Little Ferry is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 10,987, an increase of 361 (+3.4%) from the 2010 census count of 10,626, which in turn reflected a decline of 174 (−1.6%) from the 10,800 counted in the 2000 census.Table 7. Population for the Counties and Municipalities in New Jersey: 1990, 2000 and 2010, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, February 2011. Accessed May 1, 2023.
History Little Ferry was formed by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on September 18, 1894, from portions of Lodi Township and New Barbadoes Township, based on the results of a referendum held two days earlier.Snyder, John P. The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 80. Accessed May 29, 2024.History of Bergen County, New Jersey, 1630-1923, p. 375. Only shows Lodi Township as parent municipality. The borough was formed during the "Boroughitis" phenomenon then sweeping through Bergen County, in which 26 boroughs were formed in the county in 1894 alone.Harvey, Cornelius Burnham. Genealogical History of Hudson and Bergen Counties, New Jersey, p. 11, New Jersey Genealogical Publishing Company, 1900. Accessed September 3, 2013. "For a period of sixteen years following the passage of this act few boroughs were organized in the State, only three of them being in Bergen County.... As it was twenty-six boroughs were created in the county from January 23, 1894, to December 18, of the same year."
During the colonial era, the borough was the site of an important ferry crossing between the region's towns at Bergen and Hackensack, which was operated by rope on the site starting in 1659, continuing until 1826 when it was replaced by a bridge on the Bergen Turnpike.Snow, Violet. "Little Ferry 'tries to improve living' for residents", The Record, October 2, 2011. Accessed June 7, 2012. "History is in evidence in the borough, which is named after a rope-towed ferry that provided transportation across the Hackensack River, the town's eastern border, between 1659 and 1826."Hutchinson, Viola L. The Origin of New Jersey Place Names, New Jersey Public Library Commission, May 1945. Accessed September 3, 2015.Gannett, Henry. The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States, p. 188. United States Government Printing Office, 1905. Accessed September 3, 2015.
Gethsemane Cemetery, an African burial ground, was opened in 1860 and was used for interments until 1924.Hanley, Robert. "In Brief: Heritage; Cemetery Dedicated", The New York Times, November 2, 2003. Accessed June 7, 2012. "In the late 1970s, the N.A.A.C.P. began a campaign to restore a burial ground in Little Ferry known as Gethsemane Cemetery and to recognize its historical significance. Last week the effort paid off.From 1860, when slavery was still legal in New Jersey, until 1924, at least 381 black residents of Hackensack were buried in the one-acre cemetery." The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places: Bergen County, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Historic Preservation Office, updated March 30, 2023. Accessed April 30, 2023.
In the earlier 20th nearby Fort Lee on the Hudson Palisades was home to many film studios of America's first motion picture industry. On July 9, 1937, a major fire broke out in a 20th Century-Fox film storage facility in Little Ferry. Flammable nitrate film had previously contributed to several fires in film industry laboratories, studios and vaults, although the precise causes were often unknown; in the Little Ferry fire, temperatures of and insufficient venting were the proximate causes.Verzoni, Angelo. "Film in Flames; The Fox Film Corporation vault fire of 1937, Little Ferry, New Jersey", NFPA Journal, July / August 2017. Accessed December 16, 2020. "Nitrate film, also known as celluloid film, was the most popular film from the advent of cinema through the mid-20th century. But there was a problem with it: Nitrate film was so unstable that, when exposed to high temperatures or improperly stored, it could spontaneously combust. That’s what happened on July 9, 1937, in a film storage facility owned by the Fox Film Corporation in Little Ferry, New Jersey. In the midst of a heat wave that drove daytime temperatures above 100 degrees F, a sudden ignition of nitrate film stored in inadequately vented vaults triggered a violent blast that claimed the life of a teenage boy and destroyed all of the film stored there."
Rosie's Diner (formerly the Farmland Diner) was used in the 1970s for the filming of Bounty paper towel commercials featuring Nancy Walker as Rosie the Waitress.King, Wayne. "Our Towns; It's the Last Call At Rosie's Diner, And on the Road", The New York Times, January 12, 1990. Accessed June 7, 2012. "Rosie's Farmland Diner on Route 46 in Little Ferry may be the best-known diner in America, but it is still a real diner.... It was called the Silver Dollar then, but Ralph Carrado changed it to Rosie's around 1970, after it became famous. That was because of the Bounty paper-towel commercials on television. Nancy Walker played Rosie, who mopped up all sorts of diner spills with paper towels she called the quicker picker-upper. After two decades, she is still doing it."
New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked Little Ferry 35th in its 2008 rankings of the "Best Places To Live" in New Jersey."Best Places To Live - The Complete Top Towns List 1-100" , New Jersey Monthly, February 21, 2008. Accessed February 24, 2008.
Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 1.67 square miles (4.32 km2), including 1.48 square miles (3.83 km2) of land and 0.19 square miles (0.50 km2) of water (11.44%).
The borough borders the Bergen County municipalities of Hackensack, Moonachie, Ridgefield, Ridgefield Park, South Hackensack and Teterboro.Areas touching Little Ferry, MapIt. Accessed February 25, 2020.Bergen County Map of Municipalities, Bergen County, New Jersey. Accessed February 25, 2020.New Jersey Municipal Boundaries, New Jersey Department of Transportation. Accessed November 15, 2019.
The borough lies near the confluence of the Hackensack River and Overpeck Creek in the New Jersey Meadowlands.Appendix I: Archaeology, Northern Branch Corridor Project, December 2011. Accessed January 7, 2015. "The trading post/fort is said to have been located near the site of modern day Little Ferry at the confluence of Overpeck Creek and the Hackensack River (Works Progress Administration 1941:7)."
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition +Little Ferry borough, Bergen County, New Jersey – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 2000Pop 2010Pop 2020% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)6,5045,0164,01260.22%47.20%36.52%Black or African American alone (NH)4873664694.51%3.44%4.27%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)92260.08%0.21%0.05%Asian alone (NH)1,8422,5502,71717.06%24.00%24.73%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)3230.03%0.02%0.03%Other race alone (NH)2634910.24%0.32%0.83%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)2881942212.67%1.83%2.01%Hispanic or Latino (any race)1,6412,4423,46815.19%22.98%31.56%Total10,80010,62610,987 100.00%100.00%100.00%
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Little Ferry had a population of 10,987. The median age was 41.5 years. 17.6% of residents were under the age of 18 and 15.8% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 95.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 94.2 males age 18 and over.
100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 4,351 households in Little Ferry, of which 26.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 45.4% were married-couple households, 21.0% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 28.4% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 4,527 housing units, of which 3.9% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.7% and the rental vacancy rate was 3.2%.
2010 census
The 2010 United States census counted 10,626 people, 4,239 households, and 2,730 families in the borough. The population density was . There were 4,439 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup was 60.78% (6,458) White, 3.94% (419) Black or African American, 0.30% (32) Native American, 24.24% (2,576) Asian, 0.04% (4) Pacific Islander, 7.05% (749) from other races, and 3.65% (388) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 22.98% (2,442) of the population. Korean Americans accounted for 12.0% of the population.
Of the 4,239 households, 26.5% had children under the age of 18; 47.9% were married couples living together; 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present and 35.6% were non-families. Of all households, 31.0% were made up of individuals and 9.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.19. Same-sex couples headed 27 households in 2010, an increase from the 24 counted in 2000.Lipman, Harvy; and Sheingold, Dave. "North Jersey sees 30% growth in same-sex couples", The Record, August 14, 2011, backed up by the Internet Archive as of February 3, 2013. Accessed September 27, 2014.
19.7% of the population were under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 29.4% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.2 years. For every 100 females, the population had 94.6 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 92.8 males.
The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $57,276 (with a margin of error of +/− $6,389) and the median family income was $74,000 (+/− $10,299). Males had a median income of $52,898 (+/− $3,123) versus $40,934 (+/− $3,050) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $29,257 (+/− $2,542). About 4.8% of families and 6.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.1% of those under age 18 and 3.4% of those age 65 or over.DP03: Selected Economic Characteristics from the 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates for Little Ferry borough, Bergen County, New Jersey , United States Census Bureau. Accessed June 7, 2012.
2000 census As of the 2000 United States census there were 10,800 people, 4,366 households, and 2,785 families residing in the borough. The population density was . There were 4,449 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the borough was 68.76% White, 4.71% African American, 0.15% Native American, 17.10% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 5.75% from other races, and 3.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.19% of the population.Census 2000 Profiles of Demographic / Social / Economic / Housing Characteristics for Little Ferry borough, New Jersey , United States Census Bureau. Accessed March 7, 2013.DP-1: Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000 - Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data for Little Ferry borough, Bergen County, New Jersey , United States Census Bureau. Accessed March 7, 2013.
There were 4,366 households, out of which 27.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.3% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.2% were non-families. 31.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.16.