Lead Paint Inspections in Salem County

Salem City, Penns Grove, Carneys Point, Pennsville, Woodstown. Salem is New Jersey's smallest county by population and one of its oldest by housing. Six of its fifteen towns require dust wipe sampling. Our price covers the lab: $125 to $150 per unit.

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Why Salem County

Small county, old houses, strict testing

6 of 15towns require dust wipe, the highest share of any NJ county

75%of homes built before 1980, third oldest in NJ

90%of housing in Salem City and Penns Grove is pre-1980

Salem County doesn't have many rentals, about 7,200 renter households in total. But the rentals it has are old, and a big share of them sit in towns where the state requires the stricter dust wipe test.

Salem City and Penns Grove are the two rental centers. In each, 65% of households rent and 90% of the housing predates 1980. Salem City goes back further: 46% of its homes were built before 1940. Elmer is older still, with 55% of its housing from before 1940.

In Carneys Point and Pennsville, around four in five homes are pre-1980, but far fewer are prewar: 15% and 16%.

Visual or dust wipe

Salem County's six dust wipe towns

On NJ DCA's 2025-26 list, 40% of Salem County's municipalities require dust wipe sampling, the highest share of any county. Burlington also has six dust wipe towns, but out of forty.

Town	Method	Renter households	Built before 1940
Salem City	Dust wipe	1,557	46%
Penns Grove	Dust wipe	1,015	24%
Woodstown	Dust wipe	546	27%
Alloway	Dust wipe	170	24%
Elmer	Dust wipe	136	55%
Upper Pittsgrove	Dust wipe	106	19%
Carneys Point	Visual	1,373	15%
Pennsville	Visual	1,061	16%

Penns Grove and Carneys Point share a border and fall on opposite sides of the list. A Penns Grove duplex needs lab-tested dust wipes. The same duplex across the line in Carneys Point needs a visual.

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.

Cost

In Salem County, "lab included" matters

When a big share of your rentals are in dust wipe towns, how the lab fee is billed matters. Ours is inside the price: $125 to $150 per unit. A Salem City four-unit building is $500 to $600 with the lab included. Bulk pricing starts at five units.

Pricing background: what a lead inspection costs in NJ.

Coverage

All fifteen Salem County towns

Salem City, Penns Grove, Carneys Point, Pennsville, Woodstown, Pilesgrove, Pittsgrove, Upper Pittsgrove, Alloway, Elmer, Quinton, Lower Alloways Creek, Mannington, Elsinboro and Oldmans.

Common questions

Salem County questions we get

My rental is in Penns Grove. Can I use a visual inspection like Carneys Point?

No. Penns Grove is a dust wipe town on the 2025-26 list and Carneys Point is visual, even though they border each other. Every covered rental in Penns Grove needs dust wipe samples tested by a certified lab.

Why does Salem County have so many dust wipe towns?

The state puts a town on the dust wipe list when at least 3% of tested children under six have blood lead levels of 5 micrograms per deciliter or higher. Six Salem County municipalities met that threshold for 2025-26.

Is a Woodstown farmhouse rental covered by the lead-safe law?

If it was built before 1978, it's rented, and it isn't exempt, yes. The law covers single-family rentals, not just apartments. Woodstown is a dust wipe town, so the inspection includes lab samples.

Is the price different in Salem County?

No. It's $125 to $150 per unit with the lab included, the same as everywhere else we inspect.

What if a Salem City unit fails the dust wipe test?

The unit can't be certified until the hazards are corrected and it passes. Side by Side also does lead remediation and property maintenance in Salem County.

Neighboring counties: Gloucester and Cumberland. Certificate types: Lead Safe vs. Lead Free.