New Jersey

State of New Jersey
Flag of New Jersey State seal of New Jersey Flag Seal
Nickname(s): The Garden State
Motto(s): Liberty and prosperity
Map of the United States with New Jersey highlighted
Official language	None
Spoken languages	English (only) 69.4% Spanish 15.9% Indic 2.7% Chinese 1.5% Korean 1.1% French 0.97% Tagalog 0.94% Portuguese 0.91% Italian 0.83% Arabic 0.76% Polish 0.72% Russian 0.57%
Demonym	New Jerseyan (official), New Jerseyite
Capital	Trenton
Largest city	Newark
Largest metro	Greater New York
Area	Ranked 47th
• Total	8,722.58 sq mi (22,591.38 km2)
• Width	70 miles (112 km)
• Length	170 miles (273 km)
• % water	15.7
• Latitude	38° 56′ N to 41° 21′ N
• Longitude	73° 54′ W to 75° 34′ W
Population	Ranked 11th
• Total	9,032,872 (2018 est.)
• Density	1210.10/sq mi  (467/km2) Ranked 1st
• Median household income	$68,357 (7th)
Elevation
• Highest point	High Point 1,803 ft (549.6 m)
• Mean	250 ft  (80 m)
• Lowest point	Atlantic Ocean Sea level
Before statehood	Province of New Jersey
Admission to Union	December 18, 1787 (3rd)
Governor	Phil Murphy (D)
Lieutenant Governor	Sheila Oliver (D)
Legislature	New Jersey Legislature
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	General Assembly
U.S. Senators	Bob Menendez (D) Cory Booker (D)
U.S. House delegation	11 Democrats 1 Republican (list)
Time zone	Eastern: UTC -5/-4
ISO 3166	US-NJ
Abbreviations	NJ, N.J.
Website	www.nj.gov

New Jersey is one of the 50 states of the United States of America. It is in the northeastern section of the country along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. It is a small state, shaped like a letter [S], and bordered on the west by Pennsylvania and Delaware across the Delaware River, on the north by New York, on the northeast by the Hudson River and New York City, on the east and southeast by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the southwest by Delaware Bay.

The capital of New Jersey is Trenton and the largest city is Newark, though New Jersey is better known for bordering the large cities of New York City and Philadelphia. The state nickname is "The Garden State". The current governor is Phil Murphy.

New Jersey is the fourth smallest state, but has the eleventh highest number of people. It therefore has the highest population density (number of people for the amount of land) in the United States. New Jersey is also well known for its beaches, industries, swamps, and pine forests.

The climate is hot and humid summers and cold winters, with about 1200 mm of precipitation every year. The average temperature in July is 25-30 degrees Celsius and in January around freezing point.

History

Before Europeans came, the land that is now New Jersey was inhabited by the Lenape (also known as Delaware Indians by the English), who were nomads, hunters, and farmers. The Dutch came to the northern area of the state in the 1630s, after Henry Hudson explored the area, thought it was a nice place, and claimed it for the Dutch. Towns quickly sprang up, occupied by the Dutch, Swedes, and Finns. People rushed in. The first towns, such as Bergen (now Jersey City), Trenton (the capitol), and Burlington developed. Many others started themselves upon the west bank of the Hudson. New Jersey was part of the area known at this time as New Netherland.

In 1664, the English took New Netherland from the Dutch and added it to their colonies. This part was renamed New Jersey after an island in the English Channel known as Jersey.

New Jersey took part in the American Revolutionary War, and was a scene of battles. On Christmas in 1776, George Washington's army entered New Jersey to attack British soldiers at Trenton and Princeton. The American army won, in two small but famous battles that were important in boosting American morale.

Later, the rebels drove the British residents out of Princeton and for a time established a national capital there. New Jersey would be the third state to join the United States of America and the first to approve the Bill of Rights.

Counties

New Jersey has 21 counties.

County	FIPS Code	County Seat	Created	Formed from	Named for	Population (2005)	Area	Map
Atlantic County	001	Mays Landing	1837	Gloucester County	The Atlantic Ocean, which forms the county's eastern border	REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting	REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting Template:R from template shortcut sq mi ( REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting Template:R from template shortcut km2) || State map highlighting Atlantic County
Bergen County	003	Hackensack	1675	One of four original counties created in East Jersey	The town of Bergen op Zoom, Holland or Bergen, Norway	REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting	REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting Template:R from template shortcut sq mi ( REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting Template:R from template shortcut km2) || State map highlighting Bergen County
Burlington County	005	Mount Holly Township	1681	One of two original counties created in West Jersey	The old name for the ancient market town a mile from shore in Bridlington, England	REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting	REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting Template:R from template shortcut sq mi ( REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting Template:R from template shortcut km2) || State map highlighting Burlington County
Camden County	007	Camden	1844	Gloucester County	Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden (1714–1794), an English supporter of the colonial cause during the American Revolution	REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting	REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting Template:R from template shortcut sq mi ( REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting Template:R from template shortcut km2) || State map highlighting Camden County
Cape May County	009	Cape May Court House	1685	Burlington County	The 17th-century Dutch explorer Cornelius Jacobsen Mey (?–16??), who explored and surveyed the Delaware Bay to the south of the county	REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting	REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting Template:R from template shortcut sq mi ( REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting Template:R from template shortcut km2) || State map highlighting Cape May County
Cumberland County	011	Bridgeton	1748	Salem County	Prince William, Duke of Cumberland (1721–1765), second son of George II of England and military victor at the Battle of Culloden in 1746	REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting	REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting Template:R from template shortcut sq mi ( REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting Template:R from template shortcut km2) || State map highlighting Cumberland County
Essex County	013	Newark	1675	One of four original counties created in East Jersey	The county of Essex in England	REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting	REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting Template:R from template shortcut sq mi ( REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting Template:R from template shortcut km2) || State map highlighting Essex County
Gloucester County	015	Woodbury	1686	Burlington County	The city of Gloucester, England	REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting	REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting Template:R from template shortcut sq mi ( REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting Template:R from template shortcut km2) || State map highlighting Gloucester County
Hudson County	017	Jersey City	1840	Bergen County	The English explorer Henry Hudson (1570–1611), who explored portions of New Jersey's coastline	REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting	REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting Template:R from template shortcut sq mi ( REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting Template:R from template shortcut km2) || State map highlighting Hudson County
Hunterdon County	019	Flemington	1714	Burlington County	Robert Hunter (1664–1734), the Colonial Governor of New Jersey from 1710 to 1720	REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting	REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting Template:R from template shortcut sq mi ( REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting Template:R from template shortcut km2) || State map highlighting Hunterdon County
Mercer County	021	Trenton	1838	Burlington County, Hunterdon County, Middlesex County, and Somerset County	The Continental Army General Hugh Mercer (1726–1777), who died at the Battle of Princeton	REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting	REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting Template:R from template shortcut sq mi ( REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting Template:R from template shortcut km2) || State map highlighting Mercer County
Middlesex County	023	New Brunswick	1675	One of four original counties created in East Jersey	The former county of Middlesex in England	REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting	REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting Template:R from template shortcut sq mi ( REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting Template:R from template shortcut km2) || State map highlighting Middlesex County
Monmouth County	025	Freehold Borough	1675	One of four original counties created in East Jersey	The Rhode Island Monmouth Society or the historic county of Monmouthshire in Wales.	REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting	REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting Template:R from template shortcut sq mi ( REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting Template:R from template shortcut km2) || State map highlighting Monmouth County
Morris County	027	Morristown	1739	Hunterdon County	Colonel Lewis Morris (1671–1746), colonial governor of New Jersey at the time of the county's formation.	REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting	REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting Template:R from template shortcut sq mi ( REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting Template:R from template shortcut km2) || State map highlighting Morris County
Ocean County	029	Toms River	1850	Monmouth County	The Atlantic Ocean, which forms the eastern border of New Jersey	REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting	REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting Template:R from template shortcut sq mi ( REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting Template:R from template shortcut km2) || State map highlighting Ocean County
Passaic County	031	Paterson	1837	Bergen County and Essex County	"Pasaeck", a Lenape word meaning "valley"	REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting	REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting Template:R from template shortcut sq mi ( REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting Template:R from template shortcut km2) || State map highlighting Passaic County
Salem County	033	Salem	1681	One of two original counties created in West Jersey	A Hebrew word meaning "peace"	REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting	REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting Template:R from template shortcut sq mi ( REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting Template:R from template shortcut km2) || State map highlighting Salem County
Somerset County	035	Somerville	1688	Middlesex County	The county of Somerset in England	REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting	REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting Template:R from template shortcut sq mi ( REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting Template:R from template shortcut km2) || State map highlighting Somerset County
Sussex County	037	Newton	1753	Morris County	The county of Sussex in England	REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting	REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting Template:R from template shortcut sq mi ( REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting Template:R from template shortcut km2) || State map highlighting Sussex County
Union County	039	Elizabeth	1857	Essex County	The union of the United States threatened by dispute between North and South over slavery	REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting	REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting Template:R from template shortcut sq mi ( REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting Template:R from template shortcut km2) || State map highlighting Union County
Warren County	041	Belvidere	1824	Sussex County	The American Revolutionary War General Joseph Warren (1741–1775), killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill	REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting	REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting Template:R from template shortcut sq mi ( REDIRECT Template:Number table sorting Template:R from template shortcut km2) || State map highlighting Warren County