List of counties in New Jersey

Last updated
Counties of New Jersey
A clickable New Jersey county map New Jersey Counties.svgSussex CountyEssex CountyPassaic CountyBergen CountyWarren CountyMorris CountyHunterdon CountySomerset CountyHudson CountyUnion CountyMiddlesex CountyMercer CountyMonmouth CountyOcean CountyBurlington CountyAtlantic CountyCamden CountyGloucester CountySalem CountyCumberland CountyCape May County
A clickable New Jersey county map
Clickable map of New Jersey counties
Location New Jersey
Number21
Populations65,117 (Salem) – 952,997 (Bergen)
Areas47 square miles (120 km2) (Hudson) – 805 square miles (2,080 km2) (Burlington)
Government
Subdivisions
  • Boroughs, cities, towns, townships, and villages

There are 21 counties in the U.S. state of New Jersey. These counties together contain 564 municipalities, or administrative entities composed of clearly defined territory; 252 boroughs, 52 cities, 15 towns, 241 townships, and 4 villages. [1] In New Jersey, a county is a local level of government between the state and municipalities. County government in New Jersey includes a Board of County Commissioners, [2] sheriff, clerk, and surrogate (responsible for uncontested and routine probate), [3] all of which are elected officials. Counties organized under the Optional County Charter Law may also have an elected county executive. [4] Counties traditionally perform state-mandated duties such as the maintenance of jails, parks, and certain roads. [5] The site of a county's administration and courts is called the county seat.

Contents

History

New Jersey was governed by two groups of proprietors as two distinct provinces, East Jersey and West Jersey, between 1674 and 1702. New Jersey's first counties were created as administrative districts within each province, with East Jersey split in 1675 into Bergen, Essex, Middlesex and Monmouth counties, while West Jersey's initial counties of Burlington and Salem date to 1681. [6] [7] The most recent county created in New Jersey is Union County, created in 1857 and named after the union of the United States when the Civil War was imminent. New Jersey's county names derive from several sources, though most of its counties are named after place names in England and prominent leaders in the colonial and revolutionary periods. Bergen County is the most populous county—as of the 2010 Census—with 905,116 people, while Salem County is the least populous with 66,083 people.

New Jersey legislature representation

List of counties in New Jersey
Interactive map of counties in New Jersey

Until the 1960s, the New Jersey Senate had 21 representatives, one from each county regardless of population. In the wake of the 1964 decision by the Supreme Court of the United States in Reynolds v. Sims , establishing the one man, one vote principle that state legislative districts must be approximately equal in size, David Friedland filed suit in New Jersey Supreme Court on behalf of two union leaders, challenging a system under which each county was represented by a single member in the New Jersey Senate. The court ruled unanimously that the existing system was unconstitutional, ordered that interim measures be established by statute for the 1965 legislative elections, and ordered that the needed constitutional changes to restructure the New Jersey Legislature to be in compliance with "one man, one vote" requirements be in place before elections took place in 1967. [8] The senate unilaterally—by internal rule, not by statute—enacted a proposal whereby each senator's vote would be weighted based on the population of the county represented, under which Cape May County's senator would receive one vote while the senator from Essex County would receive 19.1 votes, in direct relation to the ratio of residents between counties. [9] The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that it was unconstitutional for the senate to adopt a weighted voting system unilaterally. [9] [10] In 1966, the constitution was amended to establish 40 districts statewide, each represented by one senator and two assembly members, without relation to county boundaries. [11]

FIPS code

New Jersey counties by population as of 2020 with darker colors indicating a higher population NJ Counties by Population (2020 census).png
New Jersey counties by population as of 2020 with darker colors indicating a higher population

The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) code, used by the United States government to uniquely identify counties, is provided with each entry. FIPS codes are five-digit numbers; for New Jersey the codes start with 34 and are completed with the three-digit county code. The FIPS code for each county in the table links to census data for that county. [12]

List of counties

County
FIPS code [12] County seat [13] Largest City [14] Est. [13] Formed from [6] [7] Named for [15] Density (per mi2)Pop. [16] Area [13] Map
 
AtlanticCounty 001 Mays Landing Egg Harbor Township 47,8421837Gloucester CountyThe Atlantic Ocean, which forms the county's eastern border491.33275,638561 sq mi
(1,453 km2)		 Map of New Jersey highlighting Atlantic County.svg
BergenCounty 003 Hackensack Hackensack 46,0301683One of four original counties created in East Jersey Bergen, New Netherland settlement4,072.64952,997234 sq mi
(606 km2)		 Map of New Jersey highlighting Bergen County.svg
BurlingtonCounty 005 Mount Holly Evesham Township 46,8261694One of two original counties created in West Jersey The old ancient name for an inland market near Bridlington, England579.01466,103805 sq mi
(2,085 km2)		 Map of New Jersey highlighting Burlington County.svg
CamdenCounty 007 Camden Cherry Hill 74,5531844Gloucester County Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden (1714–1794), an English supporter of the colonists during the American Revolution [17] 2,364.45524,907222 sq mi
(575 km2)		 Map of New Jersey highlighting Camden County.svg
Cape MayCounty 009 Cape May Court House Lower Township 22,0571692Burlington CountyThe 17th-century Dutch explorer Cornelius Jacobsen Mey, who explored and surveyed the Delaware Bay to the south of the county375.0495,634255 sq mi
(660 km2)		 Map of New Jersey highlighting Cape May County.svg
CumberlandCounty 011 Bridgeton Vineland 60,7801748Salem County Prince William, Duke of Cumberland (1721–1765), second son of George II of Great Britain and military victor at the Battle of Culloden in 1746309.52151,356489 sq mi
(1,267 km2)		 Map of New Jersey highlighting Cumberland County.svg
EssexCounty 013 Newark Newark 311,5491683One of four original counties created in East Jersey The county of Essex in England6,785.06849,477126 sq mi
(326 km2)		 Map of New Jersey highlighting Essex County.svg
GloucesterCounty 015 Woodbury Washington Township 48,6771686Burlington CountyThe city of Gloucester, England943.39306,601325 sq mi
(842 km2)		 Map of New Jersey highlighting Gloucester County.svg
HudsonCounty 017 Jersey City Jersey City 292,4491840Bergen CountyThe English explorer Henry Hudson (d. 1611), who explored portions of New Jersey's coastline14,965.23703,36647 sq mi
(122 km2)		 Map of New Jersey highlighting Hudson County.svg
HunterdonCounty 019 Flemington Raritan Township 23,4471714Burlington County Robert Hunter (1664–1734), the Colonial Governor of New Jersey from 1710 to 1720301.81129,777430 sq mi
(1,114 km2)		 Map of New Jersey highlighting Hunterdon County.svg
MercerCounty 021 Trenton Hamilton Township 92,2971838Burlington County, Hunterdon County, Middlesex County, and Somerset CountyThe Continental Army General Hugh Mercer (1726–1777), who died at the Battle of Princeton [18] 1,684.46380,688226 sq mi
(585 km2)		 Map of New Jersey highlighting Mercer County.svg
MiddlesexCounty 023 New Brunswick Edison 107,5881683One of four original counties created in East Jersey The historic county of Middlesex in England2,769.83861,418311 sq mi
(805 km2)		 Map of New Jersey highlighting Middlesex County.svg
MonmouthCounty 025 Freehold Borough Middletown Township 67,1061683One of four original counties created in East Jersey The historic county of Monmouthshire in Wales 1,364.61644,098472 sq mi
(1,222 km2)		 Map of New Jersey highlighting Monmouth County.svg
MorrisCounty 027 Morristown Parsippany-Troy Hills 56,1621739Hunterdon CountyColonel Lewis Morris (1671–1746), colonial governor of New Jersey at the time of the county's formation [19] [20] 1,089.87511,151469 sq mi
(1,215 km2)		 Map of New Jersey highlighting Morris County.svg
OceanCounty 029 Toms River Lakewood Township 135,1581850Monmouth County and Burlington CountyThe Atlantic Ocean, which forms the eastern border of New Jersey1,031.03655,735636 sq mi
(1,647 km2)		 Map of New Jersey highlighting Ocean County.svg
PassaicCounty 031 Paterson Paterson 159,7321837Bergen County and Essex County"Pasaeck", a Lenape word meaning "valley"2,778.03513,936185 sq mi
(479 km2)		 Map of New Jersey highlighting Passaic County.svg
SalemCounty 033 Salem Pennsville Township 12,6841694One of two original counties created in West Jersey A Hebrew word meaning "peace"192.6565,117338 sq mi
(875 km2)		 Map of New Jersey highlighting Salem County.svg
SomersetCounty 035 Somerville Franklin Township 68,3641688Middlesex CountyThe county of Somerset in England1,137.30346,875305 sq mi
(790 km2)		 Map of New Jersey highlighting Somerset County.svg
SussexCounty 037 Newton Vernon Township 22,3581753Morris CountyThe county of Sussex in England280.39146,084521 sq mi
(1,349 km2)		 Map of New Jersey highlighting Sussex County.svg
UnionCounty 039 Elizabeth Elizabeth 137,2981857Essex CountyThe union of the United States, which was being threatened by the dispute over slavery5,532.18569,815103 sq mi
(267 km2)		 Map of New Jersey highlighting Union County.svg
WarrenCounty 041 Belvidere Phillipsburg 15,2491824Sussex CountyThe American Revolutionary War General Joseph Warren (1741–1775), killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill 309.85110,926358 sq mi
(927 km2)		 Map of New Jersey highlighting Warren County.svg

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "New Jersey – Place and County Subdivision". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on November 22, 2009. Retrieved September 6, 2009.
  2. ↑ Coppa, Frank J. (2000). County government: a guide to efficient and accountable government. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp.  39–40. ISBN   978-0-275-96829-8 . Retrieved August 31, 2009.
  3. ↑ Coppa, County government, p. 165 Archived 2014-07-05 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ Coppa, County government, p. 108 Archived 2014-07-05 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ↑ "An Overview of County Government". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on April 17, 2013. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
  6. 1 2 "County Formation Map" (PDF). New Jersey Association of Election Officials. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-07-24. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
  7. 1 2 Torp, Kim (2006). "New Jersey County Formation". Genealogy Trails. Archived from the original on March 17, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
  8. ↑ Jackman v. Bodine, 43N.J.453 (November 25, 1964).
  9. 1 2 Wright, George Cable (December 16, 1964). "Weighted Voting Voided in Jersey; State's Highest Court Bars Senate's Plan—No Ruling on Its Constitutionality". The New York Times . Archived from the original on December 15, 2020. Retrieved September 1, 2009.
  10. ↑ Jackman v. Bodine, 205A. 2d735 (December 15, 1964).
  11. ↑ "New Jersey State Constitution 1947". November 2020. Art. IV § II and art. XI § V (amended December 8, 1966). Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  12. 1 2 "County FIPS Code Listing for the State of New Jersey". US Environmental Protection Agency. Archived from the original on July 1, 2016. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
  13. 1 2 3 "NACo – Find a county". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on January 12, 2008. Retrieved January 25, 2008.
  14. ↑ "Population Density by County and Municipality: New Jersey, 2010 and 2017" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Health. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 19, 2020. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  15. ↑ Hutchinson, Viola L. The Origin of New Jersey Place Names Archived 2015-11-15 at the Wayback Machine , New Jersey Public Library Commission, May 1945. Accessed November 14, 2015.
  16. ↑ "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: New Jersey". Archived from the original on 2021-10-24. Retrieved 2023-04-05.
  17. ↑ Greenberg, Gail (August 30, 2009). "A Brief History of Camden County". Camden County Board of Freeholders. Archived from the original on June 23, 2009. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
  18. ↑ "History". Mercer County Cultural & Heritage Commission. Archived from the original on February 21, 2009. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
  19. ↑ "The Land Past and Present". Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders. Archived from the original on August 22, 2009. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
  20. ↑ "How did our county get its name?". Morris County Library. July 26, 2008. Archived from the original on February 23, 2009. Retrieved August 31, 2009.

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