Jersey City is the second-most populousTable1. New Jersey Counties and Most Populous Cities and Townships: 2020 and 2010 Censuses, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Accessed December 1, 2022. city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.The Counties and Most Populous Cities and Townships in 2010 in New Jersey: 2000 and 2010 , United States Census Bureau. Accessed November 7, 2011. It is the county seat of Hudson County,New Jersey County Map, New Jersey Department of State. Accessed December 29, 2022. the county's most populous city and its largest by area. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 292,449, an increase of 44,852 (+18.1%) from the 2010 census count of 247,597. (The Population Estimates Program calculated a population of 302,013 for 2025.Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places of 20,000 or More, Ranked by July 1, 2025 Population: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2025, United States Census Bureau, released May 2026. Accessed June 1, 2026.) As of 2020, more than 40 languages are spoken in over 52% of households, and 42.5% of residents were born outside the United States making the city the most ethnically diverse in the United States.

The third most-populous city in the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City is bounded on the east by the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay and on the west by the Hackensack River and Newark Bay. A port of entry, with of waterfront and extensive rail infrastructure and connectivity,Greenfield, Douglas J.; and Hsu, Naomi.Sandy Recovery Strategic Planning Report; A Strategic Plan for Resilience , City of Jersey City, August 2014. Accessed November 14, 2016. "Jersey City was inundated by Hurricane Sandy all along its 30.7 miles of waterfront of rivers and bays. Flood waters came in from the Hackensack River and Newark Bay to the west and from the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay to the east." the city is an important transportation terminus and distribution and manufacturing center for the Port of New York and New Jersey with Port Jersey as the city's intermodal freight transport facility and container shipping terminal. The Holland Tunnel, PATH rapid transit system, NJ Transit bus and NY Waterway ferry service connect across the Hudson River with Manhattan.Kaysen, Ronda. "Moving to Jersey City? Join the Club",The New York Times, February 12, 2016. Accessed January 16, 2024. "That conversation usually begins with how quickly one can get from Jersey City to Manhattan by train. From the Grove Street PATH station downtown, it takes fewer than 10 minutes to get to the World Trade Center Transportation Hub and 20 minutes to get to West 33rd Street."

The area was settled by the Dutch in the 17th century as Pavonia and later established as Bergen, the first permanent settlement, local civil government and oldest municipality in what became the state of New Jersey. The area came under English control in 1664. Jersey City was incorporated in 1838 and annexed Van Vorst Township in 1851. On May 3, 1870, following a special election in 1869 with a majority of county support, Jersey City annexed Bergen City and Hudson City to form "Greater Jersey City" with Greenville Township joining in 1873.Staff. "Consolidation in New Jersey; A Proposition to Consolidate Jersey City, Hoboken, Hudson City, Bergen, &c., into One City", The New York Times, August 14, 1869. Accessed February 5, 2025. Jersey City grew into a busy port city on New York Harbor by the late 19th and early 20th century. Jersey City's official motto, displayed on the city seal and flag, is "Let Jersey Prosper" referencing its 19th-century border dispute with New York City.

Jersey City is home to several institutions of higher education such as Kean Jersey City, Saint Peter's University and Hudson County Community College. As the county seat, Jersey City is home to the Hudson County Courthouse and Frank J. Guarini Justice Complex. Cultural venues throughout the city include the Loew's Jersey Theatre, White Eagle Hall, the Liberty Science Center, Ellis Island, Mana Contemporary and the Museum of Jersey City History. Large parks in Jersey City are Liberty State Park, Lincoln Park and Berry Lane Park. Redevelopment of the Jersey City waterfront has made the city one of the largest hubs for banking and finance in the United States and has led to the district and city being nicknamed Wall Street West.A Vision for Smart Transit in Jersey City , United States Department of Transportation, February 4, 2016. Accessed July 18, 2017. "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." Since the 1990s, Jersey City has been a destination for artists and hipsters. With the city's proximity and connections to Manhattan, its growing arts, culture, culinary and nightlife scene and its own finance and tech based economy, apartment rents in the city have grown to become some of the highest in the United States. In response, Jersey City has instituted zoning and legislation to require developers to include affordable housing units in their developments. In 2023 and 2025, Travel + Leisure ranked Jersey City as the best place to live in New Jersey.

History

Lenape and New Netherland

The land that is now Jersey City was part of Lenapehoking and inhabited by the Lenape, a collection of Native American tribes (later called the Delaware Indian) that were part of the Algonquian nation. In 1609, Henry Hudson, seeking an alternate route to East Asia on behalf of the Dutch East India Company, anchored his small vessel Halve Maen (English: Half Moon) at Sandy Hook, Harsimus Cove and Weehawken Cove, and elsewhere along what was later named the North River. After spending nine days surveying the area and meeting its inhabitants, he sailed as far north as Albany and later claimed the region for the Netherlands. The contemporary flag of the city is a variation on the Prince's Flag from the Netherlands. The stripes are blue, white and yellow, with the center of the flag showing the city seal, depicting Hudson's ship, the Half Moon, and other modern vessels.

By 1621, the Dutch West India Company was organized to manage this new territory and in June 1623, New Netherland became a Dutch province, with headquarters in New Amsterdam. Michael Reyniersz Pauw received a land grant as patroon on the condition that he would establish a settlement of not fewer than fifty persons within four years. He chose the west bank of the Hudson River and purchased the land from the Lenape for 80 fathoms (146 m) of wampum, 20 fathoms (37 m) of cloth, 12 kettles, six guns, two blankets, one double kettle, and half a barrel of beer. This grant is dated November 22, 1630, and is the earliest known conveyance for what are now Hoboken and Jersey City. Pauw, however, was an absentee landlord who neglected to populate the area and was obliged to sell his holdings back to the Company in 1633. That year, a house was built at Communipaw for Jan Evertsen Bout, superintendent of the colony, which had been named Pavonia (the Latinized form of Pauw's name means "peacock" and Pavonia means "land of the peacock")., New Netherland Institute. Accessed May 10, 2006. Shortly after, another house was built at Harsimus Cove in 1634 and became the home of Cornelius Henrick Van Vorst, who had succeeded Bout as superintendent, and whose family would become influential in the development of the city.

By the 1640s, relations with the Lenape deteriorated, in part because Director-General Willem Kieft attempted to drive out the Lenape through intimidation and taxation. During Kieft's War, approximately 120 Lenape were killed by the Dutch, including women and children, in a massacre ordered by Kieft at Pavonia on the night of February 25, 1643. The attack was ordered without the approval of his advisory council, against the wishes of the colonists and led to a series of raids and reprisals by the Lenape and the virtual destruction of the settlement on the west bank.Ellis, Edward Robb. The Epic of New York City, p. 38. Old Town Books, 1966. . On May 11, 1647, Peter Stuyvesant arrived in New Amsterdam to replace Kieft as Director-General of New Netherland. On September 15, 1655, Pavonia was attacked as part of a Munsee occupation of New Amsterdam called the Peach War that saw 40 colonists killed and over 100, mostly women and children, taken captive and held at Paulus Hook. They were later ransomed to New Amsterdam.

On January 10, 1658, Stuyvesant "re-purchased" the scattered communities of farmsteads that characterized the Dutch settlements of Pavonia: Communipaw, Harsimus, Paulus Hook, Hoebuck, Awiehaken, Pamrapo, and other lands "behind Kill van Kull". The village of Bergen (located inside a palisaded garrison) was established by the settlers who wished to return to the west bank of the Hudson on what is now Bergen Square in 1660, the first town square in North America, and officially chartered by Stuyvesant on September 5, 1661, as the state's first local civil government. The village was designed by Jacques Cortelyou, the first surveyor of New Amsterdam. The word berg taken from the Dutch means "hill", while bergen means "place of safety." The charter partially removed Bergen from the jurisdiction of New Amsterdam and put the surrounding settlements under its authority. As a result, it is regarded as the first permanent settlement and oldest municipality in what would become the state of New Jersey. It is also the home of Public School No. 11, the nation's longest-continuous school site and the site of the first free public school building in New Jersey. Furthermore, Old Bergen Church is the oldest continuous congregation in New Jersey. In addition, the oldest surviving houses in Jersey City are of Dutch origin including the Newkirk House (1690),Karnoutsos, Carmela. Summit House / Newkirk House , Jersey City Past and Present, New Jersey City University. Accessed November 13, 2019. "At a high point with a view of the Hudson and Hackensack Rivers, the Summit House, previously owned by the Newkirk family, is considered one of Jersey City's oldest buildings. It stands on the east side of Summit Avenue north of Sip Avenue outside of the original boundaries of the historic village of Bergen which was once populated by Dutch settlers.... The date of purchase is not known, but the date for construction of the building is about 1690, and it is known that Newkirk died in 1705." the Van Vorst Farmhouse (1740),Karnoutsos, Carmela. Van Vorst House 531 Palisade Avenue , Jersey City Past and Present, New Jersey City University. Accessed June 1, 2015.Jersey City Heights/Van Vorst House, Forgotten New York, February 28, 2008. Accessed August 30, 2015.Olszewski, Anthony. From Before the Revolutionary War! Jersey City's Oldest House, Jersey City History, 2002. Accessed August 30, 2015. and the Van Wagenen House (1740).

In 1661, Communipaw Ferry began operation as the first ferry service between the village of Communipaw (Jersey City) and New Amsterdam (Manhattan) shortly after the village of Bergen was established.

Province of New Jersey