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New Jersey
State of New Jersey
The flag shows the state's coat of arms in a yellow background The seal shows a shield with three plows, a gold helmet facing forward, a horse on top looking left, and two female figures, Liberty on the left and Ceres on the right. Liberty is holding a staff with the Phrygian cap on the right hand while Ceres holds a cornucopia overflowing with various fruits with one of the hands of both figures touching the shield. At the bottom, the state's motto, "Liberty and Prosperity" and the year, 1776. Outside of the coat of arms, the words "The Great Seal of the State of New Jersey" is printed circling around a circle border.
Seal
Nickname(s): 
The Garden State
Motto(s): 
Liberty and prosperity
Map of the United States with New Jersey highlighted
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 Greater New York
Legislature New Jersey Legislature
 • Upper house Senate
 • Lower house General Assembly
Area
 • Total 8,722.58 sq mi (22,591.38 km2)
 • Land 7,354.22 sq mi (19,047.34 km2)
 • Water 1,368.36 sq mi (3,544.04 km2)  15.7%
Area rank 47th
Dimensions
 • Length 170 mi (273 km)
 • Width 70 mi (112 km)
Elevation
250 ft (80 m)
Highest elevation 1,803 ft (549.6 m)
Lowest elevation
(Atlantic Ocean)
0 ft (0 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 9,288,994
 • Rank 11th
 • Density 1,263/sq mi (488/km2)
 • Density rank 1st
 • Median household income
$82,545
 • Income rank
3rd
Demonym(s) New Jerseyan (official), New Jerseyite
Language
 • Official language None
 • Spoken language
Time zone UTC−05:00 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−04:00 (EDT)
USPS abbreviation
NJ
ISO 3166 code US-NJ
Trad. abbreviation N.J.
Latitude 38°56′ N to 41°21′ N
Longitude 73°54′ W to 75°34′ W

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 based on land area, but with close to 9.3 million residents, is the 11th-most populous and the most densely populated. New Jersey's state capital is Trenton, while the state's most populous city is Newark. With the sole exception of Warren County, all counties in the state lie within the combined statistical areas of New York City or Philadelphia; consequently, the state's largest metropolitan area falls within Greater New York.

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. The English later seized control of the region and established the Province of New Jersey, after the largest of the Channel Islands, Jersey. The colony's fertile lands and relative religious tolerance drew a large and diverse population. New Jersey was among the Thirteen Colonies that opposed Great Britain, hosting numerous pivotal battles and military commands in the American Revolutionary War. The state remained in the Union during the American Civil War, and thereafter became a major center of manufacturing and immigration; it helped drive the nation's Industrial Revolution, and became the site of numerous technological and commercial innovations into the mid 20th century.

New Jersey's central location in the Northeast megalopolis fueled 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, with one of the most multicultural populations in the U.S. Echoing historic trends, the state has increasingly re-urbanized, with growth in the cities outpacing the suburbs since 2008. New Jersey is one of the wealthiest states in the U.S., with the second highest median household income in 2017. Almost one-tenth of all households, or over 323,000 of 3.3 million, are millionaires, the highest rate per capita in the country. New Jersey's public school system consistently ranks at or among the top of all U.S. states.

History

Around 180 million years ago, during the Jurassic Period, New Jersey bordered North Africa. The pressure of the 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 the glaciers retreated, they left behind Lake Passaic, as well as many rivers, swamps, and gorges.

New Jersey was originally settled by Native Americans, with the Lenni-Lenape being dominant at the time of contact. Scheyichbi is the Lenape name for the land that is now New Jersey.

The 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. They first encountered the Dutch in the early 17th century, and their primary relationship with the Europeans was through fur trade.

Colonial era

Nieuw Nederland and Nya Sverige
The relative location of the New Netherland and New Sweden settlements in eastern North America

The Dutch became the first Europeans to lay claim to lands in New Jersey. The Dutch colony of New Netherland consisted of parts of modern Middle 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 the land that they settled. The first to do so was Michiel Pauw who established a patronship called Pavonia in 1630 along the North River which eventually became the 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 the command of Colonel Richard Nicolls sailed into what is today 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. It was from the Royal Square in St. Helier that Charles II of England was proclaimed King in 1649, following the execution of his father, Charles I.

The 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. James then granted the 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. The area was named the Province of New Jersey.

Since the state's 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.

New Jersey was then ruled by the governors of New York, but this infuriated the settlers of New Jersey, who accused those 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.

Revolutionary War era

New Jersey was one of the 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.

New Jersey representatives Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, and Abraham Clark were among those who signed the United States Declaration of Independence.

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 often referred to as "The Crossroads of the American Revolution." The winter quarters of the Continental Army were established there twice by General George Washington in Morristown, which has been called "The Military Capital of the American Revolution".

Princetonwashington
George Washington rallying his troops at the Battle of Princeton

On the night of December 25–26, 1776, the Continental Army under George Washington crossed the Delaware River. After the crossing, he surprised and defeated the Hessian troops in the Battle of Trenton. Slightly more than a week after victory at Trenton, American forces gained an important victory by stopping General Cornwallis's charges at the Second Battle of Trenton. By evading Cornwallis's army, Washington made 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.

American forces under Washington met the forces under General Henry Clinton at the Battle of Monmouth in an indecisive engagement in June 1778. Washington attempted to take the British column by surprise; when the British army attempted to flank the Americans, the Americans retreated in disorder. The ranks were later reorganized and withstood the British charges.

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 (1783), which ended the war.

On December 18, 1787, New Jersey became the third state to ratify the United States Constitution.

On November 20, 1789, the state became the first in the newly formed Union to ratify the Bill of Rights.

19th century

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 close of the Civil War, about a dozen African Americans in New Jersey were still held in bondage.

1827 Morris Canal
A map of the 107-mile long Morris Canal across northern New Jersey

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.

Newark NJ 1874
View of state's largest city, Newark, in 1874

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.

Edison in his NJ laboratory 1901
Thomas Edison in his laboratory, West Orange, New Jersey, 1901

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 U.S. 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 southern New Jersey Pinelands were among the first sources of iron for the new nation. 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

Through both World Wars, New Jersey was a center for war production, especially in naval construction.

Battleships, cruisers, and destroyers were made in this state.

Depression-Unemployed-the Unemployed Union, marchers south on Broadway, Camden New Jersey typical scene reflecting... - NARA - 195658
Marchers in Camden, New Jersey demanding jobs during the Great Depression, c. 1935

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, 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.

In 1951, the New Jersey Turnpike opened, permitting fast travel by car and truck between North Jersey (and metropolitan New York) and South Jersey (and metropolitan Philadelphia).

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 Dr. 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.

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.

As of 2014, Jersey City's estimated population was 262,146.

Geography

High Point Monument and Lake Marcia framed
High Point Monument as seen from Lake Marcia at High Point, Sussex County, the highest elevation in New Jersey at 1803 feet above sea level.
Delaware Water Gap
New Jersey shares the Delaware Water Gap with neighboring Pennsylvania
Cape may
Sunset at Cape May on the Jersey Shore
Palisades cliff
Part of the Palisades Interstate Park, the cliffs of the New Jersey Palisades overlook the Hudson River
Bigfalls14w info
The Great Falls of the Passaic River in Paterson, dedicated as a U.S. National Park in November 2011, incorporates one of the largest waterfalls in the eastern United States.

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.

New Jersey can be thought of as five regions, based on natural geography and population.

Northeastern New Jersey, the Gateway Region, lies closest to Manhattan in New York City, and up to a million residents commute daily into the city to work via automobile or mass transit.

Northwestern New Jersey, or the "Skylands", is, compared to the northeast, more wooded, rural, and mountainous.

The "Shore", along the Atlantic Coast in the central-east and southeast, has its own natural, residential, and lifestyle characteristics owing to its location by the ocean.

The Delaware Valley includes the southwestern counties of the state, which reside within the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area. The fifth region is the Pine Barrens in the interior of the southern part. Covered rather extensively by mixed pine and oak forest, it has a much lower population density than much of the rest of the state.

New Jersey also can be 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 from the North and South.

High Point, in Montague Township, Sussex County, is the highest elevation, at 1,803 feet (550 m). The Palisades are a line of steep cliffs on the lower west side of the Hudson River, in Bergen County and Hudson County.

Major rivers include the Hudson, Delaware, Raritan, Passaic, Hackensack, Rahway, Musconetcong, Mullica, Rancocas, Manasquan, Maurice, and Toms rivers.

Sandy Hook, along the eastern coast, is a popular recreational beach. It is a barrier spit and an extension of the Barnegat Peninsula along the state's Atlantic Ocean coast.

Long Beach Island ("LBI"), a barrier island along the eastern coast, has popular recreational beaches. The primary access point to the island is by a single bridge connection to the mainland. Barnegat Lighthouse is on the northern tip.

Prominent geographic features include:

Climate

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.

Summers are typically hot and humid. 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.

During winter and early spring, New Jersey can experience "nor'easters", which are capable of causing blizzards or flooding throughout the northeastern United States.

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
Nj pop dens
New Jersey population density map (2020)

Population

The United States Census Bureau tabulated in the 2020 United States census that the population of New Jersey was 9,288,994 on April 1, 2020, a 5.7% increase since the 2010 United States census. Residents of New Jersey are most commonly referred to as New Jerseyans or, less commonly, as New Jerseyites. At the 2010 census, there were 8,791,894 people living in the state.

Race and ethnicity

Ethnic composition as of the 2020 census
Race and Ethnicity Alone Total
White (non-Hispanic) 51.9% 51.9
 
54.5% 54.5
 
Hispanic or Latino 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
 
Historical racial demographics
Racial composition 1970 1990 2000 2010
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%

The 2019 Vintage Year Census data reported the following makeup estimates: 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.

In 2010, unauthorized immigrants constituted an estimated 6.2% of the population. This was the fourth-highest percentage of any state in the country. There were an estimated 550,000 illegal immigrants in the state in 2010. Among the municipalities which are considered sanctuary cities are Camden, Jersey City, and Newark.

As of 2010, New Jersey was the eleventh-most populous state in the United States, and the most densely populated, at 1,185 residents per square mile (458 per km2), with most of the population residing in the counties surrounding New York City, Philadelphia, and along the eastern Jersey Shore, while the extreme southern and northwestern counties are relatively less dense overall. It was also the second wealthiest state by median household income, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The center of population for New Jersey is located in Middlesex County, in the town of Milltown, just east of the New Jersey Turnpike.

New Jersey is home to more scientists and engineers per square mile than anywhere else in the world.

On October 21, 2013, same-sex marriages commenced in New Jersey.

Bar Chart of Race & Ethnicity in New Jersey (2015)
Race and ethnicity (2015)

New Jersey is one of the most ethnically and religiously diverse states in the United States. 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. The state has the second-largest Jewish population by percentage (after New York); the largest Muslim population by percentage; the largest population of Peruvians in the United States; the largest population of Cubans outside of Florida; the third highest Asian population by percentage; and the second highest Italian population, 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. New Jersey has the third highest Asian Indian population of any state by absolute numbers and the highest by percentage, with Bergen County home to America's largest Malayali community. 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 (6.9% in 2011). New Jersey also has the fourth largest Filipino population, and fourth largest Chinese population, per the 2010 U.S. Census. The five largest ethnic groups in 2000 were: Italian (17.9%), Irish (15.9%), African (13.6%), German (12.6%), Polish (6.9%).

India Square, in Bombay, Jersey City, Hudson County, is home to the highest concentration of Asian Indians in the Western Hemisphere. Meanwhile, Central New Jersey, particularly Edison and surrounding Middlesex County, is prominently known for its significant concentration of Asian Indians. The world's largest Hindu temple was inaugurated in Robbinsville in 2014, a BAPS temple. The growing Little India is a South Asian-focused commercial strip in Middlesex County, the U.S. county with the highest concentration of Asian Indians, at nearly 20% in 2020. The Oak Tree Road strip runs for about one and a half miles (2.4 km) through Edison and neighboring Iselin in Woodbridge Township, near the area's sprawling Chinatown and Koreatown, running along New Jersey Route 27. It is the largest and most diverse South Asian cultural hub in the United States. Carteret's Punjabi Sikh community, variously estimated at upwards of 3,000, is the largest concentration of Sikhs in the state. 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, which was 23 times the 256 (0.9%) counted as of the 2000 Census; and Diwali is celebrated by the township as a Hindu holiday. In Middlesex County, election ballots are printed in English, Spanish, Gujarati, Hindi, and Punjabi.

Newark was the fourth poorest of U.S. cities with over 250,000 residents in 2008, but New Jersey as a whole had the second-highest median household income as of 2014. This is largely because so much of New Jersey consists of suburbs, most of them affluent, of New York City and Philadelphia. New Jersey is also the most densely populated state, and the only state that has had every one of its counties deemed "urban" as defined by the Census Bureau's Combined Statistical Area.

BroadAveColumbiaKoreatownPalisadesPk
Bergen County (버건 군), New Jersey, across the George Washington Bridge 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, led (above) by Palisades Park (벼랑 공원), the municipality with the highest density of ethnic Koreans in the Western Hemisphere. Displaying ubiquitous Hangul (한글) signage and known as the Korean village, Palisades Park uniquely comprises a Korean majority (52% in 2010) of its population, with both the highest Korean-American density and percentage of any municipality in the United States.
India Square JC jeh
India Square, in Bombay, Jersey City, home to the highest concentration of Asian Indians in the Western Hemisphere. Immigrants from India constituted the largest foreign-born nationality in New Jersey in 2013.
The old Beis Madrash Building of BMG
Beth Medrash Govoha (Hebrew:בית מדרש גבוה), in Lakewood Township, Ocean County, is the world's largest yeshiva outside the State of Israel. Orthodox Jews represent one of the fastest-growing segments of New Jersey's population.
New Jersey Counties by metro area labeled
Metropolitan statistical areas and divisions of New Jersey. The New York City Metropolitan Area includes the counties shaded in blue hues, as well as Mercer and Warren counties, the latter representing part of the Lehigh Valley. Counties shaded in green hues, as well as Atlantic, Cape May, and Cumberland counties, belong to the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area.

In 2010, 6.2% of its population was reported as under age 5, 23.5% under 18, and 13.5% were 65 or older; and females made up approximately 51.3% of the population.

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.

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

Languages

Most common non-English languages spoken in New Jersey
Language Percentage of population
(as of 2010)
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.

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:

Religion

See also (related category): Religion in New Jersey
Religion in New Jersey (2014)
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 denominations in New Jersey, according to the Association of Religion Data Archives in 2010, were the Roman Catholic Church with 3,235,290; Islam with 160,666; and the United Methodist Church with 138,052. In September 2021, the State of New Jersey aligned with the World Hindu Council to declare October as Hindu Heritage Month. The world's largest Hindu temple was inaugurated in Robbinsville, Mercer County, in central New Jersey during 2014, a BAPS temple. In January 2018, Gurbir Grewal became the first Sikh American state attorney general in the United States. In January 2019, Sadaf Jaffer became the first female Muslim American mayor, first female South Asian mayor, and first female Pakistani-American mayor in the United States, of Montgomery in Somerset County.

Economy

Tree Map of Employment by Industries in New Jersey (2015)
Employment by industries

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. New Jersey's estimated taxpayer burden in 2015 was $59,400 per taxpayer. New Jersey is nearly $239 billion in debt.

Affluence

New Jersey's per capita gross state product in 2008 was $54,699, second in the U.S. and above the national per capita gross domestic product of $46,588. Its per capita income was the third highest in the nation with $51,358. In 2020, New Jersey had the highest number of millionaires per capita in the United States, approximately 9.76% of households. 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.

Map of Income by Location in New Jersey
A heat map showing median income distribution by county in New Jersey

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).

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. 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.

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. 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).

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.

New Jersey has one of the highest tax burdens in the nation. 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

Cranberrys beim Ernten
Cranberry harvest

New Jersey's economy is multifaceted, but is centered on 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. New Jersey ranks second among states in blueberry production, third in cranberries and spinach, and fourth in bell peppers, peaches, and head lettuce. The state harvests the fourth-largest number of acres planted with asparagus.

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, and is a global leader in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, life sciences, and technology.

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 several business headquarters, including twenty-four Fortune 500 companies. 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. 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 skyline from 47th floor of Revel
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.

Gambling

In 1976, a referendum of New Jersey voters approved casino gambling in Atlantic City, where the first legalized casino opened in 1978. At that time, Las Vegas was the only other casino resort in the country. Today, several casinos lie along the Atlantic City Boardwalk, the first and longest boardwalk in the world being 5.5 miles long. 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. On February 26, 2013, Governor Chris Christie signed online gambling into law. 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.

Natural resources and energy

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. New Jersey is seventh in the nation in solar power installations, 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.

Transportation

Roadways

Map of New Jersey NA
Map of New Jersey showing major transportation networks and cities
George Washington Bridge from New Jersey-edit
The 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.

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.

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. 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.

Airports

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. United Airlines is the airport's largest tenant, operating an entire terminal 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.

NEC train 3967 passing through Rahway station, June 2007
A NJ Transit train heads down the Northeast Corridor through Rahway, New Jersey

Rail and bus

Hudson bergen exchange place
Two Hudson-Bergen Light Rail trains in Jersey City

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. One line provides service between Atlantic City and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

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.

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

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. 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.

Points of interest

Museums

New Jersey has many museums of all kinds. A few major museums in the state are listed.

Museum Location Year opened Type
New Jersey State Museum Trenton 1895 General Education
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 & Art museum
Princeton University Art Museum Princeton 1884 Art museum
Thomas Edison Museum Menlo Park 1938 Thomas Edison museum

Entertainment and concert venues

Wildwood night view from Mariner's Landing ferris wheel
View of Wildwood, Cape May County from the Mariner's Landing Ferris wheel at night

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
Izod Center Arena Meadowlands Sports Complex 1981
PNC Bank Arts Center Amphitheater Holmdel 1977
NJPAC 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
Sun National Bank Center Arena Trenton 1999

Theme parks

Skyline of Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, Ocean County, the world's largest theme park as of 2013. To the far left is Kingda Ka, the world's tallest roller coaster.
Main Park Other Parks Location Year opened
Six Flags Great Adventure Six Flags Wild Safari, Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Jackson 1974
Clementon Amusement Park Splash World Clementon 1907
Land of Make Believe Pirate's Cove Hope 1958
Morey's Piers Raging Waters and Ocean Oasis Waterparks Wildwood 1969
Action Park None Vernon 1998
Casino Pier None Seaside Heights 1960

Jersey Shore

Belmar, on the Jersey Shore.

Culture

General

A 50's Style Diner
A 1950s-style diner in Orange

Like every state, New Jersey has its own cuisine, religious communities, museums, and halls of fame.

New Jersey is the birthplace of modern inventions such as: 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, the first use of a submarine in warfare, and the ice cream cone.

There are mineral museums in Franklin and Ogdensburg.

Diners are common in New Jersey. The state is home to many diner manufacturers and has more diners than any other state: over 600. There are more diners in the state of New Jersey than any other place in the world.

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.

Cuisine

Regional foods

Campbell Soup Company logo
Campbell Soup Company is headquartered in Camden

Due to its position between New York City and Philadelphia, the signature foods of both cities are very popular in their corresponding suburbs. In the New York Metropolitan Area regions of North and Central Jersey, pizza, bagels, pastrami, and submarine sandwiches (often called "subs", sometimes called heroes) are popular. In the Delaware Valley towns of South Jersey, hoagies (the Philadelphia term for the aforementioned submarine sandwich), cheesesteaks, soft pretzels, water ices, and scrapple are common. Several of these regional dishes have achieved popularity statewide. Irish potato candy are a familiar South Jersey treat as well.

Unique foods

Foods such as New York-style pizza (above) and the Philadelphia cheesesteak (below) are associated with New Jersey due to its position between both cities.

There are a number of foods which are especially prominent in or unique to the Garden State. North Jersey is renowned as a hot dog stronghold, with several variants that have their roots in its cities.

Taylor pork roll slices on pkg
Taylor Pork Roll of Trenton.

Trenton, located near the boundary of Central and South Jersey, is known for two foods in particular: tomato pie and pork roll. In Trenton, tomato pie is basically an interchangeable term for pizza, albeit with a subtle difference: While traditional pizzas are prepared by placing the cheese and toppings on top of the sauce and dough, tomato pies are made by laying the cheese directly on top of the dough, then adding the toppings, and finally spreading the sauce atop the mix. This creates a more tomato-intensive taste for the thin-crust pie.

Pork roll is a sausage-like pork product developed by John Taylor in Trenton in the late 19th century and has become a popular breakfast and sandwich meat throughout the Garden State. Also common is the Taylor ham (or pork roll), egg and cheese sandwich, in which taylor ham/pork roll is cooked on a griddle and then topped with a fried egg and American cheese and eaten on a hard roll.

Salt water taffy is a soft taffy originally produced and marketed in the Jersey Shore resort town of Atlantic City beginning in the late 19th century, and is a staple candy and souvenir item of boardwalks in the state. It is widely sold throughout beachfront areas of the East Coast of the United States and Canada.

In addition to its local foods, New Jersey boasts a plethora of ethnic cuisines due to its large immigrant population. Some of the more prominent examples include Chinese, Indian, Brazilian, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Middle Eastern, Italian, Polish, and Greek food. Cuban cuisine has also had an impact in New Jersey (especially in the Hudson County area). Typical Cuban food found in the state includes Christianos y Moros (also known as arroz Moros), lechon, the Cuban sandwich, arroz salteado and dulce de leche.

New Jersey is renowned for its multitude of diners, many of which are open 24 hours a day. A large number of them are owned or were founded by Greeks and offer Greek dishes in addition to standard diner fare. New Jersey has more diners per capita than any other state in the U.S., at well over 500.

The Grease Trucks of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey have also popularized "fat sandwiches", which are sandwiches usually consisting of various combinations of chicken fingers, french fries, mozzarella sticks, onion rings, and other fried foods. The Grease Trucks have been made famous by mentions in USA Today and Maxim Magazine, among other media outlets.

Music

New Jersey has long been an important area for both rock and rap music. Some prominent musicians from or with significant connections to New Jersey are:

The Hoboken Four on the Major Bowes Amateur Hour
Sinatra (far right) with the Hoboken Four on Major Bowes' Amateur Hour in 1935
Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1988-0719-38, Bruce Springsteen, Konzert in der DDR
Springsteen performing on the Tunnel of Love Express Tour at the Radrennbahn Weißensee in East Berlin on July 19, 1988

Comics and video games

  • The fictional Gotham City, home to Batman, is depicted in DC Comics as being located in New Jersey.

State symbols

State animal Horse
(Equus caballus)
State bird Eastern goldfinch
(Carduelis tristis)
State freshwater fish Brook trout
(Salvelinus fontinalis)
State folk dance Square dance
State insect European honey bee
(Apis mellifera)
State flower Common meadow violet
(Viola sororia)
State motto "Liberty and Prosperity"
State song None
State tree Northern red oak
(Quercus borealis maxima)
(syn. Quercus rubra)
State dinosaur Hadrosaurus foulkii
State soil Downer
State color Buff and Jersey Blue
State ship A. J. Meerwald
State fruit Northern highbush blueberry
(Vaccinium corymbosum)
State vegetable Jersey tomato
(Lycopersicon esculentum)
State shell Knobbed whelk
(Busycon carica gmelin)
State memorial tree Dogwood
(Cornus florida)
State slogan Come See For Yourself

Sports

New Meadowlands Stadium Mezz Corner
MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford is home to the NFL's New York Giants and New York Jets, and the most expensive stadium ever built.

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

Pudcentnewarkjeh
The Prudential Center in Newark, home of the NHL's New Jersey Devils
Le Red Bull Arena
Red Bull Arena in Harrison, home of the MLS's New York Red Bulls

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.

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. Built for about $1.6 billion, the venue is the most expensive stadium ever built. 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.

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. In 2016, the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA opened their new headquarters and training facility, the Philadelphia 76ers Training Complex, in Camden.

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

New Jersey teams

Club Sport League Stadium (capacity) Established Titles
New Jersey Devils Ice hockey NHL Prudential Center (16,514) 1974 3
Metropolitan Riveters NWHL Barnabas Health Hockey House at the Prudential Center (5,000) 2015 1
NJ/NY Gotham FC Soccer NWSL Red Bull Arena (25,000) 2007 1

New York teams that play in New Jersey

Club Sport League Stadium (capacity) Established Titles
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

Semi-pro and minor league sports

New Jersey teams

Club Sport League Stadium (capacity) Established Titles
Somerset Patriots Baseball MiLB (AA-Northeast) TD Bank Ballpark (6,100) 1997 6
Jersey Shore BlueClaws MiLB (A+-East) FirstEnergy Park (8,000) 1987 3
Trenton Thunder MLB Draft League Trenton Thunder Ballpark (6,440) 1980 3
New Jersey Jackals Frontier League Yogi Berra Stadium (5,000) 1998 5
Sussex County Miners Skylands Stadium (4,200) 2015 1
Jersey Express Basketball ABA Wayne YMCA 2005 0

New York minor league teams that play in New Jersey

Club Sport League Stadium (capacity) Established Titles
New York Red Bulls II Soccer USL MSU Soccer Park at Pittser Field (5,000) 2015 1

College sports

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.

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).' Founded in 1918, the NJSIAA currently represents 22,000 schools, 330,000 coaches, and almost 4.5 million athletes.

Education

Old Queens, New Brunswick, NJ - looking north, 2014
Old Queens at Rutgers University, the flagship of public higher education in New Jersey
Nassau Hall, Princeton
Nassau Hall at Princeton University, one of the world's most prominent research universities

As of 2010, there were 605 school districts in the state.

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.

In 2010, the state government paid all teachers' premiums for health insurance, but currently all NJ public teachers pay a portion of their own health insurance premiums.

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.

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, representing the second- and third-highest scores, respectively, of all listed U.S. high schools.

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 2022 list of U.S. News & World Report. 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, augmenting its profile as a national research university as well.

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

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. A 2017 UCLA Civil Rights project found that New Jersey has the sixth-most segregated classrooms in the United States.

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Nueva Jersey para niños

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