Rarest eye color in New Jersey may surprise you

Eye color is truly something amazing. Not just in humans, but animals as well.

But what makes our eye colors what they are? And why is there such a range of colors? It all has to do with pigments.

According to USA Today, "Every iris contains a pigment called melanin, but the amount of melanin varies from person to person." And since the amount of melanin varies, it's what makes the difference.

It's about the reflection of the iris and the color we see. Some of us have more melanin and some less.

But how does that break down to eye color statistics? And how common is each eye color here in New Jersey, as well as in the country?

Let's break it all down, starting with the most common eye color.

Brown Eyes

Brown eyes, unsurprisingly, make up the vast majority of eye colors. In fact, close to half the population falls into this category throughout the country.

That also means about half of New Jerseyans fall into this category. Around 45% of the population in fact have brown eyes, making it the most common.

Although that stat isn't too surprising, the second most common color perhaps is. In fact, it's one that some may mistake as the most uncommon color.

Blue Eyes

Coming in as the second most common eye color is blue. That's right, blue eyes are the second most common, which seems a bit surprising.

Up to 27% of the overall population in the country in fact has blue eyes. Perhaps they may seem like the rarest eye color because they're so striking to look at.

After blue, the colors start to get increasingly rare. And that's exactly the case with the third most common color.

Hazel Eyes

Hazel eyes, or amber eyes, make up the third most common color across the United States. If you have this color, than you're among only 18% of the population that has them.

Which also means that it's not too common in New Jersey either. Just under 1 in 5 people will have hazel, or amber, eyes.

Now even though 18% might seem small, the rarest color eye is just a fraction of that percentage. Here are the two rarest eye colors in New Jersey, and across the nation.

Green Eyes

If you have green eyes, then you are truly among the rarest of the bunch. Just 9% of the American population have that coloration, and only 2% worldwide.

That is incredibly rare. There is, however, one more category of eye color that's actually rarer than that.

The only reason this final color isn't quite considered the rarest is because it's often lumped in with blue. If, however, you counted this as one of the main color categories, then it absolutely would be the rarest, even rarer than green.

Grey Eyes

Grey eyes are kind of on an island of their own. While many deem it a different shade of blue, there are studies underway that are considering making grey eyes an official classification.

Grey eyes are so rare that they only make up approximately 1% of the total population in the nation. That means less than 1 in 100 people will have this particular colorization in their eyes.

Also on the ultra-rare side are people who may have a certain condition that makes the eyes appear pinkish, as well as those who have two different colored eyes.

The above post reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 Sunday morning host Mike Brant. Any opinions expressed are his own.