Counties of New Jersey
A clickable New Jersey county map
A clickable New Jersey county map
Clickable map of New Jersey counties
LocationNew Jersey
Number21
Populations65,117 (Salem) – 952,997 (Bergen)
Areas47 square miles (120 km2) (Hudson) – 805 square miles (2,080 km2) (Burlington)
Government
Subdivisions
  • Boroughs, cities, towns, townships, and villages

There are 21 counties in the U.S. state of New Jersey. These counties together contain 564 municipalities, or administrative entities composed of clearly defined territory; 252 boroughs, 52 cities, 15 towns, 241 townships, and 4 villages.[1] In New Jersey, a county is a local level of government between the state and municipalities. County government in New Jersey includes a Board of County Commissioners,[2] sheriff, clerk, and surrogate (responsible for uncontested and routine probate),[3] all of which are elected officials. Counties organized under the Optional County Charter Law may also have an elected county executive.[4] Counties traditionally perform state-mandated duties such as the maintenance of jails, parks, and certain roads.[5] The site of a county's administration and courts is called the county seat.

History

New Jersey was governed by two groups of proprietors as two distinct provinces, East Jersey and West Jersey, between 1674 and 1702. New Jersey's first counties were created as administrative districts within each province, with East Jersey split in 1675 into Bergen, Essex, Middlesex and Monmouth counties, while West Jersey's initial counties of Burlington and Salem date to 1681.[6][7] The most recent county created in New Jersey is Union County, created in 1857 and named after the union of the United States when the Civil War was imminent. New Jersey's county names derive from several sources, though most of its counties are named after place names in England and prominent leaders in the colonial and revolutionary periods. Bergen County is the most populous county—as of the 2010 Census—with 905,116 people, while Salem County is the least populous with 66,083 people.

New Jersey legislature representation

Until the 1960s, the New Jersey Senate had 21 representatives, one from each county regardless of population. In the wake of the 1964 decision by the Supreme Court of the United States in Reynolds v. Sims, establishing the one man, one vote principle that state legislative districts must be approximately equal in size, David Friedland filed suit in New Jersey Supreme Court on behalf of two union leaders, challenging a system under which each county was represented by a single member in the New Jersey Senate. The court ruled unanimously that the existing system was unconstitutional, ordered that interim measures be established by statute for the 1965 legislative elections, and ordered that the needed constitutional changes to restructure the New Jersey Legislature to be in compliance with "one man, one vote" requirements be in place before elections took place in 1967.[8] The senate unilaterally—by internal rule, not by statute—enacted a proposal whereby each senator's vote would be weighted based on the population of the county represented, under which Cape May County's senator would receive one vote while the senator from Essex County would receive 19.1 votes, in direct relation to the ratio of residents between counties.[9] The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that it was unconstitutional for the senate to adopt a weighted voting system unilaterally.[9][10] In 1966, the constitution was amended to establish 40 districts statewide, each represented by one senator and two assembly members, without relation to county boundaries.[11]

FIPS code

New Jersey counties by population as of 2020 with darker colors indicating a higher population

The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) code, used by the United States government to uniquely identify counties, is provided with each entry. FIPS codes are five-digit numbers; for New Jersey the codes start with 34 and are completed with the three-digit county code. The FIPS code for each county in the table links to census data for that county.[12]

List of counties

County
 FIPS code[12] County seat[13] Largest City[14] Est.[13] Formed from[6][7] Named for[15] Density (per mi2) Pop.[16] Area[13] Map
 
Atlantic County 001 Mays LandingEgg Harbor Township 47,8421837Gloucester CountyThe Atlantic Ocean, which forms the county's eastern border491.33 275,638 561 sq mi
(1,453 km2)		A county in the southeast part of the state. It is medium in size.
Bergen County 003 HackensackHackensack 46,0301683One of four original counties created in East JerseyBergen, New Netherland settlement4,072.64 952,997 234 sq mi
(606 km2)		A county in the northeast part of the state. It is small.
Burlington County 005 Mount HollyEvesham Township 46,8261694One of two original counties created in West JerseyThe old ancient name for an inland market near Bridlington, England579.01 466,103 805 sq mi
(2,085 km2)		A county in the southern part of the state. It gets wider as it goes northeast. It is one of the largest counties.
Camden County 007 CamdenCherry Hill 74,5531844Gloucester CountyCharles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden (1714–1794), an English supporter of the colonists during the American Revolution[17]2,364.45 524,907 222 sq mi
(575 km2)		A county in the southwest part of the state. It is very small.
Cape May County 009 Cape May Court HouseLower Township 22,0571692Burlington CountyThe 17th-century Dutch explorer Cornelius Jacobsen Mey, who explored and surveyed the Delaware Bay to the south of the county375.04 95,634 255 sq mi
(660 km2)		A county the makes up the southern tip of the state. It is one of the smallest.
Cumberland County 011 BridgetonVineland 60,7801748Salem CountyPrince William, Duke of Cumberland (1721–1765), second son of George II of Great Britain and military victor at the Battle of Culloden in 1746309.52 151,356 489 sq mi
(1,267 km2)		A county in the southern part of the state, west of the tip. It is averagely sized.
Essex County 013 NewarkNewark 311,5491683One of four original counties created in East JerseyThe county of Essex in England6,785.06 849,477 126 sq mi
(326 km2)		A county in the northeast part of the state. It is one of the smallest.
Gloucester County 015 WoodburyWashington Township 48,6771686Burlington CountyThe city of Gloucester, England943.39 306,601 325 sq mi
(842 km2)		A county in the southwest part of the state. It is averagely sized.
Hudson County 017 Jersey CityJersey City 292,4491840Bergen CountyThe English explorer Henry Hudson (d. 1611), who explored portions of New Jersey's coastline14,965.23 703,366 47 sq mi
(122 km2)		A county in the northeast part of the state. It is the smallest county.
Hunterdon County 019 FlemingtonRaritan Township 23,4471714Burlington CountyRobert Hunter (1664–1734), the Colonial Governor of New Jersey from 1710 to 1720301.81 129,777 430 sq mi
(1,114 km2)		A county in the west part of the state, just north of the divide between north and south. It is averagely sized.
Mercer County 021 TrentonHamilton Township 92,2971838Burlington County, Hunterdon County, Middlesex County, and Somerset CountyThe Continental Army General Hugh Mercer (1726–1777), who died at the Battle of Princeton[18]1,684.46 380,688 226 sq mi
(585 km2)		A county in the western part of the state, just above an indentation. It is small compared to its neighbors.
Middlesex County 023 New BrunswickEdison 107,5881683One of four original counties created in East JerseyThe historic county of Middlesex in England2,769.83 861,418 311 sq mi
(805 km2)		A county in the northern part of the state. It is averagely sized.
Monmouth County 025 Freehold BoroughMiddletown Township 67,1061683One of four original counties created in East JerseyThe historic county of Monmouthshire in Wales1,364.61 644,098 472 sq mi
(1,222 km2)		A county in the central-western part of the state. It is averagely sized and gets skinnier in the west.
Morris County 027 MorristownParsippany-Troy Hills 56,1621739Hunterdon CountyColonel Lewis Morris (1671–1746), colonial governor of New Jersey at the time of the county's formation[19][20]1,089.87 511,151 469 sq mi
(1,215 km2)		A county in the northern part of the state, landlocked by other counties. It is well-sized.
Ocean County 029 Toms RiverLakewood Township 135,1581850Monmouth County and Burlington CountyThe Atlantic Ocean, which forms the eastern border of New Jersey1,031.03 655,735 636 sq mi
(1,647 km2)		A county in the southeast part of the state. It is large and gets skinnier in the south.
Passaic County 031 PatersonPaterson 159,7321837Bergen County and Essex County"Pasaeck", a Lenape word meaning "valley"2,778.03 513,936 185 sq mi
(479 km2)		A county in the north-central part of the state. It is small, and has two wide parts with a skinny area between them.
Salem County 033 SalemPennsville Township 12,6841694One of two original counties created in West JerseyA Hebrew word meaning "peace"192.65 65,117 338 sq mi
(875 km2)		A county in the southwest part of the state. It is averagely sized.
Somerset County 035 SomervilleFranklin Township 68,3641688Middlesex CountyThe county of Somerset in England1,137.30 346,875 305 sq mi
(790 km2)		A county landlocked by other counties in the northern part of the state. It is small.
Sussex County 037 NewtonVernon Township 22,3581753Morris CountyThe county of Sussex in England280.39 146,084 521 sq mi
(1,349 km2)		A county in the northwest corner of the state. It is larger than most surrounding counties.
Union County 039 ElizabethElizabeth 137,2981857Essex CountyThe union of the United States, which was being threatened by the dispute over slavery5,532.18 569,815 103 sq mi
(267 km2)		A county in the northeast part of the state, on an indentation. It is one of the smallest counties.
Warren County 041 BelviderePhillipsburg 15,2491824Sussex CountyThe American Revolutionary War General Joseph Warren (1741–1775), killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill309.85 110,926 358 sq mi
(927 km2)		A county in the northwest part of the state. It is averagely sized.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "New Jersey – Place and County Subdivision". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on November 22, 2009. Retrieved September 6, 2009.
  2. ↑ Coppa, Frank J. (2000). County government: a guide to efficient and accountable government. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 39–40. ISBN 978-0-275-96829-8. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
  3. ↑ Coppa, County government, p. 165 Archived 2014-07-05 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ Coppa, County government, p. 108 Archived 2014-07-05 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ↑ "An Overview of County Government". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on April 17, 2013. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
  6. 1 2 "County Formation Map" (PDF). New Jersey Association of Election Officials. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-07-24. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
  7. 1 2 Torp, Kim (2006). "New Jersey County Formation". Genealogy Trails. Archived from the original on March 17, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
  8. ↑ Jackman v. Bodine, 43 N.J. 453 (November 25, 1964).
  9. 1 2 Wright, George Cable (December 16, 1964). "Weighted Voting Voided in Jersey; State's Highest Court Bars Senate's Plan—No Ruling on Its Constitutionality". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 15, 2020. Retrieved September 1, 2009.
  10. ↑ Jackman v. Bodine, 205 A. 2d 735 (December 15, 1964).
  11. ↑ "New Jersey State Constitution 1947". November 2020. Art. IV § II and art. XI § V (amended December 8, 1966). Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  12. 1 2 "County FIPS Code Listing for the State of New Jersey". US Environmental Protection Agency. Archived from the original on July 1, 2016. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
  13. 1 2 3 "NACo – Find a county". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on January 12, 2008. Retrieved January 25, 2008.
  14. ↑ "Population Density by County and Municipality: New Jersey, 2010 and 2017" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Health. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 19, 2020. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  15. ↑ Hutchinson, Viola L. The Origin of New Jersey Place Names Archived 2015-11-15 at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Public Library Commission, May 1945. Accessed November 14, 2015.
  16. ↑ "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: New Jersey". Archived from the original on 2021-10-24. Retrieved 2023-04-05.
  17. ↑ Greenberg, Gail (August 30, 2009). "A Brief History of Camden County". Camden County Board of Freeholders. Archived from the original on June 23, 2009. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
  18. ↑ "History". Mercer County Cultural & Heritage Commission. Archived from the original on February 21, 2009. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
  19. ↑ "The Land Past and Present". Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders. Archived from the original on August 22, 2009. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
  20. ↑ "How did our county get its name?". Morris County Library. July 26, 2008. Archived from the original on February 23, 2009. Retrieved August 31, 2009.

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