The U.S. state of New Jersey is home to significant and growing numbers of people of Hispanic and Latino descent, who in 2024 represented a Census-estimated 23.5% of the state's total population (nearly 2.23 million). New Jersey's Latino population comprises substantial concentrations of Dominican Americans, Puerto Rican Americans, Cuban Americans, Mexican Americans, Central Americans, Peruvian Americans, Colombian Americans, and Ecuadorian Americans. New Jersey is also home to a large Brazilian American and Portuguese-speaking population.
The state has multiple municipalities with Hispanic-majority populations.Sen-Yuan Wu, "Growing New Jersey Minority Population Reaches Majority in Some Municipalities" , NJ Labor Market Views issue #7, NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development, May 16, 2011. Latinos and Hispanics form one-third of the population in the largest city, Newark settling in the Forest Hill, Broadway and Mount Pleasant neighborhoods which comprise mostly of Puerto Ricans and Dominicans. The northern part of Hudson County has been nicknamed Havana on the Hudson for the large number of Cuban exiles and émigrés living there. Little Lima, in Paterson, is the largest Peruvian enclave outside of South America.
Many Latino and Hispanic people have been elected to public office in New Jersey, at both the state and local levels.
Places and populations
Municipalities of New Jersey with majority Hispanic populations as of the 2010 United States census are:Census factinder for 2010 census retrieved 2014-07-13
Places with over 100,000 people Elizabeth (65.72%, 2020) Paterson (61.89%, 2020) which includes the neighborhoods of Little Lima and La Ventiuno
Places with between 25,000 and 100,000 people Camden (52.81%, 2020) North Bergen (70.86%, 2020) Passaic (71.0%) Perth Amboy (78.1%) Plainfield (54.58%, 2020) Union City (84.7%) West New York (78.1%) New Brunswick (56.77%, 2020)
Places with between 10,000 and 25,000 people Dover (69.4%) Fairview (54.6%) Guttenberg (64.8%) Bound Brook (2020, 53.17%)
Places with fewer than 10,000 people East Newark (61.4%) Prospect Park (52.1%) Silver Lake (55.3%) Victory Gardens (63.0%)
Center for Hispanic Policy, Research and Development The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs Center for Hispanic Policy, Research and Development is designed to empower the Hispanic community of New Jersey by administering grant dollars and providing other assistance to Hispanic community-based organizations, creating training and employment opportunities for Hispanic college interns, conducting and supporting research on New Jersey's Hispanic community, and ensuring Hispanic access to services and programs.
Public officeholders There are officeholders of Latino background throughout the state.
Statewide Esther Salas, federal district judge for the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey Faustino J. Fernandez-Vina, Associate Justice New Jersey Supreme Court Roberto A. Rivera-Soto, Associate Justice New Jersey Supreme Court
US Congress
Bob Menendez, United States Senator"Robert Menendez, a Politician Even at 20" The New York Times, December 10, 2005Wayne Parry, Associated Press (via the San Francisco Chronicle), , December 8, 2005 Albio Sires, Member of the United States House of Representatives 13th congressional district
State Legislators Marlene Caride (1963), 36th Legislative District. Gabriela M. Mosquera, State Assemblywoman, 4th Legislative District Nilsa Cruz-Perez, State Senator, 5th District Maria Rodriguez-Gregg, State Assemblywoman, 8th Legislative District Annette Quijano, State Assemblywomen 20th Legislative District Teresa Ruiz, State Senator, 29th Legislative District Eliana Pintor Marin, State Assemblywomen 29th Legislative District Vincent Prieto, State Assemblyman 32nd legislative district, Speaker of Assembly Angelica M. Jimenez, State Assemblywomen 32nd Legislative District Ruben J. Ramos, State Assemblyman, 33rd legislative district Caridad Rodriguez, State Assemblywoman 33rd Legislative District Nellie Pou, State Senator, 35th Legislative District Kristin Corrado, State Senator, 40th Legislative District
Hudson
Eliu Rivera, Freeholder District 4 Rudy Garcia, appointed mayor of Union City
Newark
The percentage of Latinos in Newark, the most populous city in New Jersey, grew considerably between 1980 and 2010, from 18.6% to 33.8%; that of blacks has slightly decreased from 58.2% to 52.4%. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 33.83% (93,746) or one-third of the population, of which 13% of the total population was Puerto Rican. While municipal elections have seen black-Latino coalitions, voting tends to remain racially polarized. Luis A. Quintana Teresa Ruiz
Passaic Hector Carlos Lora Jose "Joey" Torres Julio Tavarez, Councilmember representing 5th Ward in the City of Paterson, New Jersey Bernice Toledo, Passaic County Surrogate Court Judge and New Jersey State Superior Court Deputy Clerk. Elected in 2011. Re-elected in 2016.
Bergen Carlos Rendo, Mayor of Woodcliff Lake Anthony R. Suarez, served as Mayor of Ridgefield, New Jersey
Middlesex Joseph Vas Wilda Diaz
Union Angel Estrada Annette Quijano
South Jersey Nilsa Cruz-Perez Carmen G. Rodriguez , Camden County Freeholder
Sports and arts
Carol-Lynn Parente, executive producer of Sesame Street (Puerto Rican-American)Rohan, Virginia. "Former fan now in charge of 'Sesame Street'", The Record (Bergen County), August 13, 2007. Accessed August 13, 2007. Franck de Las Mercedes, visual artist (Nicaraguan American)Levine, Daniel Rome. "Triunfador Franck de Las Mercedes", ABC News, August 16, 2007. Accessed August 18, 2008. Tab Ramos, US national soccer team player (Uruguayan American)Mifflin, Lawrie. "Doing a Star Turn for the Home Team, at Last", The New York Times, August 18, 1996. Accessed January 7, 2008.
Demographics
Ancestry by origin (2024) Number% Puerto Rican 484,119Dominican 389,580Mexican 270,758Ecuadorian 185,266Colombian 164,808Guatemalan 107,164Peruvian 106,013Cuban 96,396Salvadoran 94,403
See also
Hispanic and Latino community of Camden, New Jersey
References
Further reading