Central Jersey, or Central New Jersey, is the middle region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The designation Central Jersey is a distinct administrative toponym. While New Jersey is often divided into North Jersey and South Jersey, many residents recognize Central Jersey as a distinct third entity. As of the 2020 census, Central Jersey has a population of 2,300,155 (when tabulating the counties of Middlesex, Union, Mercer, Somerset and Hunterdon). Broadly speaking, Central Jersey is the fastest-growing region of the State of New Jersey, attributed to consistently robust levels of new housing construction, accompanied by an influx of Indians, Chinese, and Orthodox Jews.
All descriptions of Central Jersey include Middlesex County, the population center of New Jersey, and most include much of nearby Monmouth, Mercer, Somerset, and Hunterdon counties. The inclusion of adjacent Union and Ocean counties on the north and south of the region, respectively, is a source of debate.("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 ends and the southern half begins.") In 2015, New Jersey Business magazine defined Central Jersey more narrowly as the five counties of Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, and Somerset.Saliba, George N. "Central New Jersey’s Success The low-down on economic developments within this five-county region.", New Jersey Business, March 16, 2015. Accessed December 4, 2019. "While New Jersey’s onerous tax structure and an uncertain economic climate have often been headline news, perhaps unsung is the fact that portions of the Garden State are steadily thriving, including much of Central New Jersey, which is : Somerset County, Monmouth County, Mercer County, Hunterdon County and Middlesex County."
In 2022, legislation was proposed in the New Jersey Legislature to establish distinct geographic areas for tourism in the state. Bill A4711 was sponsored by Assemblymembers Roy Freiman, Sadaf Jaffer, and Anthony Verrelli in the New Jersey General Assembly.New Jersey Legislature. Bill A4711 Session 2022 - 2023], New Jersey Legislature, introduced October 11, 2022. Accessed February 18, 2023. "The Division of Travel and Tourism shall re-draw the State tourism map to create a 'Central Jersey' region comprised, at a minimum of the counties of Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, and Somerset, and to incorporate the 'Central Jersey' region in all regional marketing activities, including in publications and on the VisitNJ.org website." This included an official designation of the region of Central Jersey, which the legislation defines more broadly as the seven counties of Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Somerset, and Union.Mitman, Hayden."New Bill Looks to Establish ‘Central Jersey': In support of tourism, a New Jersey lawmaker has proposed an official 'central' region that would include Hunterdon, Somerset, Union, Middlesex, Mercer, Monmouth, and Ocean counties", NBC 10: Philadelphia, Published February 17, 2023. Accessed February 18, 2023.Sobko, Katie."Central Jersey exists, and NJ lawmakers have defined it in a bill that just advanced", mycentraljersey.com, Trenton Bureau, Published February 17, 2023. Accessed February 18, 2023. The New Jersey Senate version of this legislation passed by a vote of 36-1 on June 20, 2023. On August 24, 2023, Gov. Murphy signed legislation officially designating Central Jersey including, at a minimum, the counties of Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, and Somerset.
Trenton, the seat of Mercer County and the state capital of New Jersey, is located in Central Jersey. New Jersey's geographic center is in Hamilton, Mercer County. In 2011, the population center of the state was in the western portion of East Brunswick, in Middlesex County. The two busiest highways in New Jersey, the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway, intersect in Woodbridge, Middlesex County. Princeton University and Rutgers University, the two most prominent institutions of higher education in the state, are situated in Central Jersey, partially contributing to the region's status as the world's largest pharmaceutical industry hub.
Geography
The region lies roughly at the geographic heart of the Northeast megalopolis and is wholly in the New York metropolitan area, the nation's largest metropolitan area. All of Central Jersey has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Dfa).
The Philadelphia metropolitan area is another area that is associated with some parts of Central Jersey, specifically Mercer County. Yet despite the County’s close geographic proximity to Philadelphia's combined statistical area, Mercer County is considered part of the New York Combined Metropolitan Statistical Area as defined by the United States Census Bureau.1999 State-based Metropolitan Areas Maps, United States Census Bureau. Accessed August 2, 2022.New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area, United States Census Bureau. Accessed August 2, 2022.Combined Statistical Areas of the United States and Puerto Rico – March 2020, United States Census Bureau. Accessed August 2, 2022. Some but not all regions of Hunterdon County associate themselves with the Philadelphia metropolitan area.
The Raritan Valley is the region along the middle reaches of the Raritan River and its North Branch and South Branch. The Raritan Valley includes the communities of Branchburg, Bridgewater, Somerville, Raritan, Hillsborough, Franklin Township, Green Brook, North Plainfield, Bound Brook, and South Bound Brook, all in Somerset County; Dunellen, Middlesex, Piscataway, South Plainfield, Highland Park, New Brunswick, East Brunswick, Edison, and Metuchen, all in the northern and central portions of Middlesex County; and Plainfield in southwestern Union County.
The Raritan Bayshore is used to describe the region in Middlesex and Monmouth Counties, located along the coastline of the Raritan Bay, from the mouth of the Raritan River in the west to the barrier island of Sandy Hook bordering the Atlantic Ocean in the east. The Raritan Bayshore includes the communities of Sayreville, Woodbridge, Perth Amboy, South Amboy, and Old Bridge, all in northeastern Middlesex County; Aberdeen, Matawan, Keyport, Union Beach, Hazlet, Keansburg, Holmdel, Middletown, Atlantic Highlands, and Highlands, all in northern Monmouth County.
The telephone area codes 732 and 848 includes Middlesex, Monmouth, Somerset, Union, and northern Ocean counties. While area codes 609 and 640 includes southern Ocean, Hunterdon, and Somerset counties, as well as Mercer County.Newman, Andy. "New Area Codes Introduced", The New York Times, June 2, 1997. Accessed January 23, 2008.
Colonial era
Between 1674 and 1702, in the early part of New Jersey's colonial period, the border between West Jersey and East Jersey ran diagonally across the middle part of the state. The Keith Line, as the demarcation is known, ran through the center of what is now Mercer County. This border remained important in determining ownership and political boundaries until 1745. Remnants of that division are seen today, notably as the Hunterdon-Somerset, Ocean-Burlington, and Monmouth-Burlington county lines. The division of the two provinces was cultural as well as geographical.
New Jersey's position between the cities of New York and Philadelphia led to the saying that the state was like "a barrel tapped at both ends", a quote often attributed to Benjamin Franklin.Fairall, Herbert (1885). The World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition, New Orleans, 1884-1885. p. 225. Google Book Search. Retrieved on December 4, 2009. "Dr. Benjamin Franklin once perpetrated the witticism 'that New Jersey was like a beer barrel tapped at both ends, with all the live beer running into Philadelphia and New York.'" Travel between the two cities originally included a ferry crossing. Due to the obstacles created by the Meadowlands and the Hudson Palisades, passengers from New York would cross the North River and the Upper New York Bay by boat and then transfer to stagecoaches to travel overland through what is now Central Jersey. One route from Elizabethtown to Lambertville was known as Old York Road. Another route, from Perth Amboy through Kingston to Burlington, ran along a portion of the Kings Highway, These roads followed Lenape paths known respectively as the Naritcong Trail and the Assunpink Trail.
Raritan Landing, across from New Brunswick in today's Piscataway, became an important inland port and commercial hub for the region. Two of the nine Colonial Colleges, founded before the American Revolution, were the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), and Queens College (now Rutgers University).
Population +Municipalities with over 30,000 population2017 RankMunicipalityCountyPopulation in 2017Population in 2010Municipal Type1ElizabethUnion130,215124,969City2Lakewood TownshipOcean102,68292,843Township3EdisonMiddlesex102,45099,967Township4Woodbridge TownshipMiddlesex101,96599,585Township5Toms RiverOcean93,01791,239Township6Hamilton TownshipMercer89,07888,464Township7TrentonMercer84,96484,913City8Brick TownshipOcean75,51675,072Township9Old Bridge TownshipMiddlesex67,03265,375Township10Franklin TownshipSomerset66,73462,300Township11Middletown TownshipMonmouth65,60366,522Township12PiscatawayMiddlesex57,88756,044Township13New BrunswickMiddlesex57,07355,181City14Jackson TownshipOcean57,07354,856Township15Perth AmboyMiddlesex52,82350,814City16Howell TownshipMonmouth52,47651,075Township17PlainfieldUnion51,32749,908City18East BrunswickMiddlesex48,84047,512Township19South BrunswickMiddlesex46,56143,417Township20Bridgewater TownshipSomerset45,41444,464Township21Monroe TownshipMiddlesex45,33239,132Township22SayrevilleMiddlesex45,32542,704Borough23Manchester TownshipOcean43,49543,070Township24LindenUnion43,05640,499City25North BrunswickMiddlesex42,64140,742Township26Berkeley TownshipOcean41,74741,255Township27Marlboro TownshipMonmouth40,30640,191Township28Manalapan TownshipMonmouth40,01338,872Township29Hillsborough TownshipSomerset40,00338,303Township30Ewing TownshipMercer36,54935,790Township31Freehold TownshipMonmouth35,05336,184Township32Lawrence TownshipMercer33,16133,472Township33Long BranchMonmouth30,76230,719City34WestfieldUnion30,43330,316Town35Lacey TownshipOcean30,13127,346Township +County PopulationRankCountyPopulationCounty SeatArea1Middlesex829,685New Brunswick311 sq mi (805 km2)2Monmouth621,354Freehold Borough472 sq mi (1,222 km2)3Mercer369,811Trenton226 sq mi (585 km2)4Somerset331,164Somerville305 sq mi (790 km2)5Hunterdon124,714Flemington430 sq mi (1,114 km2)
Asian American population Asian Indian population