New Jersey

This article is about the U.S. state. For other uses, see New Jersey (disambiguation).

"NJ" redirects here. For other uses, see NJ (disambiguation).

New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware River and Pennsylvania; and on the southwest by Delaware Bay and the state of Delaware. At 7,354 square miles (19,050 km²), New Jersey is the fifth-smallest state in land area; but with close to 9.3 million residents,^[6] it ranks 11th in population and first in population density. The state capital is Trenton, and the most populous city is Newark. With the exception of Warren County, all of the state's 21 counties lie within the combined statistical areas of New York City or Philadelphia.

New Jersey
State
State of New Jersey
Flag Seal
Nickname:  The Garden State^[1]
Motto(s):  Liberty and prosperity
Map of the United States with New Jersey highlighted
Country	United States
Before statehood	Province of New Jersey
Admitted to the Union	December 18, 1787 (3rd)
Capital	Trenton
Largest city	Newark
Largest metro and urban areas	New York
Government
• Governor	Phil Murphy (D)
• Lieutenant Governor	Sheila Oliver (D)
Legislature	New Jersey Legislature
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	General Assembly
Judiciary	Supreme Court of New Jersey
U.S. senators	Bob Menendez (D) Cory Booker (D)
U.S. House delegation	9 Democrats 3 Republicans (list)
Area
• Total	8,722.58 sq mi (22,591.38 km^2)
• Land	7,354.22^[2] sq mi (19,047.34 km^2)
• Water	1,368.36 sq mi (3,544.04 km^2)  15.7%
• Rank	47th
Dimensions
• Length	170 mi (273 km)
• Width	70 mi (112 km)
Elevation	250 ft (80 m)
Highest elevation (High Point^[3]^[4])	1,803 ft (549.6 m)
Lowest elevation (Atlantic Ocean^[3])	0 ft (0 m)
Population  (2020^[6])
• Total	9,288,994
• Rank	11th
• Density	1,263/sq mi (488/km^2)
• Rank	1st
• Median household income	$82,545^[5]
• Income rank	3rd
Demonym(s)	New Jerseyan (official),^[7] New Jerseyite^[8]^[9]
Language
• Official language	None
• Spoken language	English (only) 69.4% Spanish 15.9% Indic 2.7% Chinese 1.5% Korean 1.1% French 0.97% Tagalog 0.94% Portuguese 0.91% Italian 0.83% Arabic 0.76% Polish 0.72% Russian 0.57%
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (EDT)
USPS abbreviation	NJ
ISO 3166 code	US-NJ
Traditional abbreviation	N.J.
Latitude	38°56′ N to 41°21′ N
Longitude	73°54′ W to 75°34′ W
Website	nj.gov

New Jersey was first inhabited by Native Americans for at least 2,800 years, with the Lenape being the dominant group when Europeans arrived in the early 17th century. Dutch and Swedish colonists founded the first European settlements in the state.^[10] The British later seized control of the region and established the Province of New Jersey, named after the largest of the Channel Islands.^[11][12] The colony's fertile lands and relative religious tolerance drew a large and diverse population. New Jersey was among the Thirteen Colonies that supported the American Revolution, hosting multiple pivotal battles and military commands in the American Revolutionary War. The state remained in, and supported, the Union during the American Civil War. Following the Civil War's end, the state emerged as a major national center of manufacturing and immigration, helping drive the Industrial Revolution^[13] and becoming the site for many industrial, technological, and commercial innovations into the mid 20th century.

Since New Jersey's December 18, 1787, founding, many notable New Jersey residents have contributed to the nation's emergence as a global economic and political superpower, making substantial contributions across academics, activism, art, business, entertainment, government and politics, military, music, religion, science, and in other fields.

New Jersey's central location in the Northeast megalopolis helped fuel its rapid growth and suburbanization in the second half of the 20th century. At the turn of the 21st century, its economy increasingly diversified, with major sectors including biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, specialized agriculture, and informational technology. New Jersey remains a major destination for immigrants and has one of the most multicultural populations in the U.S.^[14][15] Echoing historical trends, the state has increasingly re-urbanized, with growth in cities outpacing suburbs since 2008.^[16] New Jersey is one of the wealthiest states in the U.S. with the third highest median household income as of 2019^[update].^[17] Almost one-tenth of all households, or over 323,000 of 3.3 million, are millionaires, the highest per capita rate of millionaires of any state in the country.^[18] New Jersey's public school system consistently ranks at or among the top of all U.S. states.^{[19][20][21][22]}

History

Main article: History of New Jersey

See also: Paleontology in New Jersey

Around 180 million years ago, during the Jurassic Period, New Jersey bordered North Africa. The pressure of collision between North America and Africa gave rise to the Appalachian Mountains. Around 18,000 years ago, the Ice Age resulted in glaciers that reached New Jersey. As glaciers retreated, they left behind Lake Passaic along with rivers, grasslands, swamps, and gorges.^[23]

New Jersey was originally settled by Native Americans with the Lenni-Lenape tribe being dominant at the time. Scheyichbi is the Lenape name for land that is now New Jersey.^[24] Lenape were several autonomous groups that practiced maize agriculture in order to supplement their hunting and gathering in the region surrounding the Delaware River, the lower Hudson River, and western Long Island Sound. Lenape society was divided into matrilinear clans that were based upon common female ancestors. Clans were organized into three distinct phratries identified by their animal sign: Turtle, Turkey, and Wolf. They first encountered the Dutch in the early 17th century, and their primary relationship with the Europeans was through fur trade.

Colonial era

Main articles: Colonial history of New Jersey, New Netherland, New Sweden, Province of New Jersey, East Jersey, West Jersey, and Dominion of New England

 

New Netherland and New Sweden in New Jersey during the colonial era

The Dutch were the first Europeans to lay claim to lands in New Jersey. The Dutch colony of New Netherland consisted of parts of modern Mid-Atlantic states. Although the European principle of land ownership was not recognized by the Lenape, Dutch West India Company policy required its colonists to purchase land that they settled. The first to do so was Michiel Pauw, who established a patron ship called Pavonia in 1630 along North River that eventually became Bergen. Peter Minuit's purchase of lands along the Delaware River established the colony of New Sweden. The entire region became a territory of England on June 24, 1664, after an English fleet under command of Colonel Richard Nicolls sailed into what is now New York Harbor and took control of Fort Amsterdam, annexing the entire province.

During the English Civil War, the Channel Island of Jersey remained loyal to the British Crown and gave sanctuary to the King. In the Royal Square in St Helier, Charles II of England was proclaimed King in 1649, following the execution of his father, Charles I. North American lands were divided by Charles II, who gave his brother, the Duke of York (later King James II), the region between New England and Maryland as a proprietary colony (as opposed to a royal colony). James then granted land between the Hudson River and the Delaware River (the land that would become New Jersey) to two friends who had remained loyal through the English Civil War: Sir George Carteret and Lord Berkeley of Stratton.^[25] The area was named the Province of New Jersey.

Since its inception, New Jersey has been characterized by ethnic and religious diversity. New England Congregationalists settled alongside Scots Presbyterians and Dutch Reformed migrants. While the majority of residents lived in towns with individual landholdings of 100 acres (40 ha), a few rich proprietors owned vast estates. English Quakers and Anglicans owned large landholdings. Unlike Plymouth Colony, Jamestown and other colonies, New Jersey was populated by a secondary wave of immigrants who came from other colonies instead of those who migrated directly from Europe. New Jersey remained agrarian and rural throughout the colonial era, and commercial farming developed sporadically. Some townships, such as Burlington on the Delaware River and Perth Amboy, emerged as important ports for shipping to New York City and Philadelphia. The colony's fertile lands and tolerant religious policy drew more settlers, and New Jersey's population had increased to 120,000 by 1775.

Settlement for the first 10 years of English rule took place along Hackensack River and Arthur Kill. Settlers came primarily from New York and New England. On March 18, 1673, Berkeley sold his half of the colony to Quakers in England, who settled the Delaware Valley region as a Quaker colony. (William Penn acted as trustee for the lands for a time.) New Jersey was governed very briefly as two distinct provinces, East and West Jersey, for 28 years between 1674 and 1702, at times part of the Province of New York or Dominion of New England.

In 1702, the two provinces were reunited under a royal governor rather than a proprietary one. Edward Hyde, Lord Cornbury, became the first governor of the royal colony. Britain believed that he was an ineffective and corrupt ruler, taking bribes and speculating on land. In 1708, he was recalled to England. New Jersey was then ruled by the governors of New York, but this infuriated the settlers of New Jersey, who accused these governors of favoritism to New York. Judge Lewis Morris led the case for a separate governor, and was appointed governor by King George II in 1738.^[26]

Revolutionary War era

Main articles: American Revolutionary War, Northern theater of the American Revolutionary War, New Jersey in the American Revolution, Lee Resolution, United States Declaration of Independence, Philadelphia campaign, Articles of Confederation § Ratification, Treaty of Paris (1783), Constitutional Convention (United States), Admission to the Union, and List of U.S. states by date of admission to the Union

 

Washington Crossing the Delaware, an 1851 portrait by Emanuel Leutze depicting Washington's crossing the Delaware River from Bucks County, Pennsylvania to Mercer County in December 1776, prior to the Battle of Trenton

 

Washington Rallying the Americans at the Battle of Princeton, a portrait by William Ranney depicting George Washington rallying his troops at the Battle of Princeton in January 1777

New Jersey was one of Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution. The New Jersey Constitution of 1776 was passed July 2, 1776, just two days before the Second Continental Congress declared American Independence from Great Britain. It was an act of the Provincial Congress, which made itself into the State Legislature. To reassure neutrals, it provided that it would become the legislature would disband if New Jersey reached reconciliation with Great Britain. Among the 56 Founding Fathers who signed the Declaration of Independence, five were New Jersey representatives: Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, and Abraham Clark.

During the American Revolutionary War, British and American armies crossed New Jersey numerous times, and several pivotal battles took place in the state. Because of this, New Jersey today is sometimes referred to as "The Crossroads of the American Revolution".^[27] The winter quarters of the Continental Army were established in New Jersey twice by General George Washington in Morristown, which has been called "The Military Capital of the American Revolution.“^[28]

On the night of December 25–26, 1776, the Continental Army under George Washington crossed the Delaware River. After the crossing, they surprised and defeated the Hessian troops in the Battle of Trenton. Slightly more than a week after victory at Trenton, Continental Army forces gained an important victory by stopping General Cornwallis's charges at the Second Battle of Trenton. By evading Cornwallis's army, the Continental Army was able to make a surprise attack on Princeton and successfully defeated the British forces there on January 3, 1777. Emanuel Leutze's painting of Washington Crossing the Delaware became an icon of the Revolution.

Cotinental Army forces under Washington's command met British forces under General Henry Clinton at the Battle of Monmouth in an indecisive engagement in June 1778. Washington's forces attempted to take the British column by surprise. When the British army attempted to flank the Americans, the Continental Army retreated in disorder. Their ranks were later reorganized and withstood British charges.^[29]

In the summer of 1783, the Continental Congress met in Nassau Hall at Princeton University, making Princeton the nation's capital for four months. It was there that the Continental Congress learned of the signing of the Treaty of Paris, which ended the war.

On December 18, 1787, New Jersey became the third state to ratify the United States Constitution, which was overwhelmingly popular in New Jersey since it prevented New York and Pennsylvania from charging tariffs on goods imported from Europe. On November 20, 1789, New Jersey became the first in the newly-formed Union to ratify the Bill of Rights.^[30]

The 1776 New Jersey State Constitution gave the vote to all inhabitants who had a certain level of wealth. This included women and Black people, but not married women because they were not legally permitted to own property separately from their husbands. Both sides, in several elections, claimed that the other side had had unqualified women vote and mocked them for use of petticoat electors, whether entitled to vote or not; on the other hand, both parties passed Voting Rights Acts. In 1807, legislature passed a bill interpreting the constitution to mean universal white male suffrage, excluding paupers; the constitution was itself an act of the legislature and not enshrined as the modern constitution.^[31]

19th century

Main articles: New Jersey in the 19th century and New Jersey in the American Civil War

 

Map of the 107-mile-long (172 km) Morris Canal across North Jersey

On February 15, 1804, New Jersey became the last northern state to abolish new slavery and enacted legislation that slowly phased out existing slavery. This led to a gradual decrease of the slave population. By the American Civil War's end, about a dozen African Americans in New Jersey were still held in bondage.^[32] New Jersey voters eventually ratified the constitutional amendments banning slavery and granting rights to the United States' black population.

Industrialization accelerated in the northern part of the state following completion of the Morris Canal in 1831. The canal allowed for coal to be brought from eastern Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley to northern New Jersey's growing industries in Paterson, Newark, and Jersey City.

In 1844, the second state constitution was ratified and brought into effect. Counties thereby became districts for the state senate, and some realignment of boundaries (including the creation of Mercer County) immediately followed. This provision was retained in the 1947 Constitution, but was overturned by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1962 by the decision Baker v. Carr. While the Governorship was stronger than under the 1776 constitution, the constitution of 1844 created many offices that were not responsible to him, or to the people, and it gave him a three-year term, but he could not succeed himself.

New Jersey was one of the few Union states (the others being Delaware and Kentucky) to select a candidate other than Abraham Lincoln twice in national elections, and sided with Stephen Douglas (1860) and George B. McClellan (1864) during their campaigns. McClellan, a native Philadelphian, had New Jersey ties and formally resided in New Jersey at the time; he later became Governor of New Jersey (1878–81). (In New Jersey, the factions of the Democratic party managed an effective coalition in 1860.) During the American Civil War, the state was led first by Republican governor Charles Smith Olden, then by Democrat Joel Parker. During the course of the war, between 65,000 and 80,000 soldiers from the state enlisted in the Union army; unlike many states, including some Northern ones, no battle was fought there.^[33]

In the Industrial Revolution, cities like Paterson grew and prospered. Previously, the economy had been largely agrarian, which was problematically subject to crop failures and poor soil. This caused a shift to a more industrialized economy, one based on manufactured commodities such as textiles and silk. Inventor Thomas Edison also became an important figure of the Industrial Revolution, having been granted 1,093 patents, many of which for inventions he developed while working in New Jersey. Edison's facilities, first at Menlo Park and then in West Orange, are considered perhaps the first research centers in the United States. Christie Street in Menlo Park was the first thoroughfare in the world to have electric lighting. Transportation was greatly improved as locomotion and steamboats were introduced to New Jersey.

Iron mining was also a leading industry during the middle to late 19th century. Bog iron pits in the New Jersey Pine Barrens were among the first sources of iron for the new nation.^[34] Mines such as Mt. Hope, Mine Hill and the Rockaway Valley Mines created a thriving industry. Mining generated the impetus for new towns and was one of the driving forces behind the need for the Morris Canal. Zinc mines were also a major industry, especially the Sterling Hill Mine.

20th century

Main article: New Jersey in the 20th century

New Jersey prospered through the Roaring Twenties. The first Miss America Pageant was held in 1921 in Atlantic City; the Holland Tunnel connecting Jersey City to Manhattan opened in 1927; and the first drive-in movie was shown in 1933 in Camden. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the state offered begging licenses to unemployed residents,^[35] the zeppelin airship Hindenburg crashed in flames over Lakehurst, and the SS Morro Castle beached itself near Asbury Park after going up in flames while at sea.

Through both World Wars, New Jersey was a center for war production, especially naval construction. The Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company yards in Kearny and Newark and the New York Shipbuilding Corporation yard in Camden produced aircraft carriers, battleships, cruisers, and destroyers.^[36] New Jersey manufactured 6.8 percent of total United States military armaments produced during World War II, ranking fifth among the 48 states.^[37] In addition, Fort Dix (1917) (originally called "Camp Dix"),^[38] Camp Merritt (1917)^[39] and Camp Kilmer (1941)^{[citation needed]} were all constructed to house and train American soldiers through both World Wars. New Jersey also became a principal location for defense in the Cold War. Fourteen Nike missile stations were constructed for the defense of the New York City and Philadelphia areas. PT-109, a motor torpedo boat commanded by Lt. (j.g.) John F. Kennedy in World War II, was built at the Elco Boatworks in Bayonne. The aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6) was briefly docked at the Military Ocean Terminal in Bayonne in the 1950s before she was sent to Kearney to be scrapped.^[40] In 1962, the world's first nuclear-powered cargo ship, the NS Savannah, was launched at Camden.

In 1951, the New Jersey Turnpike opened, facilitating efficient travel by car and truck between North Jersey and metropolitan New York and South Jersey and metropolitan Philadelphia.^[41] In 1959, Air Defense Command deployed the CIM-10 Bomarc surface-to-air missile to McGuire Air Force Base. On June 7, 1960, an explosion in a CIM-10 Bomarc missile fuel tank caused an accident and subsequent plutonium contamination.^[42]

In the 1960s, race riots erupted in many of the industrial cities of North Jersey. The first race riots in New Jersey occurred in Jersey City on August 2, 1964. Several others ensued in 1967, in Newark and Plainfield. Other riots followed the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in April 1968, just as in the rest of the country. A riot occurred in Camden in 1971. As a result of an order from the New Jersey Supreme Court to fund schools equitably, the New Jersey legislature passed an income tax bill in 1976. Prior to this bill, the state had no income tax.^[43]

21st century

Main article: New Jersey in the 21st century

In the early part of the 2000s, two light rail systems were opened: the Hudson–Bergen Light Rail in Hudson County and the River Line between Camden and Trenton. The intent of these projects was to encourage transit-oriented development in North Jersey and South Jersey, respectively. The HBLR in particular was credited with a revitalization of Hudson County and Jersey City in particular.^{[44][45][46][47]} Urban revitalization has continued in North Jersey in the 21st century. In 2014, Jersey City's Census-estimated population was 262,146,^[48] with the largest population increase of any municipality in New Jersey since 2010,^[49] representing an increase of 5.9% from the 2010 U.S. census, when the city's population was enumerated at 247,597.^[50][51] Between 2000 and 2010 Newark experienced its first population increase since the 1950s, and by 2020 had rebounded to 311,549.

New Jersey state symbols
Flag of New Jersey
Living insignia
Bird	Eastern goldfinch^[52]
Fish	Brook trout^[53]
Flower	Viola sororia^[54]
Insect	Western honey bee^[55]
Mammal	Horse^[56]
Tree	Quercus rubra (northern red oak),^[57] dogwood (memorial tree)^[57]
Inanimate insignia
Colors	Buff and blue
Folk dance	Square dance^[58]
Food	Northern highbush blueberry (state fruit)^[59]
Fossil	Hadrosaurus foulkii^[60]
Soil	Downer^[61]
State route marker
State quarter
Released in 1999
Lists of United States state symbols

Geography

 

Interactive map of New Jersey

Main article: Geography of New Jersey

See also: List of counties in New Jersey and Metropolitan Statistical Areas of New Jersey

 

 

Sunrise on the Jersey Shore at Spring Lake in North Jersey (top) and sunset at Sunset Beach and Cape May County in South Jersey (bottom)

 

Delaware Water Gap is shared between Warrren County and neighboring Pennsylvania.

 

At 69.6 mi (112.0 km) in length, Raritan River is the longest river entirely within New Jersey, flowing from Raritan Valley near Clinton (above) east to Raritan Bay.

 

Part of Palisades Insterstate Park and the cliffs of Palisades in Bergen County overlooking the Hudson River

 

Great Falls of the Passaic River in Paterson was designated a U.S. National Historical Park in 2009.

 

India Square in the Marion Section of Jersey City is home to the highest concentration of Asian Indians in the Western Hemisphere.^[62]

New Jersey is bordered on the north and northeast by New York (parts of which are across the Hudson River, Upper New York Bay, the Kill Van Kull, Newark Bay, and the Arthur Kill); on the east by the Atlantic Ocean; on the southwest by Delaware across Delaware Bay; and on the west by Pennsylvania across the Delaware River. This is New Jersey's only straight border.

New Jersey is broadly divided into three geographic regions: North Jersey, Central Jersey, and South Jersey. Some New Jersey residents do not consider Central Jersey a region in its own right, but others believe it is a separate geographic and cultural area distinct from the North and South.

Within those regions are five distinct areas divided by natural geography and population concentration. Northeastern New Jersey, often referred to as the Gateway Region, lies closest to Manhattan in New York City, and up to a million residents commute daily into the city for work, many via public transportation.^[63] Northwestern New Jersey, often referred to as the Skylands Region, is more wooded, rural, and mountainous. The chief tree of the northern forests is the oak. The Jersey Shore, along the Atlantic Coast in Central and South Jersey, has its own unique natural, residential, and cultural characteristics owing to its location by the ocean. The Delaware Valley includes the southwestern counties of the state, which reside within the Delaware Valley surrounding Philadelphia. The New Jersey Pine Barrens region is in the southern interior of New Jersey; covered rather extensively by mixed pine and oak forest. The Pine Barrens has a lower population density than most of the rest of the state. Forests cover 45%, or approximately 2.1 million acres, of New Jersey's land area.^[64]

The federal Office of Management and Budget divides New Jersey's counties into seven metropolitan statistical areas with 16 counties included in either the New York City or Philadelphia metro areas. Four counties have independent metro areas, and Warren County is part of the Pennsylvania-based Lehigh Valley metro area. New Jersey is located at the center of the Northeast megalopolis, the nation's second most populated region.

High Point in Montague Township, Sussex County is the state's highest elevation at 1,803 feet (550 m) above sea level. The state's highest prominence is Kitty Ann Mountain in Morris County, rising 892 feet (272 m). The Palisades are a line of steep cliffs on the west side of the Hudson River in Bergen and Hudson Counties. Major New Jersey rivers include the Hudson, Delaware, Raritan, Passaic, Hackensack, Rahway, Musconetcong, Mullica, Rancocas, Manasquan, Maurice, and Toms rivers. Due to New Jersey's peninsular geography, both sunrise and sunset are visible over water from different points on the Jersey Shore.

Prominent geographic features

• Delaware Water Gap
• Great Bay
• Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge
• Highlands
• Hudson Palisades
• Jersey Shore
  • On the shore, New Jersey hosts the highest number of oceanside boardwalks in the United States.
• Meadowlands
• New Jersey Pine Barrens
• Ramapo Mountain
• South Mountain

Climate

Main article: Climate of New Jersey

There are two climatic conditions in the state. The south, central, and northeast parts of the state have a humid subtropical climate, while the northwest has a humid continental climate (microthermal), with much cooler temperatures due to higher elevation. New Jersey receives between 2,400 and 2,800 hours of sunshine annually.^[65]

Climate change is affecting New Jersey faster than much of the rest of the United States. According to climatology research by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, New Jersey has been the fastest-warming state by average air temperature over a 100-year period beginning in the early 20th century.^[66]

Summers are typically hot and humid, with statewide average high temperatures of 82–87 °F (28–31 °C) and lows of 60–69 °F (16–21 °C); however, temperatures exceed 90 °F (32 °C) on average 25 days each summer, exceeding 100 °F (38 °C) in some years. Winters are usually cold, with average high temperatures of 34–43 °F (1–6 °C) and lows of 16 to 28 °F (−9 to −2 °C) for most of the state, but temperatures can, for brief periods, fall below 10 °F (−12 °C) and sometimes rise above 50 °F (10 °C). Northwestern parts of the state have significantly colder winters with sub-0 °F (−18 °C) being an almost annual occurrence. Spring and autumn may feature wide temperature variations, with lower humidity than summer. The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone classification ranges from 6 in the northwest of the state, to 7B near Cape May.^[67] All-time temperature extremes recorded in New Jersey include 110 °F (43 °C) on July 10, 1936, in Runyon, Middlesex County and −34 °F (−37 °C) on January 5, 1904, in River Vale, Bergen County.^[68]

Average annual precipitation ranges from 43 to 51 inches (1,100 to 1,300 mm), uniformly spread throughout the year. Average snowfall per winter season ranges from 10–15 inches (25–38 cm) in the south and near the seacoast, 15–30 inches (38–76 cm) in the northeast and central part of the state, to about 40–50 inches (1.0–1.3 m) in the northwestern highlands, but this often varies considerably from year to year. Precipitation falls on an average of 120 days a year, with 25 to 30 thunderstorms, most of which occur during the summer.

During winter and early spring, New Jersey can experience "nor'easters", which are capable of causing blizzards or flooding throughout the northeastern United States. Hurricanes and tropical storms (such as Tropical Storm Floyd in 1999^[69]), tornadoes, and earthquakes are rare, although New Jersey was impacted by a hurricane in 1903, and Hurricane Sandy on October 29, 2012, with the storm making landfall in the state with top winds of 90 mph (145 km/h).

Average high and low temperatures in various cities of New Jersey °C (°F)^[1] ^[2] ^[3]

City

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Sussex

1/−9 (34/16)

3/−8 (38/18)

8/−4 (47/26)

15/2 (59/36)

21/7 (70/45)

25/12 (78/55)

28/16 (82/60)

27/14 (81/58)

23/10 (73/50)

17/4 (62/38)

11/−1 (51/31)

4/−6 (39/22)

Newark

4/−4 (39/24)

6/−3 (42/27)

10/1 (51/34)

17/7 (62/44)

22/12 (72/53)

28/17 (82/63)

30/20 (86/69)

29/20 (84/68)

25/15 (77/60)

18/9 (65/48)

13/4 (55/39)

6/−1 (44/30)

Atlantic City

5/−2 (42/29)

6/−1 (44/31)

10/3 (50/37)

14/8 (58/46)

19/13 (67/55)

24/18 (76/64)

27/21 (81/70)

27/21 (80/70)

24/18 (75/64)

18/11 (65/53)

13/6 (56/43)

8/1 (46/34)

Cape May

6/−2 (42/28)

7/−2 (44/29)

11/2 (51/35)

16/7 (61/44)

21/12 (70/53)

26/17 (79/63)

29/20 (85/68)

29/19 (83/67)

25/16 (78/61)

19/9 (67/50)

14/4 (57/41)

8/0 (47/32)

Administrative divisions

Counties by population

See also: List of counties in New Jersey and List of municipalities in New Jersey

1. Bergen County: 955,732
2. Essex County: 863,728
3. Middlesex County: 863,162
4. Hudson County: 724,854
5. Monmouth County: 643,615
6. Ocean County: 637,229
7. Union County: 575,345
8. Passaic County: 524,118
9. Camden County: 523,485
10. Morris County: 509,285
11. Burlington County: 461,860
12. Mercer County: 387,340
13. Somerset County: 345,361
14. Gloucester County: 302,294
15. Atlantic County: 274,534
16. Cumberland County: 154,152
17. Sussex County: 144,221
18. Hunterdon County: 128,947
19. Warren County: 109,632
20. Cape May County: 95,263
21. Salem County: 64,837

For its overall population and nation-leading population density, New Jersey has a relative paucity of classic large cities. This paradox is most pronounced in Bergen County, New Jersey's most populous county, whose 955,732 residents enumerated at the 2020 U.S. Census inhabited 70 municipalities, the most populous being Hackensack, with 44,522 residents estimated in 2018. Many urban areas extend far beyond the limits of a single large city, as New Jersey cities (and indeed municipalities in general) tend to be geographically small; three of the four largest cities in New Jersey by population have under 20 square miles (52 km²) of land area, and eight of the top ten, including all of the top five have a land area under 30 square miles (78 km²). As of the 2010 United States census^[update], only four municipalities had populations in excess of 100,000, although Edison and Woodbridge came very close.

Largest municipalities in New Jersey in terms of area

Rank	Name	Area (sq.mi.)	Area (km^2)	County
1	Galloway Township	115.2	298	Atlantic County
2	Hamilton Township	113.0	293	Atlantic County
3	Washington Township	102.9	267	Burlington County
4	Jackson Township	100.1	259	Ocean County
5	Lacey Township	98.5	255	Ocean County
6	Woodland Township	96.4	250	Burlington County
7	Maurice River Township	95.7	248	Cumberland County
8	Middle Township	83.1	215	Cape May County
9	Manchester Township	82.9	215	Ocean County
10	West Milford	80.4	208	Passaic County
11	Bass River Township	78.2	203	Burlington County
12	Egg Harbor Township	75.0	194	Atlantic County
13	Little Egg Harbor Township	73.2	190	Ocean County
14	Lower Alloways Creek Township	72.6	188	Salem County
15	Vernon Township	70.5	183	Sussex County
16	Upper Township	68.5	177	Cape May County
17	Wantage Township	67.5	175	Sussex County
18	Dennis Township	64.3	167	Cape May County
19	Pemberton Township	62.5	162	Burlington County
20	Howell Township	61.0	158	Monmouth County
21	Middletown Township	59.3	154	Monmouth County
22	Hopewell Township	58.7	152	Mercer County
23	Winslow Township	58.1	150	Camden County
24	Mullica Township	56.9	147	Atlantic County
25	Berkeley Township	55.8	145	Ocean County
26	Hillsborough Township	54.8	142	Somerset County
26	Stafford Township	54.8	142	Ocean County

Largest cities or towns in New Jersey Source:^[70]
	Rank	Name	County	Pop.
Newark   Jersey City	1	Newark	Essex	311,549	Paterson   Elizabeth
	2	Jersey City	Hudson	292,449
	3	Paterson	Passaic	159,732
	4	Elizabeth	Union	137,298
	5	Lakewood Township	Ocean	135,158
	6	Edison	Middlesex	107,588
	7	Woodbridge Township	Middlesex	103,639
	8	Toms River	Ocean	95,438
	9	Hamilton Township (Mercer)	Mercer	92,297
	10	Clifton	Passaic	90,296

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1790	184,139		—
1800	211,149		14.7%
1810	245,562		16.3%
1820	277,575		13.0%
1830	320,823		15.6%
1840	373,306		16.4%
1850	489,555		31.1%
1860	672,035		37.3%
1870	906,096		34.8%
1880	1,131,116		24.8%
1890	1,444,933		27.7%
1900	1,883,669		30.4%
1910	2,537,167		34.7%
1920	3,155,900		24.4%
1930	4,041,334		28.1%
1940	4,160,165		2.9%
1950	4,835,329		16.2%
1960	6,066,782		25.5%
1970	7,168,164		18.2%
1980	7,364,823		2.7%
1990	7,730,188		5.0%
2000	8,414,350		8.9%
2010	8,791,894		4.5%
2020	9,288,994		5.7%
Source: 1910–2020^[71]

Population

 

New Jersey population density as of 2020

Residents of New Jersey are most commonly referred to as New Jerseyans or, less commonly, as New Jerseyites. According to the 2020 U.S. census, New Jersey had a population of 9,288,994, a 5.7% increase since the 2010 U.S. census, which counted 8,791,894 residents.^[6] It ranked as the eleventh-most populous state in the country, and the most densely populated, at 1,185 residents per square mile (458 per km²); New Jersey was the state where every county was deemed "urban" as defined by the Census Bureau's Combined Statistical Area.^[72] Most of the population resides in the counties surrounding New York City and Philadelphia, and along the eastern Jersey Shore; the extreme southern and northwestern counties are relatively less dense overall. New Jersey's center of population is the borough of Milltown in Middlesex County, just east of the New Jersey Turnpike,^[73] which is part of the New York metropolitan area and located in the middle of the Northeast megalopolis, with over 50 million residents.

As of 2019, New Jersey was the third wealthiest U.S. state by median household income, behind Maryland and Massachusetts;^[17] the state's median household income was over $85,000 compared to the national average of roughly $65,000.^[74] Conversely, New Jersey's poverty rate of 9.4% was slightly lower than the national average of 11.4%,^[74] and the sixth lowest of the fifty states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. This is attributed partly to the fact that most of New Jersey consists of suburbs of New York City and Philadelphia, which are major economic and financial centers. Other factors include the state having the highest number of millionaires both per capita and per square mile in the U.S., and hosting more scientists and engineers per square mile than anywhere else in the world.^[75][76][77]

Race and ethnicity

Ethnic composition as of the 2020 census

Race and Ethnicity^[78]	Alone		Total
White (non-Hispanic)	51.9%	51.9	54.5%	54.5
Hispanic or Latino^[a]	—		21.6%	21.6
African American (non-Hispanic)	12.4%	12.4	13.6%	13.6
Asian	10.2%	10.2	11.0%	11
Native American	0.1%	0.1	0.7%	0.7
Pacific Islander	0.02%	0.02	0.1%	0.1
Other	0.8%	0.8	1.8%	1.8

 

Map of counties in New Jersey by racial plurality, per the 2020 census

Legend

• Non-Hispanic White   30–40%   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90%

  Black or African American   40–50% Hispanic or Latino   40–50%

Historical racial demographics

Racial composition	1970^[79]	1990^[79]	2000^[80]	2010^[81]
White	88.6%	79.3%	72.5%	68.6%
Black	10.7%	13.4%	13.6%	13.7%
Asian	0.3%	3.5%	5.7%	8.3%
Native	0.1%	0.2%	0.2%	0.3%
Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander	–	–	–	–
Other race	0.3%	3.6%	5.4%	6.4%
Two or more races	–	–	2.5%	2.7%

 

Bergen County across the George Washington Bridge

 

metropolitan statistical areas and divisions of New Jersey; those shaded in blue are part of the New York City Metropolitan Area, including Mercer and Warren counties. Counties shaded in green, including Atlantic, Cape May, and Cumberland counties, belong to the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area.

 

Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood Township is the world's largest yeshiva outside Israel. Orthodox Jews represent one of the fastest-growing segments of New Jersey's population.^[82][83]

In 2010, unauthorized immigrants numbered roughly 550,000,^[84] or an estimated 6.2% of the population, the fifth-highest percentage of any state in the U.S.^[85] The municipalities of Camden, Jersey City, and Newark are considered sanctuary cities for illegal immigrants.^[86]

For further information on various ethnoracial groups and neighborhoods prominently featured within New Jersey, see the following articles:

• History of the Jews in New Jersey
• Hispanics and Latinos in New Jersey
• Indians in the New York City metropolitan region
• Chinese in the New York City metropolitan region
• List of U.S. cities with significant Korean American populations
• Filipinos in the New York City metropolitan region
• Filipinos in New Jersey
• Russians in the New York City metropolitan region
• Bergen County
• Jersey City
• India Square in Jersey City, home to the highest concentration of Asian Indians in the Western Hemisphere
• Ironbound, a Portuguese and Brazilian enclave in Newark
• Five Corners, a Filipino enclave in Jersey City
• Havana on the Hudson, a Cuban enclave in Hudson County
• Koreatown, Fort Lee, a Korean enclave in southeast Bergen County
• Koreatown, Palisades Park, also a Korean enclave in southeast Bergen County
• Little Bangladesh, a Bangladeshi enclave in Paterson
• Little India (Edison/Iselin), the largest and most diverse South Asian hub in the United States
• Little Istanbul, also known as Little Ramallah, a Middle Eastern enclave in Paterson
• Little Lima, a Peruvian enclave in Paterson

Birth data

New Jersey is one of the most ethnically and religiously diverse states in the United States. Nearly one-fourth of New Jerseyans (22.7%) were foreign born, compared to the national average of 13.5%.^[74] As of 2011, 56.4% of New Jersey's children under the age of one belonged to racial or ethnic minority groups, meaning that they had at least one parent who was not non-Hispanic white.^[87] The 2019 Vintage Year Census estimated that the state's ethnic makeup was as follows: 71.9% White alone, 15.1% Black or African American alone, 10.0% Asian alone, 0.6% American Indian and Alaska Native alone, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, and 2.3% Two or more races. Hispanic or Latino accounted for 20.9%, while White alone (non-Hispanic or Latino) accounted for 54.6% of the population.^[88]

New Jersey hosts some of the nation's largest communities of religious and ethnic minorities in proportional or absolute terms. It has the second-largest Jewish population by percentage (after New York);^[89] the largest Muslim population by percentage;^[90] the largest population of Peruvians in the U.S.; the largest population of Cubans outside Florida; the third-highest Asian population by percentage; and the second highest Italian population,^[91] according to the 2000 Census. African Americans, Hispanics (Puerto Ricans and Dominicans), West Indians, Arabs, and Brazilian and Portuguese Americans are also high in number. Overall, New Jersey has the third-largest Korean population, with Bergen County home to the highest Korean concentration per capita of any U.S. county^[92] (6.9% in 2011). New Jersey also has the fourth-largest Filipino population, and fourth-largest Chinese population, per the 2010 U.S. Census.

New Jersey has the-third highest Indian population of any state by absolute numbers and the highest by percentage,^{[93][94][95][96]} with India Square in Jersey City, Hudson County^[62] hosting the highest concentration of Asian Indians in the Western Hemisphere.^[97] A study by the Pew Research Center found that in 2013, New Jersey was the only U.S. state in which immigrants born in India constituted the largest foreign-born nationality, representing roughly 10% of all foreign-born residents in the state.^[98] Central New Jersey, particularly Edison and surrounding Middlesex County, has the highest concentration of Indians, at nearly 20% in 2020; Little India is the largest and most diverse South Asian cultural hub in the United States.^{[99][100][101][102][103]} The area includes a sprawling Chinatown and Koreatown running along New Jersey Route 27.^[104] Monroe Township in Middlesex County has experienced a particularly rapid growth rate in its Indian American population with an estimated 5,943 (13.6%) as of 2017,^[105] which was 23 times the 256 (0.9%) counted at the 2000 Census; Diwali is celebrated by the township as a Hindu holiday. In Middlesex County, election ballots are printed in English, Spanish, Gujarati, Hindi, and Punjabi.^[106] Robbinsville, in neighboring Mercer County, hosts the world's largest Hindu temple outside India.^[107] Carteret's Punjabi Sikh community, variously estimated at upwards of 3,000, is the largest concentration of Sikhs in the state.^[108] Bergen County is home to America's largest Malayali community.^[109] from New York City (뉴욕), is a growing hub and home to all of the nation's top ten municipalities by percentage of Korean population,^[110] led (above) by Palisades Park (벼랑 공원),^[111] the municipality with the highest density of ethnic Koreans in the Western Hemisphere. Displaying ubiquitous Hangul (한글) signage and known as the Korean village,^[112] Palisades Park uniquely comprises a Korean majority (52% in 2010) of its population,^[113][114] with both the highest Korean-American density and percentage of any municipality in the United States.

Languages

Most common non-English languages spoken in New Jersey

Language	Percentage of population (as of 2010)^[115]
Spanish	14.59%
Chinese (including Cantonese and Mandarin)	1.23%
Italian	1.06%
Portuguese	1.06%
Filipino	0.96%
Korean	0.89%
Gujarati	0.83%
Polish	0.79%
Hindi	0.71%
Arabic	0.62%
Russian	0.56%

As of 2010, 71.31% (5,830,812) of New Jersey residents age 5 and older spoke English at home as a primary language, while 14.59% (1,193,261) spoke Spanish, 1.23% (100,217) Chinese (which includes Cantonese and Mandarin), 1.06% (86,849) Italian, 1.06% (86,486) Portuguese, 0.96% (78,627) Tagalog, and Korean was spoken as a main language by 0.89% (73,057) of the population over the age of five. In total, 28.69% (2,345,644) of New Jersey's population age 5 and older spoke a mother language other than English.^[115]

A diverse collection of languages has since evolved amongst the state's population, given that New Jersey has become cosmopolitan and is home to ethnic enclaves of non-English-speaking communities:^{[116][117][118][119]}

• Albanian – Paterson, Garfield
• Arabic – Paterson, Jersey City
• Armenian – Bergen County
• Bengali – Paterson
• Cantonese
• Greek
• Gujarati and Hindi – Jersey City, all of Middlesex County, Cherry Hill, Parsippany, Princeton
• Hebrew
• Indonesian – Gloucester City, Middlesex, Somerset, and Union counties
• Italian – widespread across the state
• Japanese – Edgewater and Fort Lee boroughs in Bergen County
• Kannada
• Korean – Bergen County (numerous municipalities); Edison; and Cherry Hill
• Macedonian – Bergen County
• Malayalam – Bergen County
• Mandarin
• Marathi
• Persian
• Polish – Bergen County (Garfield, Wallington); Mercer County (Top Road, Lawrence Township, Hopewell); Linden
• Portuguese – Ironbound section of Newark; Elizabeth
• Punjabi
• Russian – Fair Lawn borough of Bergen County, Princeton area and Mercer County
• Spanish – widespread across the state
• Tagalog
• Tamil and Telugu – Edison, Monroe Township (Edison-South), and all of Middlesex County; Fair Lawn, Parsippany
• Turkish – Little Istanbul section of Paterson, Mount Ephraim (which has a large, vibrant and growing Turkish Community), Delran, Cherry Hill
• Ukrainian
• Urdu – Mount Ephraim has a significant number of residents of Pakistani origin.
• Vietnamese – Atlantic City, Camden/Cherry Hill, Edison Township, Jersey City
• Yiddish – Lakewood Township, Ocean County

•  

  High-rise residential complexes in the borough of Fort Lee

•  

  Paterson, sometimes known as Silk City,^[120] has become a prime destination for an internationally diverse pool of immigrants,^[121][122] with at least 52 distinct ethnic groups.^[123]

•  

  Skyscrapers in Jersey City, one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world^[124][125]

•  

  Federal Courthouse in Camden, which is connected to Philadelphia via the Benjamin Franklin Bridge in the background

Religion

See also: Category:Religion in New Jersey

Religion in New Jersey (2014)^[126]
Religion			Percent
Catholic			34%
Protestant			31%
Unaffiliated			18%
Jewish			6%
Hindu			3%
Muslim			3%
Mormon			1%
Eastern Orthodox			1%
Jehovah's Witness			1%
Other faith			2%
Don't know			1%

By number of adherents, the largest religious traditions in New Jersey, according to the 2010 Association of Religion Data Archives, were the Roman Catholic Church with 3,235,290; Islam with 160,666; and the United Methodist Church with 138,052.^[127] The world's largest Hindu temple is inRobbinsville, Mercer County.^[107] In September 2021, the State of New Jersey aligned with the World Hindu Council to declare October Hindu Heritage Month. In January 2018, Gurbir Grewal became the first Sikh American and Indian American and serve as state attorney general in the United States.^[128] In January 2019, Sadaf Jaffer of Montgomery became the first female Muslim American mayor, first female South Asian mayor, and first female Pakistani-American mayor in the U.S.^[129] Large numbers of Orthodox Jews are now migrating to New Jersey from New York, due to the latter's higher cost of living.^[130]

•  

  Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, the fifth-largest cathedral in North America, is the seat of the city's Roman Catholic Archdiocese.

•  

  Beth Medrash Govoha (Hebrew:בית מדרש גבוה), in Lakewood, Ocean County, the world's largest Jewish yeshiva outside Israel. New Jersey is home to the second-highest Jewish American population per capita, after New York.

•  

  Swaminarayan Akshardham (Devnagari) in Robbinsville, Mercer County, inaugurated in 2014 as the world's largest Hindu temple.^[131] New Jersey is home to the highest concentration of Hindus (3%) in the U.S.

•  

  Islamic Center of Passaic County, Paterson, Passaic County, was founded in 1990. New Jersey is home to the highest Muslim population concentration in the U.S. (3%), and Paterson, which houses the Islamic Center of Passaic County, is the epicenter of New Jersey's Muslim community, leading South Paterson to be nicknamed Little Istanbul and Little Ramallah.^[132]

Economy

See also: New Jersey locations by per capita income

 

Employment by industries in New Jersey

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that New Jersey's gross state product in the fourth quarter of 2018 was $639.8 billion.^[133] New Jersey's estimated taxpayer burden in 2015 was $59,400 per taxpayer.^[134] New Jersey is nearly $239 billion in debt.^[135]

Affluence

 

A heat map showing median income distribution in New Jersey by county

New Jersey's per capita gross state product routinely ranks one of the highest in the United States. In 2020, New Jersey had the highest number of millionaires both per capita and per square mile in the United States, approximately 9.76% of households.^[18] The state is ranked second in the nation by the number of places with per capita incomes above national average with 76.4%. Nine of New Jersey's counties are among the 100 wealthiest U.S. counties.

Fiscal policy

New Jersey has seven tax brackets that determine state income tax rates, which range from 1.4% (for income below $20,000) to 8.97% (for income above $500,000).^[136]

The standard sales tax rate as of January 1, 2018, is 6.625%, applicable to all retail sales unless specifically exempt by law. This rate, which is comparably lower than that of New York City, often attracts numerous shoppers from New York City, often to suburban Paramus, New Jersey, which has five malls, one of which (the Garden State Plaza) has over 2 million square feet (200,000 m²) of retail space. Tax exemptions include most food items for at-home preparation, medications, most clothing, footwear and disposable paper products for use in the home.^[137] There are 27 Urban Enterprise Zone statewide, including sections of Paterson, Elizabeth, and Jersey City. In addition to other benefits to encourage employment within the zone, shoppers can take advantage of a reduced 3.3125% sales tax rate (half the rate charged statewide) at eligible merchants.^{[138][139][140]}

New Jersey has the highest cumulative tax rate of all 50 states with residents paying a total of $68 billion in state and local taxes annually with a per capita burden of $7,816 at a rate of 12.9% of income.^[141] All real property located in the state is subject to property tax unless specifically exempted by statute. New Jersey does not assess an intangible personal property tax or an estate tax, but it does impose an inheritance tax (which is levied only on heirs who are not direct descendants).^[142]

Federal taxation disparity

New Jersey consistently ranks as having one of the highest proportional levels of disparity of any state in the United States, based upon what it receives from the federal government relative to what it gives. In 2015, WalletHub ranked New Jersey the state least dependent upon federal government aid overall and having the fourth lowest return on taxpayer investment from the federal government, at 48 cents per dollar.^[143]

New Jersey has one of the highest tax burdens in the nation.^[144] Factors for this include the large federal tax liability which is not adjusted for New Jersey's higher cost of living and Medicaid funding formulas.

Industries

Further information: Biotech and pharmaceutical companies in New Jersey

 

Cranberry harvest

New Jersey's economy is multifaceted, featuring the pharmaceutical industry, biotechnology, information technology, the financial industry, chemical development, telecommunications, food processing, electric equipment, printing, publishing, and tourism. New Jersey's agricultural outputs are nursery stock, horses, vegetables, fruits and nuts, seafood, and dairy products.^[145] New Jersey ranks second among states in blueberry production, third in cranberries and spinach, and fourth in bell peppers, peaches, and head lettuce.^[146] The state harvests the fourth-largest number of acres planted with asparagus.^[147] South Jersey has become an East Coast epicenter for logistics and warehouse construction.^[148]

New Jersey has a strong scientific economy and is home to major pharmaceutical and telecommunications firms, drawing on the state's large and well-educated labor pool. There is also a strong service economy in retail sales, education, and real estate, serving residents who work in New York City or Philadelphia. Thomas Edison invented the first electric light bulb at his home in Menlo Park, Edison in 1879. New Jersey is also a key participant in the renewable wind industry. New Jersey has more scientists and engineers per square mile than anywhere in the world,^[149] and is a global leader in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, life sciences, and technology.^[150][151]

Shipping is a key industry in New Jersey because of the state's strategic geographic location, the Port of New York and New Jersey being the busiest port on the East Coast. The Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal was the world's first container port and today is one of the world's largest.

New Jersey hosts numerous business headquarters, including twenty-four Fortune 500 companies.^[152] Paramus in Bergen County has become the top retail ZIP code (07652) in the United States, with the municipality generating over US$6 billion in annual retail sales.^[153] Several New Jersey counties, including Somerset (7), Morris (10), Hunterdon (13), Bergen (21), and Monmouth (42), have been ranked among the highest-income counties in the United States.

Tourism

 

Atlantic City is an oceanfront resort and the nexus of New Jersey's gambling industry.

New Jersey's location at the center of the Northeast megalopolis and its extensive transportation system have put over one-third of all United States residents and many Canadian residents within overnight distance by land. This accessibility to consumer revenue has enabled seaside resorts such as Atlantic City and the remainder of the Jersey Shore, as well as the state's other natural and cultural attractions, to contribute significantly to the record 111 million tourist visits to New Jersey in 2018, providing US$44.7 billion in tourism revenue, directly supporting 333,860 jobs, sustaining more than 531,000 jobs overall including peripheral impacts, and generating US$5 billion in state and local tax revenue.^[154]

Gambling

Main article: Gambling in New Jersey

In 1976, a referendum by Jersey voters approved casino gambling in Atlantic City, where the first legalized casino opened in 1978.^[155] At that time, Las Vegas was the only other casino resort in the country.^[156] Today, several casinos lie along the Atlantic City Boardwalk, the first and longest boardwalk in the world being 5.5 miles long.^[157] Atlantic City experienced a dramatic contraction in its stature as a gambling destination after 2010, including the closure of multiple casinos since 2014, spurred by competition from the advent of legalized gambling in other northeastern U.S. states.^[158][159] On February 26, 2013, Governor Chris Christie signed online gambling into law.^[160] Sports betting has become a growing source of gambling revenue in New Jersey since being legalized across the nation by the U.S. Supreme Court on May 14, 2018.^[161]

Natural resources and energy

See also: List of power stations in New Jersey

Some mining activity of zinc, iron, and manganese still takes place in the area in and around the Franklin Furnace.

Although New Jersey is home to many energy-intensive industries, its energy consumption is only 2.7% of the U.S. total, and its carbon dioxide emissions are 0.8% of the U.S. total. New Jersey's electricity comes primarily from natural gas and nuclear power.^[162] New Jersey is seventh in the nation in solar power installations,^[163] enabled by one of the country's most favorable net metering policies and renewable portfolio standard. The state has more than 140,000 solar installations.^[164]

Waste management

As future governor James Florio explained in 1979, New Jersey is sometimes called the Garbage State.^[165] This is because of the historical importance of waste management to the state economy,^[166] before a 1990 crackdown.^[167] By 1967, when the state government finally started to regulate landfills properly for the first time, the state was home to over four hundred of them (mostly in the Meadowlands).^[168] The landfills generated an "overwhelming" stench and attracted scavenger birds which interfered with air traffic.^[168] New Jersey's long-running frustration with being used as its neighbors' dump led to legal battles with both New York City and Philadelphia which went to the U.S. Supreme Court, respectively, in 1931^[169] and 1978.^[170] By the turn of the 21st century, the Meadowlands were gradually recovering,^[171] New Jersey had transformed itself from a net garbage importer to exporter, and "out-of-state trash no longer receives a warm welcome".^[172]

Education

See also: Post-secondary education in New Jersey, Primary education in the United States, Secondary education in the United States, Higher education in the United States, and Education in the United States

 

Old Queens at Rutgers University, the largest state university system in New Jersey

 

Nassau Hall at Princeton University, an Ivy League university and one of the world's most prominent research institutions,^[173] served briefly as the U.S. Capitol in the 18th century.

As of the 2020-2021 school year, there were 686 operating districts in the state. Of these, 599 were traditional public school districts and 87 were charter school districts.^[174][175] The NJDOE reported a total district enrollment of 1,362,400 students, the lowest total enrollment since the early 2000s, though these figures don't consider homeschooled students or those attending out-of-state schools.^[176]

Secretary of Education Rick Rosenberg, appointed by Governor Jon Corzine, created the Education Advancement Initiative (EAI) to increase college admission rates by 10% for New Jersey's high school students, decrease dropout rates by 15%, and increase the amount of money devoted to schools by 10%. Rosenberg retracted this plan when criticized for taking the money out of healthcare to fund this initiative.

New Jersey is known for the quality of its education. In 2015, the state spent more per each public school student than any other U.S. state except New York, Alaska, and Connecticut, amounting to $18,235 spent per pupil; over 50% of the expenditure was allocated to student instruction.^[177]

According to 2011 Newsweek statistics, students of High Technology High School in Lincroft, Monmouth County and Bergen County Academies in Hackensack, Bergen County registered average SAT scores of 2145 and 2100, respectively,^[178] representing the second- and third-highest scores, respectively, of all listed U.S. high schools.^[178]

Princeton University in Princeton, Mercer County, one of the world's most prominent research universities, is often featured at or near the top of various national and global university rankings, topping the 2023 list, alongside those of several previous consecutive years, from U.S. News & World Report.^[179] In 2013, Rutgers University, headquartered in New Brunswick, Middlesex County as the flagship institution of higher education in New Jersey, regained medical and dental schools,^[180] augmenting its profile as a national research university as well.^[181]

In 2014, New Jersey's school systems were ranked at the top of all fifty U.S. states by financial website Wallethub.com.^[182] In 2018, New Jersey's overall educational system was ranked second among all states to Massachusetts by U.S. News & World Report.^[22] In both 2019 and 2020, Education Week also ranked New Jersey public schools the best of all U.S. states.^[19][20]

Nine New Jersey high schools were ranked among the top 25 in the U.S. on the Newsweek "America's Top High Schools 2016" list, more than from any other state.^[183] A 2017 UCLA Civil Rights project found that New Jersey has the sixth-most segregated classrooms in the United States.^[184]

Culture

 

Downtown New Brunswick, an hub for academia and culture in New Jersey

 

A 1950s-style diner in Orange

General

New Jersey has continued to play a prominent role as a U.S. cultural nexus. Like every state, New Jersey has its own cuisine, religious communities, museums, and halls of fame.

New Jersey is the birthplace of many modern inventions, including FM radio, the motion picture camera, the lithium battery, the light bulb, transistors, and the electric train. Other New Jersey creations include: the drive-in movie, the cultivated blueberry, cranberry sauce, the postcard, the boardwalk, the zipper, the phonograph, saltwater taffy, the dirigible, the seedless watermelon,^[185] the first use of a submarine in warfare, and the ice cream cone.^[186]

Diners are iconic to New Jersey. The state is home to many diner manufacturers and has over 600 diners, more than any other place in the world.^[187]

New Jersey is the only state without a state song. I'm From New Jersey is incorrectly listed on many websites as being the New Jersey state song, but it was not even a contender when in 1996 the New Jersey Arts Council submitted their suggestions to the New Jersey Legislature.^[188]

New Jersey is frequently the target of jokes in American culture,^[189] especially from New York City-based television shows, such as Saturday Night Live.^[190] Academic Michael Aaron Rockland attributes this to New Yorkers' view that New Jersey is the beginning of Middle America. The New Jersey Turnpike, which runs between two major East Coast cities, New York City and Philadelphia, is also cited as a reason, as people who traverse through the state may only see its industrial zones.^[191] Reality television shows like Jersey Shore and The Real Housewives of New Jersey have reinforced stereotypical views of New Jersey culture,^[192] but Rockland cited The Sopranos and the music of Bruce Springsteen as exporting a more positive image.^[191]

Cuisine

Main article: Cuisine of New Jersey

New Jersey is known for several foods developed within the region, including Taylor Ham (also known as pork roll), sloppy joe sandwiches, tomato pies, salt water taffy, and Texas wieners. New York City cuisine has an influence on North Jersey's cuisine, and in Philadelphia cuisine influences South Jersey.

New Jersey third-largest industry is food and agriculture just behind pharmaceuticals and tourism. New Jersey is one of the top 10 producers of blueberries, cranberries, peaches, tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, apples, spinach, squash, and asparagus in the United States. Many restaurants in the state get locally grown ingredients because of this.^[193]

Campbell's Soup Company has been headquartered in Camden since 1869.^[194] Goya Foods, the largest Hispanic-owned food company in the United States, operates a corporate headquarters in Jersey City.^[195]

Several states with substantial Italian American populations take credit for the development of submarine sandwiches, including New Jersey.^[196]

Music

Main article: Music of New Jersey

New Jersey has long been an important origin for both rock and rap music. Prominent musicians from or with significant connections to New Jersey include:

• Singer Frank Sinatra was born in Hoboken. He sang with a neighborhood vocal group, the Hoboken Four, and appeared in neighborhood theater amateur shows before he became an Academy Award-winning actor.
• Bruce Springsteen, who has sung of New Jersey life on most of his albums, is from Freehold. Some of his songs that represent New Jersey life are "Born to Run", "Spirit in the Night", "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)", "Thunder Road", "Atlantic City", and "Jungleland".
• Irvington's Queen Latifah was one of the first female rappers to succeed in music, film, and television.^[197]
• Southside Johnny, eponymous leader of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes was raised in Ocean Grove. He is considered the "Grandfather of the New Jersey Sound"^[198] and is cited by Jersey-born Jon Bon Jovi as his reason for singing.^[199]
• Jon Bon Jovi, from Sayreville, reached fame in the 1980s with hard rock outfit Bon Jovi. The band has also written many songs about life in New Jersey, including "Livin' On A Prayer",^[200] and named one of their albums after the state.
• In 1964, the Isley Brothers founded the record label T-Neck Records, named after Teaneck, their home at the time.^[201]
• The Broadway musical Jersey Boys is based on the lives of the members of the Four Seasons, three of whose members were born in New Jersey (Tommy DeVito, Frankie Valli, and Nick Massi) while a fourth, Bob Gaudio, was born out of state but raised in Bergenfield.^[202]

Sports

Main article: Sports in New Jersey

 

MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, the most expensive stadium ever built, is home to the NFL's New York Giants and New York Jets.^[203]

New Jersey currently has six teams from major professional sports leagues playing in the state, although one Major League Soccer team and two National Football League teams identify themselves as being from the New York metropolitan area.

Professional sports

 

Prudential Center in Newark, home of the NHL's New Jersey Devils

The National Hockey League's New Jersey Devils, based in Newark at the Prudential Center, is the only major league sports franchise to bear the state's name. Founded in 1974 in Kansas City, Missouri, as the Kansas City Scouts, the team played in Denver, Colorado, as the Colorado Rockies from 1976 until the spring of 1982 when naval architect, businessman, and Jersey City native John J. McMullen purchased, renamed, and moved the franchise to Brendan Byrne Arena in East Rutherford's Meadowlands Sports Complex. While the team had mostly losing records in Kansas City, Denver, and its first years in New Jersey, the Devils began to improve in the late 1980s and early 1990s under Hall of Fame president and general manager Lou Lamoriello. The team made the playoffs for the Stanley Cup in 2001 and 2012, and won it in 1995, 2000, and 2003. The organization is the youngest of the nine major league teams in the New York metropolitan area. The Devils have established a following throughout the northern and central portions of the state, carving a place in a media market once dominated by the New York Rangers and Islanders.

In 2018, the Philadelphia Flyers renovated and expanded their training facility, the Virtua Center Flyers Skate Zone, in Voorhees Township in the southern portion of the state.^[204]

The New York metropolitan area's two National Football League teams, the New York Giants and the New York Jets, play at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford's Meadowlands Sports Complex.^[205] Built for about $1.6 billion,^[206] the venue is the most expensive stadium ever built.^[203] On February 2, 2014, MetLife Stadium hosted Super Bowl XLVIII.

The New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer play in Red Bull Arena, a soccer-specific stadium in Harrison across the Passaic River from downtown Newark. On July 27, 2011, Red Bull Arena hosted the 2011 MLS All-Star Game.^[207] New Jersey hosted matches during the 1994 FIFA World Cup at Giants Stadium and will be one of 16 cities to host matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, at MetLife Stadium.^[208]

From 1977 to 2012, New Jersey had a National Basketball Association team, the New Jersey Nets. WNBA's New York Liberty played in New Jersey from 2011 to 2013 while their primary home arena, Madison Square Garden was undergoing renovations.^[209] In 2016, the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA opened their new headquarters and training facility, the Philadelphia 76ers Training Complex, in Camden.^[210]

The Meadowlands Sports Complex is home to the Meadowlands Racetrack, one of three major harness racing tracks in the state. The Meadowlands Racetrack and Freehold Raceway in Freehold are two of the major harness racing tracks in North America. Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport is a popular spot for thoroughbred racing in New Jersey and the northeast. It hosted the Breeders' Cup in 2007, and its turf course was renovated in preparation.

Major league sports

Club	Sport	League	Stadium (capacity)	Established	Titles
New Jersey Devils	Ice hockey	NHL	Prudential Center (16,514)	1974	3
Metropolitan Riveters		NWHL	American Dream Meadowlands Ice Rink (1,000)	2015	1
NJ/NY Gotham FC	Soccer	NWSL	Red Bull Arena (25,000)	2007	1
New York Giants	Football	NFL	MetLife Stadium (82,500)	1925	8
New York Jets				1959	1
New York Red Bulls	Soccer	MLS	Red Bull Arena (25,000)	1994	0

Minor league sports

Club	Sport	League	Stadium (capacity)	Established	Titles
Somerset Patriots	Baseball	MiLB (Eastern League)	TD Bank Ballpark (6,100)	1997	7
Jersey Shore BlueClaws		MiLB (South Atlantic League)	ShoreTown Ballpark (6,588 )	1987	3
Trenton Thunder		MLB Draft League	Trenton Thunder Ballpark (6,440)	1980	5
New Jersey Jackals		Frontier League	Hinchliffe Stadium (10,000)	1998	6
Sussex County Miners			Skylands Stadium (4,200)	2015	1
New York Red Bulls II	Soccer	USL Championship	MSU Soccer Park at Pittser Field (5,000)	2015	1

College sports

See also: List of college athletic programs in New Jersey

Major schools

New Jerseyans' collegiate allegiances are predominantly split among the three major NCAA Division I programs in the state: the Rutgers University (New Jersey's flagship state university) Scarlet Knights, members of the Big Ten Conference; the Seton Hall University (the state's largest Catholic university) Pirates, members of the Big East Conference; and the Princeton University (the state's Ivy League university) Tigers.

The intense rivalry between Rutgers and Princeton athletics began with the first intercollegiate football game in 1869. The schools have not met on the football field since 1980, but they continue to play each other annually in all other sports offered by the two universities.

Rutgers, which fields 24 teams in various sports, is nationally known for its football program, with a 6–4 all-time bowl record; and its women's basketball programs, which appeared in a National Final in 2007. In 2008 and 2009, Rutgers expanded their football home, Rutgers Stadium, now called SHI Stadium, on the Busch Campus. The basketball teams play at the Rutgers Athletic Center on Livingston Campus. Both venues and campuses are in Piscataway, across the Raritan River from New Brunswick. The university also fields men's basketball and baseball programs. Rutgers' fans live mostly in the western parts of the state and Middlesex County; its alumni base is the largest in the state.

Rutgers' satellite campuses in Camden and Newark each field their own athletic programs—the Rutgers–Camden Scarlet Raptors and the Rutgers–Newark Scarlet Raiders—which both compete in NCAA Division III.

Seton Hall fields no football team, but its men's basketball team is one of the Big East's storied programs. No New Jersey team has won more games in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, and it is the state's only men's basketball program to reach a modern National Final. The Pirates play their home games at Prudential Center in downtown Newark, about 4 miles (6 km) from the university's South Orange campus. Their fans hail largely from the predominantly Roman Catholic areas of the northern part of the state and the Jersey Shore. The annual inter-conference rivalry game between Seton Hall and Rutgers, whose venue alternates between Newark and Piscataway, the Garden State Hardwood Classic, is planned through 2026.^[211]

Other schools

The state's other Division I schools include the Monmouth University Hawks (West Long Branch), the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) Highlanders (Newark), the Rider University Broncs (Lawrenceville), and the Saint Peter's University Peacocks and Peahens (Jersey City).

Fairleigh Dickinson University competes in both Division I and Division III. It has two campuses, each with its own sports teams. The teams at the Metropolitan Campus are known as the FDU Knights, and compete in the Northeast Conference and NCAA Division I. The college at Florham (FDU-Florham) teams are known as the FDU-Florham Devils and compete in the Middle Atlantic Conferences' Freedom Conference and NCAA Division III.

Among the various Division III schools in the state, the Stevens Institute of Technology Ducks have fielded the longest continuously running collegiate men's lacrosse program in the country. 2009 marked the 125th season.

High school

New Jersey high schools are divided into divisions under the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).^[212]'^[213]

Stadiums and arenas

Venue	City	Capacity	Type	Tenants	Opened
SHI Stadium	Piscataway	52,454	Stadium	Rutgers Scarlet Knights	1994
Jadwin Gymnasium	Princeton	6,854	Arena	Princeton Tigers	1969
Rutgers Athletic Center	Piscataway	8,000	Arena	Rutgers Scarlet Knights	1977
MetLife Stadium	East Rutherford	82,500	Stadium	New York Giants, New York Jets	2010
Princeton Stadium	Princeton	27,800	Stadium	Princeton Tigers	1998
Prudential Center	Newark	18,711	Arena	New Jersey Devils, Seton Hall Pirates	2007
Red Bull Arena	Harrison	25,189	Stadium	New York Red Bulls	2010

Other notable sports venues

• Old Bridge Township Raceway Park
• Trenton Speedway
• Atlantic City Race Course
• Freehold Raceway
• Garden State Park Racetrack
• Monmouth Park Racetrack
• Meadowlands Sports Complex
  • Meadowlands Arena
  • Meadowlands Racetrack
  • Meadowlands Grand Prix

Media

 

New Jersey's telephone area codes

Newspapers

• Asbury Park Press
• Burlington County Times
• Courier News
• Courier-Post
• Daily Record (Morristown)^[214]
• The Express-Times
• Gloucester County Times
• Herald News
• Home News Tribune
• Hunterdon County Democrat
• Jersey Journal
• New Jersey Herald^[215]
• The News of Cumberland County
• The Press of Atlantic City
• The Record^[216]
• South Jersey Times
• The Star-Ledger
• The Times (Trenton)
• Today's Sunbeam
• Trentonian (Mercer)

Radio stations

Main article: List of radio stations in New Jersey

Television stations

New Jersey has several PBS affiliates: WNET (13) in Newark, WNJN (50) in Montclair, WNJB (58) in New Brunswick, WNJS (23) in Cmden and WNJT (52) in Trenton.

There are no standard commercial network affiliates in the state. WMGM-TV (Wildwood) lost its affiliation with NBC in 2014. Viewers in northern New Jersey receive New York City market stations over cable or over the air; southern New Jersey viewers receive Philadelphia market stations over cable or over the air.

WMGM now affiliates with the True Crime Network. WJLP (Middletown) affiliates with the retro network MeTV. There are Telemundo affiliates in Fort Lee, Linden and Mount Laurel, and Univision affiliates in Paterson and Vineland.

Television and film production

Main article: Television and film of New Jersey

Motion picture technology was developed by Thomas Edison, with much of his early work done at his West Orange laboratory. Edison's Black Maria was the first motion picture studio. America's first motion picture industry started in 1907 in Fort Lee and the first studio was constructed there in 1909.^[217] DuMont Laboratories in Passaic developed early sets and made the first broadcast to the private home.

A number of television shows and films have been filmed in New Jersey. Since 1978, the state has maintained a Motion Picture and Television Commission to encourage filming in-state.^[218] New Jersey has long offered tax credits to television producers. Governor Chris Christie suspended the credits in 2010, but the New Jersey State Legislature in 2011 approved the restoration and expansion of the tax credit program. Under bills passed by both the state Senate and Assembly, the program offers 20 percent tax credits (22% in urban enterprise zones) to television and film productions that shoot in the state and meet set standards for hiring and local spending.^[219] When Governor Phil Murphy took office, he instated the New Jersey Film & Digital Media Tax Credit Program in 2018 and expanded it in 2020. The benefits include a 30% tax credit on film projects and a 40% subsidy for studio developments.^[220]

Transportation

Main article: Transportation in New Jersey

Roadways

See also: List of New Jersey State Highways

 

Map of New Jersey's major transportation networks and cities

 

George Washington Bridge, connecting Fort Lee (foreground) in Bergen County across the Hudson River to New York City, is the world's busiest motor vehicle bridge.^[221][222]

The New Jersey Turnpike is one of the most prominent and heavily trafficked roadways in the United States. This toll road, which overlaps with Interstate 95 for much of its length, carries traffic between Delaware and New York, and up and down the East Coast in general. Commonly referred to as simply "the Turnpike", it is known for its numerous rest areas named after prominent New Jerseyans.

The Garden State Parkway, or simply "the Parkway", carries relatively more in-state traffic than interstate traffic and runs from New Jersey's northern border to its southernmost tip at Cape May. It is the main route that connects the New York metropolitan area to the Jersey Shore. With a total of fifteen travel and six shoulder lanes, the Driscoll Bridge on the Parkway, spanning the Raritan River in Middlesex County, is the widest motor vehicle bridge in the world by number of lanes as well as one of the busiest.^[223]

New Jersey is connected to New York City via various key bridges and tunnels. The double-decked George Washington Bridge carries the heaviest load of motor vehicle traffic of any bridge in the world, at 102 million vehicles per year, across fourteen lanes.^[221][222] It connects Fort Lee, New Jersey to the Washington Heights neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, and carries Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 1/9 across the Hudson River. The Lincoln Tunnel connects to Midtown Manhattan carrying New Jersey Route 495, and the Holland Tunnel connects to Lower Manhattan carrying Interstate 78. New Jersey is also connected to Staten Island by three bridges—from north to south, the Bayonne Bridge, the Goethals Bridge, and the Outerbridge Crossing.

New Jersey has interstate compacts with all three of its neighboring states. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Delaware River Port Authority (with Pennsylvania), the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission (with Pennsylvania), and the Delaware River and Bay Authority (with Delaware) operate most of the major transportation routes in and out of the state. Bridge tolls are collected only from traffic exiting the state, with the exception of the private Dingman's Ferry Bridge over the Delaware River, which charges a toll in both directions.

It is unlawful for a customer to serve themselves gasoline in New Jersey. It became the last remaining U.S. state where all gas stations are required to sell full-service gasoline to customers at all times in 2016, after Oregon's introduction of restricted self-service gasoline availability took effect.^[224]

Airports

 

A NJ Transit train on the Northeast Corridor in Rahway

Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) is one of the busiest airports in the United States. Operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, it is one of the three main airports serving the New York metropolitan area, along with John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport, which are both in Queens, New York. United Airlines is the airport's largest tenant, operating an entire terminal (Terminal C) there, which it uses as one of its primary hubs. FedEx Express operates a large cargo terminal at EWR as well. The adjacent Newark Airport railroad station provides access to Amtrak and NJ Transit trains along the Northeast Corridor Line.

Two smaller commercial airports, Atlantic City International Airport and rapidly growing Trenton-Mercer Airport, also operate in other parts of the state. Teterboro Airport in Bergen County and Millville Municipal Airport in Cumberland County are general aviation airports popular with private and corporate aircraft due to their proximity to New York City and the Jersey Shore, respectively.

Rail and bus

Main article: New Jersey Transit

Further information: New Jersey Transit Bus Operations, New Jersey Transit Rail Operations, Port Authority Trans-Hudson, PATCO Speedline, and List of New Jersey railroads

 

Two Hudson–Bergen Light Rail trains in Jersey City

 

Cape May–Lewes Ferry connects New Jersey and Delaware across Delaware Bay.

NJ Transit operates extensive rail and bus service throughout the state. A state-run corporation, it began with the consolidation of several private bus companies in North Jersey in 1979. In the early 1980s, it acquired Conrail's commuter train operations that connected suburban towns to New York City. Today, NJ Transit has eleven commuter rail lines that run through different parts of the state. Most of the lines end at either Penn Station in New York City or Hoboken Terminal in Hoboken, although some lines serve service to both terminal stations. One line provides service between Atlantic City and Philadelphia.

NJ Transit also operates three light rail systems in the state. The Hudson-Bergen Light Rail connects Bayonne to North Bergen, through Hoboken and Jersey City. The Newark Light Rail is partially underground, and connects downtown Newark with other parts of the city and its suburbs, Belleville and Bloomfield. The River Line connects Trenton, and Camden.

The PATH is a rapid transit system consisting of four lines operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. It links Hoboken, Jersey City, Harrison, and Newark with New York City. The PATCO Speedline is a rapid transit system that links Camden County to Philadelphia. Both the PATCO and the PATH are two of only five rapid transit systems in the United States to operate 24 hours a day.

Amtrak operates numerous long-distance passenger trains in New Jersey, both to and from neighboring states and around the country. In addition to the Newark Airport connection, other major Amtrak railway stations include Trenton Transit Center, Metropark, and the historic Newark Penn Station.

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, or SEPTA, has two commuter rail lines that operate into New Jersey. The Trenton Line terminates at the Trenton Transit Center, and the West Trenton Line terminates at the West Trenton Rail Station in Ewing.

AirTrain Newark is a monorail connecting the Amtrak/NJ Transit station on the Northeast Corridor to the airport's terminals and parking lots.

Some private bus carriers still remain in New Jersey. Most of these carriers operate with state funding to offset losses and state owned buses are provided to these carriers, of which Coach USA companies make up the bulk. Other carriers include private charter and tour bus operators that take gamblers from other parts of New Jersey, New York City, Philadelphia, and Delaware to the casino resorts of Atlantic City.

Ferries

New York Waterway has ferry terminals at Belford, Jersey City, Hoboken, Weehawken, and Edgewater, with service to different parts of Manhattan. Liberty Water Taxi in Jersey City has ferries from Paulus Hook and Liberty State Park to Battery Park City in Manhattan. Statue Cruises offers service from Liberty State Park to the Statue of Liberty National Monument, including Ellis Island. SeaStreak offers services from the Raritan Bayshore to Manhattan, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket.

The Delaware River and Bay Authority operates the Cape May–Lewes Ferry on Delaware Bay, carrying both passengers and vehicles between New Jersey and Delaware as part of US 9. The agency also operates the Forts Ferry Crossing for passengers across the Delaware River. The Delaware River Port Authority operates the RiverLink Ferry between the Camden waterfront and Penn's Landing in Philadelphia.

Government and politics

Main article: Government of New Jersey

Executive

Further information: Governor of New Jersey and Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey

 

Phil Murphy (D)
56th Governor
since January 16, 2018

 

Sheila Oliver (D)
2nd Lt. Governor
since January 16, 2018

The position of Governor of New Jersey is one of the most powerful in the nation. The governor is elected on a ticket with their lieutenant governor as the only statewide elected executive officials in the state; the governor appoints the entire executive cabinet and judges of the Supreme and Superior Courts. Phil Murphy (D) is the governor. The governor's mansion is Drumthwacket, located in Princeton.

Before 2010, New Jersey was one of the few states without a lieutenant governor. Republican Kim Guadagno was elected the first lieutenant governor of New Jersey on the Republican ticket with Governor Chris Christie and took office on January 19, 2010. The position was created as the result of a Constitutional amendment to the New Jersey State Constitution passed by the voters in 2005. Previously a gubernatorial vacancy would be filled by the president of the New Jersey State Senate as acting governor, thus directing half of the legislative and all of the executive process.

Legislative

Main articles: New Jersey Legislature and 2006 New Jersey state government shutdown

 

New Jersey State House in Trenton

The current version of the New Jersey State Constitution was adopted in 1947. It provides for a bicameral New Jersey Legislature, consisting of an upper house Senate of 40 members and a lower house General Assembly of 80 members. Each of the 40 legislative districts elects one state senator and two Assembly members. Assembly members are elected for a two-year term in all odd-numbered years; state senators are elected in years ending in 1, 3, and 7 and thus serve either four- or two-year terms.

New Jersey is one of only five states that elects its state officials in odd-numbered years (the others are Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Virginia). New Jersey holds elections for these offices every four years, in the year following each federal Presidential election year.

Judicial

Main article: Judiciary of New Jersey

The New Jersey Supreme Court^[225] consists of a chief justice and six associate justices. All are appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of a majority of the membership of the state senate. Justices serve an initial seven-year term, after which they can be reappointed to serve until age 70.

Most of the day-to-day work in the New Jersey courts is carried out in the Municipal Court, where simple traffic tickets, minor criminal offenses, and small civil matters are heard.

More serious criminal and civil cases are handled by the Superior Court for each county. All Superior Court judges are appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of a majority of the membership of the state senate. Each judge serves an initial seven-year term and can be reappointed to serve until age 70. New Jersey's judiciary is unusual in that it still has separate courts of law and equity, like its neighbor Delaware but unlike most other U.S. states. The New Jersey Superior Court is divided into Law and Chancery Divisions at the trial level; the Law Division hears both criminal cases and civil lawsuits where the plaintiff's primary remedy is damages, while the Chancery Division hears family cases, civil suits where the plaintiff's primary remedy is equitable relief, and probate trials.

The Superior Court also has an Appellate Division, which functions as the state's intermediate appellate court. Superior Court judges are assigned to the Appellate Division by the Chief Justice.

There is also a Tax Court, which is a court of limited jurisdiction. Tax Court judges hear appeals of tax decisions made by County Boards of Taxation. They also hear appeals on decisions made by the director of the Division of Taxation on such matters as state income, sales and business taxes, and homestead rebates. Appeals from Tax Court decisions are heard in the Appellate Division of Superior Court. Tax Court judges are appointed by the governor for initial terms of seven years, and upon reappointment are granted tenure until they reach the mandatory retirement age of 70. There are 12 Tax Court judgeships.

Counties

Further information: List of New Jersey counties

New Jersey is divided into 21 counties; 13 date from the colonial era. New Jersey was completely divided into counties by 1692; the present counties were created by dividing the existing ones; most recently Union County in 1857.^[226] New Jersey was formerly the only state in the nation where elected county officials were called "freeholders". Elected county officials are now called county commissioners as of bill S855 signed by Governor Murphy on August 8, 2020. The county commissioners govern each county as part of its own Board of Chosen County Commissioners^[227] The number of county commissioners in each county is determined by referendum, and must consist of three, five, seven or nine members.

Depending on the county, the executive and legislative functions may be performed by the Board of County Commissioners or split into separate branches of government. In 16 counties, the County Commissioners perform both legislative and executive functions on a commission basis, with each commissioner assigned responsibility for a department or group of departments. In the other five counties (Atlantic, Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Mercer), there is a directly elected County Executive who performs the executive functions while the commissioners retain a legislative and oversight role. In counties without an Executive, a County Administrator (or County Manager) may be hired to perform day-to-day administration of county functions.^[228]

Municipalities

Further information: List of municipalities in New Jersey

New Jersey currently has 564 municipalities; the most recent dissolution of a municipality was when Pine Valley merged into Pine Hill on January 1, 2022. Unlike other states, all New Jersey land is part of a municipality. In 2008, Governor Jon Corzine proposed cutting state aid to all towns under 10,000 people, to encourage mergers to reduce administrative costs.^[229] In May 2009, the Local Unit Alignment Reorganization and Consolidation Commission began a study of about 40 small communities in South Jersey to decide which ones might be good candidates for consolidation.^[230]

Forms of municipal government

Starting in the 20th century, largely driven by reform-minded goals, a series of six modern forms of government was implemented. This began with the Walsh Act, enacted in 1911 by the New Jersey Legislature, which provided for a three- or five-member commission elected on a non-partisan basis. This was followed by the 1923 Municipal Manager Law, which offered a non-partisan council, provided for a weak mayor elected by and from the members of the council, and introduced a Council-manager government structure with an appointed manager responsible for the day-to-day administration of municipal affairs.

The Faulkner Act, originally enacted in 1950 and substantially amended in 1981, offers four basic plans: Mayor-Council, Council-Manager, Small Municipality, and Mayor-Council-Administrator. The act provides many choices for communities with a preference for a strong executive and professional management of municipal affairs and offers great flexibility in allowing municipalities to select the characteristics of its government: the number of seats on the council; seats selected at-large, by wards, or through a combination of both; staggered or concurrent terms of office; and a mayor chosen by the council or elected directly by voters. Most large municipalities and a majority of New Jersey's residents are governed by municipalities with Faulkner Act charters. Municipalities can also formulate their own unique form of government and operate under a Special Charter with the approval of the New Jersey Legislature.^[231]

While municipalities retain their names derived from types of government, they may have changed to one of the modern forms of government, or further in the past to one of the other traditional forms, leading to municipalities with formal names quite baffling to the general public. For example, though there are four municipalities that are officially of the village type, Loch Arbour is the only one remaining with the village form of government. The other three villages—Ridgefield Park (now with a Walsh Act form), Ridgewood (now with a Faulkner Act Council-Manager charter) and South Orange (now operates under a Special Charter)—have all migrated to other non-village forms.^[232]

Politics

Main article: Politics of New Jersey

Social attitudes and issues

See also: LGBT rights in New Jersey

Socially, New Jersey is considered one of the more liberal states in the nation. Polls indicate that 60% of the population are self-described as pro-choice, although a majority are opposed to late trimester and intact dilation and extraction and public funding of abortion.^[233][234] In a 2009 Quinnipiac University Polling Institute poll, a plurality supported same-sex marriage 49% to 43% opposed.^[235] On October 18, 2013, the New Jersey Supreme Court rendered a provisional, unanimous (7–0) order authorizing same-sex marriage in the state, pending a legal appeal by Governor Chris Christie,^[236] who then withdrew this appeal hours after the inaugural same-sex marriages took place on October 21, 2013.^[237]

New Jersey also has some of the most stringent gun control laws in the U.S. These include bans on "assault firearms", hollow-nose bullets and slingshots. No gun offense in New Jersey is graded less than a felony. BB guns and black-powder guns are all treated as modern firearms. New Jersey does not recognize out-of-state gun licenses and aggressively enforces its own gun laws.^[238]

Elections

Main article: Elections in New Jersey

See also: Political party strength in New Jersey

 

Robert Menendez (D)
Senior U.S. Senator

 

Cory Booker (D)
Junior U.S. Senator

New Jersey is a Democratic stronghold. New Jersey Democrats have majority control of both houses of the New Jersey Legislature (Senate, 24–16, and Assembly, 46-34), 9–3 split of the state's twelve seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, and both U.S. Senate seats. There have been recent Republican governors, however: Christine Todd Whitman won election in 1993 and 1997 and Chris Christie in 2009 and 2013.

In federal elections, the state leans heavily towards the Democratic Party, having last voted for a Republican for president in 1988. New Jersey was a crucial swing state in the elections of 1960, 1968, and 1992. The last elected Republican to hold a Senate seat from New Jersey was Clifford P. Case in 1979. Newark Mayor Cory Booker was elected in October 2013 to join Robert Menendez to make New Jersey the first state with concurrently serving black and Latino U.S. senators.^[239]

The state's Democratic strongholds include Camden County, Essex County (the state's most Democratic county—it includes Newark, the state's largest city), Hudson County (the second-strongest Democratic county, including Jersey City, the state's second-largest city); Mercer County (especially around Trenton and Princeton), Middlesex County, and Union County (including Elizabeth, the state's fourth-largest city).^[240] Other suburban counties, especially Bergen County and Burlington County, had the majority of votes go to the Democratic Party.

The northwestern and southeastern counties of the state are reliably Republican: Republicans have support along the coast in Ocean County and Cape May County, as well as in the mountainous northwestern part of the state, especially Hunterdon County, Sussex County, and Warren County.

To be eligible to vote in a U.S. election, all New Jerseyans are required to start their residency in the state 30 days prior to an election and register 21 days prior to election day.^[241]

Capital punishment

Main article: Capital punishment in New Jersey

On December 17, 2007, Governor Jon Corzine signed into law a bill that would eliminate the death penalty in New Jersey. New Jersey was the first state to pass such legislation since Iowa and West Virginia eliminated executions in 1965.^[242] Corzine also signed a bill that would downgrade the Death Row prisoners' sentences from "Death" to "Life in Prison with No Parole".^[243]

Points of interest

Museums

See also: List of museums in New Jersey

Museum	Location	Year opened	Type
New Jersey State Museum	Trenton	1895	General education
Franklin Mineral Museum	Franklin, Sussex County	1964	Mineral museum
Liberty Science Center	Liberty State Park, Jersey City	1993	Science museum
Maywood Station Museum	Maywood	2004	Railroad museum
Montclair Art Museum	Montclair	1914	Art museum
Newark Museum	Newark	1909	Natural science and art museum
Princeton University Art Museum	Princeton	1884	Art museum
Thomas Edison Center	Menlo Park	1938	Thomas Edison museum

National Park Service areas

See also: List of National Historic Landmarks in New Jersey and List of New Jersey state parks

• Appalachian National Scenic Trail
• Crossroads of the American Revolution
• Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
• Gateway National Recreation Area
• Great Egg Harbor National Scenic and Recreational River
• Morristown National Historical Park
• New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve
• Patterson Great Falls National Historical Park
• Statue of Liberty National Monument (with Ellis Island)
• Thomas Edison National Historical Park
• Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route^[244]

Entertainment and concert venues

Visitors and residents take advantage of and contribute to performances at the numerous music, theater, and dance companies and venues located throughout the state, including:

Venue	Type	Location	Year opened
Prudential Center	Arena	Newark	2007
New Brunswick Performing Arts Center	Regional Theater	New Brunswick	2019
PNC Bank Arts Center	Amphitheater	Holmdel	1977
New Jersey Performing Arts Center	Concert Hall	Newark	1997
Paper Mill Playhouse	Regional Theater	Millburn	1968
State Theater	Regional Theater	New Brunswick	1921
Boardwalk Hall	Arena	Atlantic City	1926
Susquehanna Bank Center	Amphitheater	Camden	1995
CURE Insurance Arena	Arena	Trenton	1999

Boardwalks

 

The Atlantic City boardwalk, as seen from Caesars Atlantic City, opened in 1870, as the nation's first boardwalk. At 5+1⁄2 miles (9 km) long, it is also the world's longest boardwalk.

New Jersey is the location of most of the boardwalks in the U.S., with nearly every town and city along the Jersey Shore having a boardwalk with various attractions, entertainment, shopping, dining, arcades, water parks, amusement parks.

Venue	Amusement Park	Location	Year opened
Asbury Park Boardwalk	Asbury Splash Park	Asbury Park	1871
Atlantic City Boardwalk	Steel Pier	Atlantic City	1870
Jenkinson's Boardwalk	None	Point Pleasant Beach	1928
Ocean City Boardwalk	Gillian's Wonderland Pier	Ocean City	1929
Pier Village	None	Long Branch	2005
Seaside Heights Boardwalk	Casino Pier	Seaside Heights	1932
Wildwood Boardwalk	Morey's Piers	The Wildwoods	1969

Theme parks

 

Skyline of Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, Ocean County, the world's largest theme park as of 2013^[245] To the far left is Kingda Ka, the world's tallest roller coaster.^[246]

Main park	Other parks	Location	Year opened
Clementon Amusement Park	Splash World	Clementon	1907
Diggerland		West Berlin	2014
DreamWorks Waterpark		East Rutherford	2020^[247]
Fantasy Island	Thundering Surf Water Park	Beach Haven	1985
The Funplex (Mount Laurel)	The Funplex (East Hanover)	Mount Laurel
iPlay America		Freehold	2011
Keansburg Amusement Park	Runaway Rapids	Keansburg	1904
Land of Make Believe	Pirate's Cove	Hope	1954
Mountain Creek Waterpark		Vernon	1998
Nickelodeon Universe		East Rutherford	2019^[248]
Six Flags Great Adventure	Six Flags Hurricane Harbor	Jackson	1974
Storybook Land		Egg Harbor Township	1955
Wild West City		Stanhope	1957

See also

•  New Jersey portal
•  United States portal

• Index of New Jersey-related articles
• List of people from New Jersey
• Outline of New Jersey
• COVID-19 pandemic in New Jersey

Notes

1. Persons of Hispanic or Latino origin are not distinguished between total and partial ancestry.

References

1. The Garden State and Other New Jersey State Nicknames September 2, 2019, at the Wayback Machine, Robert Lupp, New Jersey Reference Services, New Jersey State Library, October 12, 1994.
2. . State & County QuickFacts. U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on October 31, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
3. . United States Geological Survey. 2001. Archived from the original on October 15, 2011. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
4. Elevation adjusted to North American Vertical Datum of 1988.
5. "Quickfacts New Jersey". United States Census Bureau. from the original on March 12, 2021. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
6. "2020 Census Apportionment Results". census.gov. United States Census Bureau. from the original on April 26, 2021. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
7. (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 21, 2011. Retrieved July 25, 2010.
8. "New Jersey—Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary". Merriam-Webster. from the original on May 31, 2013. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
9. "Definition of New Jerseyite". Dictionary.reference.com. from the original on June 16, 2013. Retrieved July 25, 2010.
10. . USGenNet. Archived from the original on April 30, 2010. Retrieved July 25, 2010.
11. . MSN Encarta. Archived from the original on October 29, 2009. Retrieved July 25, 2010 – via Webcitation.org.
12. "Encyclopedia—New Jersey History". 2000–2011 Pearson Education, publishing as Infoplease. from the original on September 30, 2011. Retrieved September 18, 2011.
13. Mansnerus, Laura (September 26, 1999). "New Jersey's Cities: Sad Urban Presence Encircled by Wealth". The New York Times. from the original on September 17, 2017. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
14. Sheingold, Dave (March 24, 2016). . northjersey.com. Archived from the original on March 24, 2016. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
15. Lynn, Kathleen (October 25, 2015). . northjersey.com. Archived from the original on October 26, 2015. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
16. Maag, Chrispher (April 15, 2016). . northjersey.com. Archived from the original on April 18, 2016. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
17. "Household Income: 2017" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. September 2018. (PDF) from the original on November 19, 2018. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
18. Burrows, Dan. "Millionaires in America 2020: All 50 States Ranked How many millionaires are in America and where do they live? The states with the highest number of millionaire households just might surprise you." January 28, 2021, at the Wayback Machine, Kiplinger, May 28, 2020. Accessed November 23, 2020. "Millionaire households: 323,443 Total households: 3,312,916 Concentration of millionaires: 9.76%... For the second year in a row, New Jersey is the top spot for millionaires per capita in the U.S. Like Connecticut, New Jersey has a high concentration of millionaires largely thanks to its proximity to New York City."
19. Heyboer, Kelly (September 2, 2020). "N.J. has the best public schools in the nation – again, ranking says". New Jersey On-Line LLC. from the original on September 3, 2020. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
20. Heyboer, Kelly (September 4, 2019). . New Jersey On-Line LLC. Archived from the original on September 4, 2019. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
21. Napoliello, Alex (August 4, 2014). "New Jersey has the best school systems in U.S., report says". New Jersey On-Line LLC. from the original on April 24, 2019. Retrieved September 5, 2019.
22. Hubbard, Kaia (February 27, 2018). "The 10 Best U.S. States for Education—2. New Jersey". U.S. News & World Report. from the original on May 3, 2018. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
23. [1] September 11, 2017, at the Wayback Machine by Great Swamp Watershed Association. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
24. "The Story of the Discovery of Scheyichbi". Stories of New Jersey. GET NJ. from the original on January 4, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
25. "New Jersey Colony Reading Comprehension". MrNussbaum.com. from the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
26. Streissguth pp. 30–36
27. "About Crossroads of the American Revolution". Crossroads of the American Revolution. from the original on November 4, 2016. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
28. "The Military Capital of the American Revolution". New Jersey Tourism. February 2014. from the original on November 5, 2016. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
29. Battle of Monmouth: The Longest Battle of the American Revolution, Library of Congress. Accessed July 15, 2022. "Visitors to the Monmouth Battlefield State Park in Freehold, New Jersey, can witness a battle reenactment that recalls the hot summer day of June 28, 1778, when American and British forces clashed under the direction of Continental Army General George Washington and British General Sir Henry Clinton."
30. United States Constitution, New Jersey Department of State. Accessed July 15, 2022. "On December 18, 1787, New Jersey become the third state to ratify the United States Constitution. The minutes of the ratification convention document the quick work of the delegates. The delegates required only six days to establish rules, review the document, and complete their deliberations.... On November 20, 1789, New Jersey became the first state to ratify the Bill of Rights."
31. Klinghoffer and Elkis ("The Petticoat Electors: Women's Suffrage in New Jersey, 1776–1807", Journal of the Early Republic 12, no. 2 (1992): 159–193.)
32. James Gigantino, The Ragged Road to Abolition: Slavery and Freedom in New Jersey, 1775–1865
33. Horowitz, Ben (June 23, 2015). "10 facts about New Jersey and the Civil War". nj. from the original on April 15, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
34. . Usgennet.org. Archived from the original on May 14, 2011. Retrieved July 25, 2010.
35. Gerdes, Louise I. The 1930s, Greenhaven Press, Inc., 2000.
36. "History". New York Shipbuilding Corporation. March 23, 2016. from the original on April 6, 2019. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
37. Peck, Merton J. & Scherer, Frederic M. The Weapons Acquisition Process: An Economic Analysis (1962) Harvard Business School p.111
38. . U.S. Support Activity—Fort Dix. ¶1. Archived from the original on December 27, 2013. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
39. . Freepages.military.rootsweb.com. Archived from the original on July 4, 2008. Retrieved July 25, 2010.
40. . CV6.org. Archived from the original on September 20, 2010. Retrieved July 25, 2010.
41. [2] January 15, 2022, at the Wayback Machine Accessed September 23, 2021.
42. "Check out the abandoned New Jersey military base where a nuclear missile exploded in 1960". Business Insider. March 23, 2017. from the original on September 3, 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
43. "Mission & History". Education Law Center. December 29, 2009. History, ¶3. from the original on January 4, 2014. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
44. (PDF). Mobility Matters. New Jersey Regional Planning Association. Fall 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2011. Retrieved April 9, 2011.
45. Hudson–Bergen Light Rail System and Economic Development on the Waterfront (PDF) (Report). Booz Allen Hamilton. (PDF) from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
46. Liberty Harbor North February 6, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 3, 2007.
47. Robins, Martin E.; Wells, Jan S. (April 2008). (PDF). Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers University. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 20, 2011. Retrieved April 9, 2011.
48. PEPANNRES—Annual Estimates of the Resident Population: April 1, 2010, to July 1, 2014—2014 Population Estimates for New Jersey municipalities Archived February 12, 2020, at archive.today, United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
49. Stirling, Stephen. "What are N.J.'s fastest growing and shrinking towns?" January 13, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, May 21, 2015. Retrieved June 1, 2015. "Jersey City has gained nearly 15,000 residents since 2010, making it the fastest growing municipality in the state and a symbol of the Garden State's reinvigorated urban core."
50. DP-1—Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 for Jersey City city, Hudson County, New Jersey Archived February 12, 2020, at archive.today, United States Census Bureau. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
51. Table DP-1. Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2010 for Jersey City January 12, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
52. "New Jersey State Bird". The Official Web Site for The State of New Jersey. The State of New Jersey. from the original on March 25, 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
53. "The New Jersey State Fish". The Official Web Site for The State of New Jersey. The State of New Jersey. from the original on August 9, 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
54. . The Official Web Site for The State of New Jersey. The State of New Jersey. Archived from the original on November 11, 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
55. . The Official Web Site for The State of New Jersey. The State of New Jersey. Archived from the original on March 25, 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
56. "New Jersey State Animal". The Official Web Site for The State of New Jersey. The State of New Jersey. from the original on March 10, 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
57. "The New Jersey State Trees". The Official Web Site for The State of New Jersey. The State of New Jersey. from the original on March 10, 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
58. . The Official Web Site for The State of New Jersey. The State of New Jersey. Archived from the original on March 25, 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
59. "New Jersey's State Fruit". The Official Web Site for The State of New Jersey. The State of New Jersey. from the original on March 10, 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
60. Levins, Hoag. . Archived from the original on June 9, 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
61. "New Jersey State Soil—Downer". Natural Resources Conservation Service. United States Department of Agriculture. from the original on August 19, 2014. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
62. Kiniry, Laura. "Moon Handbooks New Jersey", Avalon Travel Publishing, 2006. pg. 34 ISBN 1-56691-949-5. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
63. Mitchell L. Moss & Carson Qing (March 2012). "The Dynamic Population of Manhattan" (PDF). Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management, Wagner School of Public Service, New York University. (PDF) from the original on March 14, 2016. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
64. "Trends in New Jersey Forests" (PDF). Department of Environmental Protection, N.J. Forestry Services and United States Department of Agriculture. (PDF) from the original on May 11, 2017. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
65. . HowStuffWorks, Inc. Archived from the original on April 29, 2011. Retrieved March 14, 2011.
66. Bruce A. Scruton (August 30, 2021). "New Jersey tops list of states warming up the fastest". New Jersey Herald. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
67. Hardiness Zone Lookup at March 24, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Arborday.org. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
68. National Climatic Data Center. "State Climate Extremes Committee (SCEC)". from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
69. "Hurricane Floyd Impacts". National Weather Service. from the original on June 3, 2010. Retrieved June 5, 2011.
70. "Biggest Cities in New Jersey | 2020 Population Data". from the original on February 28, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
71. . Census.gov. United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
72. "Metropolitan Areas and Components, 1999, with FIPS codes". from the original on May 10, 2009. Retrieved July 25, 2010.
73. . United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on December 12, 2001. Retrieved November 16, 2006.
74. U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: New Jersey
75. "New Jersey". New Jersey State Society. from the original on October 19, 2013. Retrieved October 19, 2013.
76. Nature Jobs. "Delaware / Hudson Valley Hot Spot for biotechnology". Nature. from the original on December 4, 2010. Retrieved July 25, 2010.
77. "New Jersey leads world in number of scientists, engineers per square mile". PolitiFact. September 6, 2012. from the original on January 6, 2014. Retrieved January 5, 2014.
78. "Race and Ethnicity in the United States: 2010 Census and 2020 Census". census.gov. United States Census Bureau. August 12, 2021. from the original on August 15, 2021. Retrieved September 26, 2021.
79. . December 24, 2014. Archived from the original on December 24, 2014. Retrieved March 12, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
80. Population of New Jersey: Census 2010 and 2000 Interactive Map, Demographics, Statistics, Quick Facts^{[permanent dead link]}
81. Promotions, Center for New Media and; Bureau, Public Information Staff, US Census. "US Census Bureau 2010 Census". from the original on May 22, 2017. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
82. Steve Strunsky (April 16, 2019). "Lakewood yeshiva looks to use old golf course for new campus". New Jersey On-Line LLC. from the original on April 16, 2019. Retrieved April 19, 2019. Beth Medrash Gohova is said to be the world's largest Jewish-affiliated university outside of Israel.
83. Stephen Stirling (August 3, 2017). "10 ways Lakewood is unlike anywhere else in N.J." NJ Advance Media. from the original on April 16, 2019. Retrieved April 19, 2019. The sea change can be pinned to one event: The founding of the Beth Medrash Govoha yeshiva in the mid-20th century. The Orthodox Jewish community has set down roots en masse around the religious school, which is now the largest yeshiva in North America.
84. "N.J. illegal immigration level holds steady". February 2, 2011. from the original on May 25, 2017. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
85. "Pew Research Center". February 2011. from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
86. "What towns in New Jersey are considered sanctuary cities?". New Jersey 101.5—New Jersey News Radio. February 1, 2017. from the original on April 16, 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
87. Exner, Rich (June 3, 2012). "Americans under age 1 now mostly minorities, but not in Ohio: Statistical Snapshot". The Plain Dealer. from the original on July 14, 2016. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
88. US Census Bureasu Quick Facts: New Jersey. July 18, 2021, at the Wayback Machine US Department of Commerce. Census Bureau. 2019 Vintage Year Census Estimates. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
89. Religious Landscape Study: Jews April 8, 2019, at the Wayback Machine, Pew Research Center. Accessed January 25, 2022.
90. Religious Landscape Study: Muslims January 25, 2022, at the Wayback Machine, Pew Research Center. Accessed January 25, 2022.
91. [3] May 2, 2019, at the Wayback Machine Accessed April 29, 2019.
92. Richard Newman (August 30, 2012). . Archived from the original on October 14, 2013. Retrieved January 16, 2016.
93. The Foreign Born from India in the United States April 26, 2006, at the Wayback Machine, dated December 1, 2003
94. "Census 2000 PHC-T-6. Population by Race and Hispanic or Latino Origin for the United States, Regions, Divisions, States, Puerto Rico, and Places of 100,000 or More Population: Table 2. Percent of Population by Race and Hispanic or Latino Origin, for the United States, Regions, Divisions, and States, and for Puerto Rico: 2000" (PDF). (PDF) from the original on February 23, 2010. Retrieved July 25, 2010.
95. Mapping Census 2000: The Geography of U.S. Diversity January 20, 2017, at the Wayback Machine (Microsoft Excel)
96. (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. June 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 20, 2004. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
97. Laryssa Wirstiuk (April 21, 2014). . Jersey City Independent. Archived from the original on June 30, 2018. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
98. Erin O'Neill (October 19, 2015). "What's the top country of birth for immigrants in N.J.?". New Jersey On-Line LLC. from the original on October 20, 2015. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
99. Joseph Berger (April 27, 2008). "A Place Where Indians, Now New Jerseyans, Thrive". The New York Times. from the original on June 21, 2016. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
100. King, Kate (September 25, 2017). "'Little India' Thrives in Central New Jersey". Wall Street Journal. from the original on April 12, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2019 – via www.wsj.com.
101. Burke, Monte. "How Indo-Americans Created The Ultimate Neighborhood Bank". Forbes. from the original on April 19, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
102. Genovese, Peter (November 16, 2012). . nj.com. Archived from the original on April 13, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
103. "Eat Street: Oak Tree Road, Iselin, N.J." SAVEUR. March 31, 2011. from the original on February 8, 2014. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
104. Shaftel, David (March 9, 2017). "Indo-Chinese Food Is Hard to Find, Except in New Jersey". The New York Times. from the original on April 18, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
105. DP05: ACS DEMOGRAPHIC AND HOUSING ESTIMATES from the 2013-2017 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates for Monroe township, Middlesex County, New Jersey Archived February 13, 2020, at archive.today, United States Census Bureau. Accessed February 11, 2019.
106. "State of New Jersey Department of State". State of New Jersey. from the original on May 25, 2017. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
107. Frances Kai-Hwa Wang (July 28, 2014). "World's Largest Hindu Temple Being Built in New Jersey". NBC News. from the original on October 3, 2016. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
108. Kevin Coyne (June 15, 2008). "Turbans Make Targets, Some Sikhs Find". The New York Times. from the original on December 11, 2018. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
109. [4] March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 16, 2016.
110. James O'Neill (February 22, 2015). "Mahwah library hosts Korean tea ceremony to celebrate new year". North Jersey Media Group. from the original on February 22, 2015. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
111. Asian Americans: Contemporary Trends and Issues Second Edition, Edited by Pyong Gap Min. Pine Forge Press – An Imprint of Sage Publications, Inc. 2006. ISBN 9781412905565. from the original on May 27, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
112. "Palisades Park Municipal Court". SpinJ Corporation. from the original on October 28, 2014. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
113. . United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on May 13, 2014. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
114. Kirk Semple (May 18, 2012). "In New Jersey, Memorial for 'Comfort Women' Deepens Old Animosity". The New York Times. from the original on May 29, 2019. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
115. . Modern Language Association. Archived from the original on December 1, 2007. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
116. "Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2012 Supplemental Table 1". U.S. Department of Homeland Security. from the original on April 3, 2013. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
117. "Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2011 Supplemental Table 1". U.S. Department of Homeland Security. from the original on August 8, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
118. "Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2010 Supplemental Table 1". U.S. Department of Homeland Security. from the original on July 12, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
119. "Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2009 Supplemental Table 1". U.S. Department of Homeland Security. from the original on August 8, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
120. "City of Paterson—Silk City". from the original on November 9, 2013. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
121. . yumimmigrantcity.com. Archived from the original on July 31, 2013. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
122. Joe Malinconico & Charlie Kratovil (May 9, 2012). . The Alternative Press. Archived from the original on May 14, 2013. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
123. Joe Malinconico (September 25, 2014). "Political battle brewing over Paterson's plans for Hispanic Heritage Month event". from the original on September 26, 2014. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
124. Summer Dawn Hortillosa (February 17, 2015). "Jersey City named most diverse city in America: report". The Jersey Journal. from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
125. Spencer McKee. "53 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Jersey City". Movoto. from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
126. "Religious Landscape Study". PewForum.org. May 11, 2015. from the original on January 5, 2018. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
127. . The Association of Religion Data Archives. Archived from the original on December 17, 2013. Retrieved December 16, 2013.
128. "Gurbir S. Grewal Confirmed as 61st New Jersey Attorney General". State of New Jersey. January 16, 2018. from the original on September 15, 2018. Retrieved September 15, 2018. Gurbir S. Grewal became the 61st Attorney General of the State of New Jersey following the inauguration of Governor Phil Murphy today, January 16, 2018. He was confirmed unanimously by the New Jersey Senate this afternoon. "I am honored and humbled to assume the role of Attorney General at this critical time for our state and country. I am grateful to Governor Murphy and the Senate for the trust they have placed in me and I look forward to continuing my service to the state of New Jersey. There's much to do, and I can't wait to get started," said Attorney General Grewal. Prior to his selection as New Jersey Attorney General, Grewal served as Bergen County Prosecutor, the chief law enforcement officer of the most populous county in New Jersey and home to nearly a million residents living in seventy municipalities.
129. Olivia Rizzo (May 21, 2019). . New Jersey On-Line LLC. Archived from the original on May 24, 2019. Retrieved May 21, 2019. She is now the first female South Asian mayor of a New Jersey municipality and the first female Muslim mayor in the state. She is also believed to be the first female Muslim mayor, female Pakistani-American mayor and first female South Asian-American mayor first in the nation, according to Religionnews.com.
130. Joseph Berger (August 2, 2017). "An Uneasy Welcome as Ultra-Othodox Jews Extend Beyond New York". The New York Times. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
131. Frances Kai-Hwa Wang. "World's Largest Hindu Temple Being Built in New Jersey". NBC News. from the original on December 9, 2016. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
132. "Muslims By State". from the original on January 25, 2022. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
133. Gross Domestic Product by State, First Quarter 2019 August 18, 2019, at the Wayback Machine, Bureau of Economic Analysis, July 25, 2019. Accessed November 2, 2019.
134. . Archived from the original on October 24, 2016. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
135. "How deep is NJ in debt? Very, very deep but not as bad as 2017". North Jersey Record. June 3, 2019. from the original on February 20, 2021. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
136. New Jersey Tax Rate Schedules 2017 January 27, 2018, at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Department of Treasury. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
137. New Jersey Sales Tax Guide February 22, 2018, at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Department of Treasury. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
138. Urban Enterprise Zone Program March 14, 2018, at the Wayback Machine, State of New Jersey. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
139. New Jersey Urban Enterprise Zone Locations November 19, 2018, at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, locations as of January 1, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
140. "NJ Division of Taxation Reminds Consumers & Business Owners That Sales Tax Rate Will Change to 6.625% in the New Year" February 5, 2018, at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Department of Treasury, press release dated December 27, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2018. "The New Jersey Division of Taxation is reminding business owners that the State Sales and Use Tax rate will be reduced to 6.625% on Jan. 1, 2018. ... Rates for State Sales Tax in Urban Enterprise Zones also will change on Jan. 1, 2018. The rate in a designated UEZ will be 50 percent of the Sales Tax rate, or 3.3125 percent. The previous UEZ rate was 3.4375 percent."
141. "States Where People Pay The Most (And Least) In Taxes". 24/7 Wall St. July 21, 2011. from the original on May 17, 2012. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
142. "Beware the New Jersey Inheritance Tax — February 13, 2019". February 13, 2019. from the original on September 4, 2021. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
143. "2015's States Most & Least Dependent on the Federal Government". Evolution Finance. from the original on April 26, 2015. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
144. "New Jersey". Tax Foundation. New Jersey's State and Local Tax Burden Above National Average. from the original on January 4, 2014. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
145. "Maersk aims to shore up N.J. shipping industry with direct financing service—NJBIZ". June 13, 2017. from the original on August 4, 2020. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
146. Judith H. Dobrzynski (June 24, 2010). "A Garden Crawl Through the Garden State". The New York Times. from the original on June 27, 2010. Retrieved June 25, 2010. Nowadays New Jersey ranks second among states in blueberry production, third in cranberries and spinach and fourth in bell peppers, peaches and head lettuce, the official state Web site, nj.gov, boasts.
147. "It's No Tomato, but a Stalk Gets Some Respect". The New York Times. May 4, 2012. from the original on May 8, 2012. Retrieved May 7, 2012. ... New Jersey harvests the fourth-largest number of acres dedicated to asparagus in the nation.
148. Jon Hurdle (May 13, 2021). "Report details surge in warehouse construction…". NJ Spotlight News. Retrieved January 3, 2023. In South Jersey, the area has become the "epicenter" of warehouse construction in the greater Philadelpia region..'Activity in the Southern New Jersey industrial market continues to amaze,' the report said.
149. Washington, District of Columbia 1800 I. Street NW; Dc 20006. "PolitiFact - New Jersey leads world in number of scientists, engineers per square mile". @politifact. from the original on March 18, 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
150. "Business.NJ.gov | What are New Jersey's principal industries?". business.nj.gov. from the original on March 19, 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
151. "New Jersey's Economy: The Top Industries Driving GDP Growth". Investopedia. from the original on March 18, 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
152. "Fortune 500 2007—States: New Jersey". CNN. March 30, 2007. from the original on June 9, 2007. Retrieved May 30, 2007.
153. Allison Pries (March 10, 2019). "Inside the N.J. town where retail spending beats Hollywood and tourism rivals Disney". New Jersey On-Line LLC. from the original on October 30, 2019. Retrieved May 5, 2019. The former farming community already sees more retail sales than any other zip code in the country ... More than $6 billion in retail sales happen in Paramus each year.
154. Bill Duhart (May 9, 2019). "Tourism spending is up in N.J., and it'll be even better when American Dream is built, Murphy says". New Jersey On-Line LLC. from the original on May 10, 2019. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
155. Brett Avery (February 5, 2008). . New Jersey Monthly. Archived from the original on October 30, 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
156. . Associated Press. May 26, 1978. Archived from the original on July 13, 2011. Retrieved November 4, 2010. The nation's only legal gambling casino outside Nevada won state approval Thursday night and planned Friday morning opening ...
157. Fazzalaro, Kristinna (April 10, 2015). "The 9 Best Boardwalks in the USA". Oyster. from the original on January 25, 2022. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
158. Melissa Romero (August 4, 2016). "The Shuttered Casinos of Atlantic City". from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
159. Wayne Parry, Associated Press (August 17, 2014). "Revel had wanted to shut down casino on Monday". from the original on September 3, 2014. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
160. Ryan Hutchins (February 27, 2013). "Gov. Christie signs internet gambling into law". The Star-Ledger. from the original on March 6, 2013. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
161. Ariane de Vogue and Maegan Vazquez (May 14, 2018). "Supreme Court lets states legalize sports gambling". CNN. from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved May 9, 2019. The 6-3 ruling is a victory for New Jersey and other states who have considered allowing sports gambling as a way to encourage tourism and tax revenue.
162. "New Jersey - State Energy Profile Overview". U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). from the original on January 9, 2022. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
163. "New Jersey Solar". SEIA. from the original on January 9, 2022. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
164. "Solar Activity Reports | NJ OCE Web Site". njcleanenergy.com. from the original on January 20, 2022. Retrieved January 9, 2022.

January 17, 2023