North Jersey

Last updated
North Jersey
North Jersey
CountryUnited States
State New Jersey
Largest city Newark
Counties
Elevation
1,803 ft (550 m)
Population
 (2020 Census)
  Total
3,787,937
Time zone UTC−5 (EST)
  Summer (DST) UTC−4 (EDT)
The George Washington Bridge, the world's busiest vehicle bridge, connects Fort Lee in North Jersey with Upper Manhattan in New York City. George Washington Bridge 3.2.jpg
The George Washington Bridge, the world's busiest vehicle bridge, connects Fort Lee in North Jersey with Upper Manhattan in New York City.

North Jersey, also known as Northern New Jersey, comprises the northern portions of the U.S. state of New Jersey between the upper Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean. As a distinct toponym, North Jersey is a colloquial one rather than an administrative one, reflecting geographical and perceived cultural and other differences between it and the southern part of the state. [1] [2]

Contents

North Jersey is characterized by its position, both geographically and culturally, within the greater New York City metropolitan area, as well as its high economic output, including its regional economic engines of Paramus in Bergen County, which had $6 billion in annual retail sales as of 2018 [3] and Jersey City, whose financial district has been nicknamed "Wall Street West", [4] Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, and Port Newark–Elizabeth Marine Terminal.

Bergen County is the most populous county in both North Jersey and the state and serves as the western terminus for the George Washington Bridge, the world's busiest motor vehicle bridge, which connects Fort Lee, New Jersey to Upper Manhattan in New York City. [5] Newark, located in Essex County, is New Jersey's most populous city. Jersey City, Paterson, and Elizabeth, located in Hudson, Passaic, and Union counties in North Jersey are the second, third, and fourth most populous cities in the state after Newark.

The exact definition of which counties constitute North Jersey is a subject of debate. Definitions of the North Jersey region of the state most consistently include Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Passaic, Sussex, and Warren counties, though definitions of North Jersey frequently vary and may include other New Jersey counties in the New York metropolitan area that are sometimes differentiated as or considered "Central Jersey", including Middlesex County, Union County, Monmouth County, Somerset County, Hunterdon County, Mercer County, and even the northern portion of Ocean County.

Geography

A definition of North Jersey includes Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Passaic, Sussex, Union, and Warren counties. North Jersey.svg
A definition of North Jersey includes Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Passaic, Sussex, Union, and Warren counties.
The beach at Sea Bright in Monmouth County Opening to beach at Sea Bright NJ.jpg
The beach at Sea Bright in Monmouth County
The Hudson River seen below an overlook on the Palisades in Alpine Palisades Sill near Englewood Cliffs.jpg
The Hudson River seen below an overlook on the Palisades in Alpine
Delaware Water Gap at the border of Warren County and the Lehigh Valley in eastern Pennsylvania 2014-08-25 11 44 48 View south-southwest from the Appalachian Trail about 10.2 miles northeast of the Delaware Water Gap in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, New Jersey.JPG
Delaware Water Gap at the border of Warren County and the Lehigh Valley in eastern Pennsylvania

Geologically, North Jersey is largely in the Piedmont Province, the Highlands Province, and the Ridge and Valley Province. Depending on definitions, some are counted as being in the Atlantic coastal plain.

North Jersey has a Humid Continental Climate (Dfb) by Köppen.

Definitions

One particular definition of North Jersey includes all points in New Jersey north of I-295 in the western part of the state and all points north of I-195 in the eastern part of the state. Another definition uses the old 1956-era 201 telephone area code, not the modern 201 area code, and all its additions, as this area code loosely included all of New Jersey north of Trenton. Some residents of the northern tier of counties use a narrower definition, counting only that area north of the mouth of the Raritan River. Conversely, people in South Jersey and within the Philadelphia metropolitan area, when using a two-portion approach that excludes Central Jersey as a separate category, may define North Jersey as consisting of Ocean County and every county north of it, essentially placing all New Jersey counties that are within the New York metropolitan area under the definition of North Jersey. The state is also sometimes described as having North Jersey and South Jersey separated from each other by Central Jersey. [6]

Further subdivision

In 2008, the New Jersey State Department of Tourism divided the state into six tourist regions with the Gateway and Skylands regions included in North Jersey. [7]

Counties most consistently defined as North Jersey counties

The following counties are most consistently considered North Jersey:

History

North Jersey was the site of some of the earliest European settlements in what would become the United States of America. Its colonial history started after Henry Hudson sailed through Newark Bay in 1609. Although Hudson was British, he worked for the Netherlands, so he claimed the land for the Dutch as part of the provincial colony of New Netherland, [8] with original settlements centered in Bergen in today's Hudson County. In 1664, the region became part of the Province of New Jersey.

During the American Revolutionary War, New Jersey was a strategic location between New York City, and the Continental Congress in Philadelphia. Important materials necessary to the war effort were sometimes produced in North Jersey, and the Continental Army made its home in North Jersey for part of the war. George Washington, commanding general of the Continental Army, maintained his headquarters at Ford Mansion in Morristown for part of the Revolutionary War, from December 1779 to June 1780. In the northwestern part of the state, iron mines and foundries supplied raw material for the Continental Army's guns and ammunition.

The American Industrial Revolution started by the founding of the North Jersey town of Paterson. Today, the United States and the world enjoy the fruit born of seeds planted in North Jersey during the Industrial Revolution. Alexander Hamilton, Secretary for the Treasury and President of the Bank of New York during the end of the eighteenth century, selected the Great Falls area, also known as the Passaic Falls, for an ambitious experiment. He promoted the natural power of the Great Falls as an excellent location for textile mills and other manufacturers.

Paterson attracted skilled craftsmen and engineers from Europe to run the mills and produced a large concentration of creative and able people. During the mid-nineteenth century, many of the engines and materials that would be used to colonize a continent were made here. Thomas Edison installed one of the first hydroelectric power plants in the world, which still provides electricity today, using the Great Falls as an energy source.

In West Orange, Edison created the first technical research and development facility with his invention factory. Electric light, improved motion pictures, and sound recording, were among the hundreds of inventions produced here. [9]

Demographics

The seven counties that are most commonly included in North Jersey have an estimated total population of 3,787,937 as of 2022; this rises to 4,357,752 with the inclusion of Union County. [10] As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the demographics of all the seven main counties combined are 66.8% White, 18.5% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% African American, 6.6% Asian, 0.2% Native American, and 0.1% Pacific Islander.

Population

Municipalities with over 30,000 population
2017 RankMunicipalityCountyPopulation in

2017

Population in

2010

Municipal

Type

1 Newark Essex 285,154277,140City
2 Jersey City Hudson 270,753247,597City
3 Paterson Passaic 148,678146,199City
4 Clifton Passaic86,60784,136City
5 Passaic Passaic71,24769,781City
6 Union City Hudson70,38766,455City
7 Bayonne Hudson67,18663,024City
8 East Orange Essex65,37864,270City
9 North Bergen Hudson63,65960,773Township
10 Union Union58,65950,773Township
11 Hoboken Hudson55,13150,005City
12 Wayne Passaic55,07254,717Township
13 Irvington Essex54,86553,926Township
14 West New York Hudson54,22749,708Town
15 Parsippany-Troy Hills Morris 53,20153,238Township
16 Bloomfield Essex50,97047,315Township
17 West Orange Essex48,42546,207Township
18 Hackensack Bergen 45,24843,010City
19 Kearny Hudson42,67040,648Town
20 Teaneck Bergen41,31139,776Township
21 Montclair Essex39,22737,669Township
22 Fort Lee Bergen37,90735,345Borough
23 Belleville Essex36,49835,926Township
24 Fair Lawn Bergen33,71032,457Borough
25 Garfield Bergen32,39330,487City
26 City of Orange Essex30,81330,134Township
27 Livingston Essex30,14229,366Township
County population
RankCountyPopulation in 2022County seatArea
1 Bergen 952,997 Hackensack 234 sq mi

(606 km2)

2 Essex 849,477 Newark 126 sq mi

(326 km2)

3 Hudson 703,366 Jersey City 47 sq mi

(122 km2)

4 Passaic 513,936 Paterson 185 sq mi

(479 km2)

5 Morris 511,151 Morristown 469 sq mi

(1,215 km2)

6 Sussex 146,084 Newton 521 sq mi

(1,349 km2)

7 Warren 110,926 Belvidere 358 sq mi

(927 km2)

Professional sports fans

Sports allegiances are often divided between the northern and southern portions of the state. [2] The 2009 World Series divided the people of New Jersey, because South Jersey residents generally root for the Philadelphia Phillies, while North Jersey residents usually root for the New York Yankees or the New York Mets. A similar trend exists for most other major sports, with North Jersey residents supporting the Brooklyn Nets or the New York Knicks in basketball, the New Jersey Devils, or the New York Rangers in hockey, the New York Red Bulls or New York City FC in soccer, and the New York Giants or the New York Jets in football.

Dialect

Notable North Jerseyans

See also

References and footnotes

  1. "Drawing the line: Talking with the blogger behind "Where is the Line Between North & South Jersey?"". nj.com. 28 March 2008.
  2. 1 2 Mikle, Jean (March 31, 2008). "An invisible boundary divides N.J." Home News Tribune . Retrieved January 12, 2010.("Of course, part of the problem with understanding New Jersey's enduring regional tension is that few residents can agree on where the northern half of the state end and the southern half begins.")
  3. Allison Pries (March 10, 2019). "Inside the N.J. town where retail spending beats Hollywood and tourism rivals Disney". New Jersey On-Line LLC. 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.
  4. A Vision for Smart Transit in Jersey City Archived 2016-12-26 at the Wayback Machine , United States Department of Transportation, February 4, 2016. Accessed May 5, 2019. "Development along the Hudson River waterfront led to the development of the 'Wall Street West' financial district, one of the largest centers of banking and finance in the nation."
  5. "Bridges & Tunnels Home". www.panynj.gov. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  6. Stirling, Stephen (April 24, 2015). "Here are the North, Central and South Jersey borders as determined by you (INTERACTIVE)". NJ.com. Retrieved December 16, 2015. For one, NJ.com readers overwhelmingly agreed that Central Jersey does, in fact, exist. More than 50,000 of the votes received went toward categorizing Central Jersey towns, far outweighing those received for North and South Jersey.
  7. "New Jersey Travel Destinations (map)". 2008. Archived from the original on September 18, 2008. Retrieved June 21, 2015.
  8. "A short history of New Jersey".
  9. "History of Northern New Jersey - rt23.com". www.rt23.com. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
  10. Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Minor Civil Divisions in New Jersey: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2022, United States Census Bureau. Accessed January 19, 2024.

40°47′29″N74°15′45″W / 40.7915°N 74.2624°W / 40.7915; -74.2624

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Passaic County, New Jersey</span> County in New Jersey, United States

Passaic County is a county in the U.S. state of New Jersey that is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the county was the state's eighth-most-populous county, with a population of 524,118, its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 22,892 (+4.6%) from the 2010 census count of 501,226, which in turn reflected an increase of 12,177 (+2.5%) from the 489,049 counted in the 2000 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Essex County, New Jersey</span> County in New Jersey, United States

Essex County is located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of New Jersey, and is one of the centrally located counties in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the county was the state's second-most populous county, with a population of 863,728, its highest decennial count since the 1970 census and an increase of 79,759 (+10.2%) from the 2010 census count of 783,969. The county is part of the North Jersey region of the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bergen County, New Jersey</span> County in New Jersey, United States

Bergen County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Located in the northeastern corner of New Jersey, Bergen County and its many inner suburbs constitute a highly developed part of the New York City metropolitan area, bordering the Hudson River; the George Washington Bridge, which crosses the Hudson, connects Bergen County with Manhattan. The county is part of the North Jersey region of the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Jersey Route 7</span> State highway in northern New Jersey, US

Route 7 is a state highway in the northern part of New Jersey in the United States. It has two sections, an east–west alignment running from U.S. Route 1/9 Truck in Jersey City to the Passaic River in Belleville, and a north–south alignment running from the Newark/Belleville to the Nutley/Clifton border. The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) lists Route 7 as a single north–south highway with a small gap between the alignments. The entire highway has a combined length of 9.46 mi (15.22 km).

Scouting in New Jersey has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live. The second Boy Scouts of America National Headquarters was in North Brunswick, although it was referred to in BSA publications as being in neighboring New Brunswick.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Passaic River</span> River in New Jersey, United States

The Passaic River is a river, approximately 80 miles (130 km) long, in northern New Jersey. The river in its upper course flows in a highly circuitous route, meandering through the swamp lowlands between the ridge hills of rural and suburban northern New Jersey, called the Great Swamp, draining much of the northern portion of the state through its tributaries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of Jersey City, New Jersey-area railroads</span>

For the purposes of this article, the Jersey City area extends North to Edgewater, South to Bayonne and includes Kearny Junction and Harrison but not Newark. Many routes east of Newark are listed here.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Branch</span> Railway line in New Jersey

The Northern Branch is a railroad line that runs from Jersey City to Northvale in northeastern New Jersey, and formerly extended further into New York State. The line was constructed in 1859 by the Northern Railroad of New Jersey to connect the New York and Erie Railroad's Piermont Branch terminus in Piermont, New York, directly to Erie's primary terminal in Jersey City, initially Exchange Place, later Pavonia Terminal. In 1870 the line was extended to Nyack, New York, and continued to provide passenger service until 1966. After the Erie's unsuccessful merger with the Lackawanna Railroad to form the Erie-Lackawanna, ownership of the line passed into the hands of Conrail upon its formation in 1976 from a number of bankrupt railroads.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Area codes 973 and 862</span> Telephone area codes in northern New Jersey

Area codes 973 and 862 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) in the northernmost part of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The numbering plan area (NPA) comprises the counties, or parts, of Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Passaic, Sussex and Union Counties. Cities in this service area include Newark, Paterson, Clifton, Passaic, Montclair, Morristown, Parsippany, Dover, Maplewood, and The Oranges.

The Newark Plank Road was a major artery between Hudson Waterfront at Paulus Hook and city of Newark further inland across the New Jersey Meadows. As its name suggests, a plank road was constructed of wooden planks laid side-to-side on a roadbed. Similar roads, the Bergen Point Plank Road, the Hackensack Plank Road and Paterson Plank Road, traveled to the locales for which they are named. The name is no longer used, the route having been absorbed into other streets and freeways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gateway Region</span> Urbanized area of northeastern New Jersey, US

The Gateway Region is the primary urbanized area of the northeastern section of New Jersey. It is anchored by Newark, the state's most populous city. It is part of the New York metropolitan area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Passaic–Bergen–Hudson Transit Project</span>

The Passaic–Bergen–Hudson Transit Project is a project under study by NJ Transit to reintroduce passenger service on a portion of the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (NYSW) right-of-way (ROW) in Passaic, Bergen and Hudson counties using newly built, FRA-compliant diesel multiple unit rail cars. Plans call for service to run from Hawthorne south through Paterson, east to Hackensack and then southeast to North Bergen, where it would join the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail (HBLR).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Barbadoes Neck</span>

New Barbadoes Neck is the name given in the colonial era for the peninsula in northeastern New Jersey, US between the lower Hackensack and Passaic Rivers, in what is now western Hudson County and southern Bergen County. The neck begins in the south at Kearny Point in the Newark Bay and is characterized by a ridge along the west and part of the New Jersey Meadowlands on the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Hudson, New Jersey</span> Populated place in Hudson County, New Jersey, US

West Hudson is the western part of Hudson County, New Jersey comprising the contiguous municipalities of Kearny, Harrison and East Newark, which lies on the peninsula between the Hackensack River and Passaic River.

The Newark Branch was a branch of the Erie Railroad in New Jersey, United States, running between Jersey City and Paterson and passing through the Broadway Section in North Newark, the origin of its name. Inaugurated in the 1870s, the line was last used for passenger service on September 30, 1966, but continues to be used for freight service on a portion of its length.

The North Jersey Super Football Conference is a football-only athletic league of high schools in New Jersey. The 115-team league was formed in 2016.

The Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission (PVSC) is a regional wastewater public utility located in Newark, New Jersey. Established in 1902, PVSC provides sewage treatment services to 1.5 million people, consisting of 48 municipalities, in Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Union and Passaic Counties. The commission also provides environmental education programs to school districts in its service area. The largest cities are Newark, Jersey City, Bayonne, Union City, East Orange, Passaic, Paterson, Clifton, and the Township of North Bergen.