the creek, both need lab-tested inspections.
Sources: NJ DCA 2025-26 Lead-Based Paint Inspection Methodology list; N.J.A.C. 5:28A (inspection cycle, tenant turnover and exemptions); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Glassboro has 3,075 renter households, the second most in the county, but only 43% of its housing is pre-1980. Washington Township, with the most renters in the county, is also at 43%. Units in buildings constructed in 1978 or later are exempt.
So in these towns, sort your properties by year built first. Only the older buildings need inspections.
$125 to $150 per unit, lab included, dust wipe or visual. A Woodbury twin is $250 to $300. A three-unit Paulsboro building with dust wipes is $375 to $450, with nothing added for the lab. Bulk pricing starts at five units.
Coverage includes all 24 towns: Deptford, West Deptford, Washington Township, Glassboro, Monroe, Woodbury, Pitman, Westville, Paulsboro, Clayton, Mantua, Swedesboro, Logan, Woolwich, Franklin, Elk and the rest. Pricing background: NJ lead inspection cost breakdown.
Neighboring counties: Camden, Salem and Cumberland. Getting a unit ready: the lead-safe certification checklist.
List the rentals and the town each one is in.