Hispanics and Latinos in New Jersey facts for kids
The U.S. state of New Jersey is home to significant and growing numbers of people of Latino and Hispanic descent. who in 2018 represented a Census- estimated 20.4% of the state's total population (nearly 1.8 million). New Jersey's Latino population comprises substantial concentrations of Dominican Americans, Puerto Rican Americans, Cuban Americans, Mexican Americans, Central Americans, Peruvian Americans, Colombian Americans, and Ecuadorian Americans. New Jersey is also home to a large Brazilian American and Portuguese-speaking population.
The state has multiple municipalities with Hispanic-majority populations. Latinos and Hispanics form one-third of the population in the largest city, Newark settling in the Forest Hill, Broadway and Mount Pleasant neighborhoods which comprise mostly of Puerto Ricans and Dominicans. The northern part of Hudson County has been nicknamed Havana on the Hudson for the large number of Cuban exiles and émigrés living there. Little Lima, in Paterson, is the largest Peruvian enclave outside of South America.
Many Latino and Hispanic people have been elected to public office in New Jersey, at both the state and local levels.
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Places and populations
As of the 2010 USA Census, New Jersey has several municipalities with Hispanic majority populations.
Places with over 100,000 people
Places with between 25,000 and 100,000 people
- North Bergen (68.4%)
- Passaic (71.0%)
- Perth Amboy (78.1%)
- Union City (84.7%)
- West New York (78.1%)
Places with between 10,000 and 25,000 people
- Dover (69.4%)
- Fairview (54.6%)
- Guttenberg (64.8%)
Places with fewer than 10,000 people
- East Newark (61.4%)
- Prospect Park (52.1%)
- Victory Gardens (63.0%)
Center for Hispanic Policy, Research and Development
The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs Center for Hispanic Policy, Research and Development is designed to empower the Hispanic community of New Jersey by administering grant dollars and providing other assistance to Hispanic community-based organizations, creating training and employment opportunities for Hispanic college interns, conducting and supporting research on New Jersey's Hispanic community, and ensuring Hispanic access to services and programs.
Public office
Public officials of Latino/Hispanic descent include:
Statewide
- Bob Menendez, United States Senator
- Esther Salas, federal district judge for the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
- Faustino J. Fernandez-Vina, Associate Justice New Jersey Supreme Court
- Roberto A. Rivera-Soto, Associate Justice New Jersey Supreme Court
Hudson
US and State legislators
- Vincent Prieto, State Assemblyman 32nd legislative district, Speaker of Assembly
- Ruben J. Ramos, State Assemblyman, 33rd legislative district
- Caridad Rodriguez, State Assemblywoman 33rd Legislative District
- Albio Sires, Member of the United States House of Representatives 13th congressional district
County and local offices
- Tilo Rivas, Freeholder District 6
- Eliu Rivera, Freeholder District 4
- Jose C. Muñoz, Freeholder District 7
- Al Santos, Mayor of Kearny
- Rudy Garcia-appointed mayor of Union City
- Felix Roque, Mayor of West New York
- Bernice Toledo, Passaic County Surrogate Court Judge and New Jersey State Superior Court Deputy Clerk. Elected in 2011. Re-elected in 2016.
Newark
The percentage of Latinos in Newark, the states largest city grew considerably between 1980 and 2010, from 18.6% to 33.8%; that of blacks has slightly decreased from 58.2% to 52.4%. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 33.83% (93,746) r one-third of the population, of which 13% of the total population was Puerto Rican. While municipal elections have seen black-Latino coalitions, voting tends to remain racially polarized.
- Luis A. Quintana
- Anibal Ramos, Jr.
- Teresa Ruiz
- Carlos M. Gonzalez
Bergen-Passaic
- Alex Blanco
- Jose "Joey" Torres
- Anthony R. Suarez, served as Mayor of Ridgefield, New Jersey
- Julio Tavarez, Councilmember representing 5th Ward in the City of Paterson, New Jersey
Perth Amboy
- Joseph Vas
- Wilda Diaz
Union
- Annette Quijano
South Jersey
- Nilsa Cruz-Perez
- Maria Rodriguez-Gregg
Sports and arts
- Juan Pablo Ángel, professional soccer player for the New York Red Bull (Colombian-American)
- Amado Guevara, professional soccer player (Honduran American)
- Edward Fernandez, politician (Dominican-American)
- Carol-Lynn Parente, executive producer of Sesame Street (Puerto Rican-American)
- Franck de Las Mercedes, visual artist (Nicaraguan American)
- Tab Ramos, US national soccer team player (Uruguayan American)
- Jorge Rojas, professional soccer player for the New York Red Bull (Venezuelan American)
- Pedro Sosa, professional American football player (Dominican-American)
- Paquito D'Rivera, nine-time Grammy Award–winning jazz maestro and writer (Cuban-American)
Images for kids
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Bob Menendez
