Cranbury Township, New Jersey
Encyclopedia
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 3,227 people, 1,091 households, and 877 families residing in the township. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 240.6 people per square mile (92.9/km²). There were 1,121 housing units at an average density of 83.6 per square mile (32.3/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 88.78% White, 2.26% African American, 7.41% Asian, 0.22% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.33% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.70% of the population.
There were 1,091 households out of which 46.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 74.6% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 4.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.6% were non-families. 16.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.92 and the average family size was 3.31.
In the township the population was spread out with 30.4% under the age of 18, 3.4% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 27.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.4 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $111,680, and the median income for a family was $128,410. Males had a median income of $94,683 versus $44,167 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the township was $50,698. About 0.7% of families and 1.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.7% of those under age 18 and 0.9% of those age 65 or over.
Local government
Cranbury Township is governed under the TownshipTownship (New Jersey)
A township, in the context of New Jersey local government, refers to one of five types and one of eleven forms of municipal government. As a political entity, a township is a full-fledged municipality, on par with any town, city, borough, or village, collecting property taxes and providing...
form of government with a five-member Township Committee. The Township Committee is elected directly by the voters in partisan elections to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with one seat coming up for election each year.
At an annual reorganization meeting, the Township Committee selects one of its members to serve as Mayor. In 1990, the Cranbury Township Committee was expanded from three to five members. That same year, the Township Committee established the position of Township Administrator by ordinance.
, members of the Cranbury Township Committee are Mayor Winthrop Cody (whose term of office ends December 31, 2011), David Cook (2012), Glenn Johnson (2013), Daniel P. Mulligan, III (2013) and James Taylor (2012). On November 8, 2011 Susan Goetz (2014) was elected to fill the Committee seat that will be vacated by Winthrop Cody.
Federal, state and county representation
Cranbury Township is in the 12th Congressional district and is part of New Jersey's 14th state legislative district. The legislative district was kept unchanged by the New Jersey Apportionment CommissionNew Jersey Apportionment Commission
The New Jersey Apportionment Commission is a constitutionally-created ten-member commission responsible for apportioning the forty districts of the New Jersey Legislature. The commission is convened after each decennial U.S. Census, and the districts are to be in use for the legislative elections...
based on the results of the 2010 Census.
Public schools
Children in public school for grades Kindergarten through eighth grade attend the Cranbury School
Cranbury School
Cranbury School is a public PreK-8 school located in and serving Cranbury Township, in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. It is the sole school operated by the Cranbury Township Board of Education, a school district....
. As of the 2009-10 school year, the school had an enrollment of 596 students and 48 classroom teachers (on an FTE
Full-time equivalent
Full-time equivalent , is a unit to measure employed persons or students in a way that makes them comparable although they may work or study a different number of hours per week. FTE is often used to measure a worker's involvement in a project, or to track cost reductions in an organization...
basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.42. For the 1996-97 and 2009-10 school years, Cranbury School was formally designated as a National Blue Ribbon School
Blue Ribbon Schools Program
The Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States government program created in 1981 to honor schools which have achieved high levels of performance or significant improvements with emphasis on schools serving disadvantaged students. The program centers around a self-assessment conducted by the...
, the highest honor that an American public school can achieve. During the 2009-10 school year, Cranbury School was awarded the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence a second time.
For grades 9 to 12, Cranbury students attend Princeton High School
Princeton High School (New Jersey)
Princeton High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school in the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Princeton Regional Schools district, which serves all public school students in the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township...
, as part of a sending/receiving relationship
Sending/receiving relationship
A sending/receiving relationship is one in which a public school district sends some or all of its students to attend the schools of another district. This is often done to achieve costs savings in smaller districts or continues after districts have grown as part of a historical relationship...
with the Princeton Regional Schools
Princeton Regional Schools
Princeton Regional Schools is a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, New Jersey, United States. Students from Cranbury Township attend the district's high school as part of a sending/receiving relationship...
. Cranbury Township is granted a non-voting seat on the Princeton Regional Schools Board of Education
Board of education
A board of education or a school board or school committee is the title of the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or higher administrative level....
, with the designated representative only voting on issues pertaining to Princeton High School and district-wide issues.
Colleges and universities
Cranbury is served by the Middlesex County CollegeMiddlesex County College
Middlesex County College is a community college with its main campus located in Edison, New Jersey, United States. The two-year college serves the needs of Middlesex County, as well as surrounding communities. There are two urban campuses located in New Brunswick and Perth Amboy.The college was...
in Edison
Edison, New Jersey
Edison Township is a township in Middlesex County, New Jersey. What is now Edison Township was originally incorporated as Raritan Township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1870, from portions of both Piscataway Township and Woodbridge Township...
.
Cranbury is in close proximity to Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
.
Public libraries
The Cranbury Public Library serves Cranbury residents, sharing a facility with the Cranbury School.Transportation
A few county routes traverse through Cranbury: 535County Route 535 (New Jersey)
County Route 535 is a county highway in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The highway extends from Logan Avenue , at the boundary between Trenton and Hamilton Township in Mercer County to the intersection of Main Street, Raritan Street and Washington Road in Sayreville in Middlesex County.The road...
, 539
County Route 539 (New Jersey)
County Route 539, abbreviated CR 539, is a county highway in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The highway extends from Main Street in Tuckerton to U.S. Route 130 in Cranbury Township. However, signage on CR 539 suggests that it crosses U.S...
, 615
County Route 615 (Middlesex County, New Jersey)
County Route 615 is a county route in Middlesex County, New Jersey that measures in length. The road extends from Mercer CR 615 at the Plainsboro/West Windsor line all the way to So. Pine Ave in South Amboy, New Jersey. While most of 615 is not used a commuter road, the section in the...
, and 614.
Cranbury hosts U.S. Route 130
U.S. Route 130
U.S. Route 130 is a north–south U.S. Highway completely within the state of New Jersey. It runs from Interstate 295 and US 40 at Deepwater in Pennsville Township, Salem County, where the road continues east as Route 49, north to US 1 in North Brunswick Township, Middlesex County, where...
and a four-mile (6 km) section of Interstate 95
Interstate 95 in New Jersey
Interstate 95 is a major Interstate Highway that traverses the full extent of the East Coast of the United States, from Florida to Maine...
(the New Jersey Turnpike
New Jersey Turnpike
The New Jersey Turnpike is a toll road in New Jersey, maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. According to the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association, the Turnpike is the nation's sixth-busiest toll road and is among one of the most heavily traveled highways in the United...
). Cranbury is accessible by the Turnpike in neighboring townships: Interchange 8 in East Windsor Township
East Windsor Township, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 24,919 people, 9,448 households, and 6,556 families residing in the township. The population density was 1,592.8 people per square mile . There were 9,880 housing units at an average density of 631.5 per square mile...
and Interchange 8A in Monroe Township
Monroe Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey
Monroe Township is a Township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 27,999. Monroe was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 9, 1838, from portions of South Amboy Township, based on the...
. The Molly Pitcher Service Area is located at mile marker 71.7 on the southbound side.
The New Jersey Turnpike Authority is planning to widen the Turnpike (with the "dual-dual" setup) between Exit 6 in Mansfield Township
Mansfield Township, Burlington County, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 5,090 people, 2,077 households, and 1,561 families residing in the township. The population density was 234.3 people per square mile . There were 2,122 housing units at an average density of 97.7 per square mile...
and Exit 8A in Monroe Township by 2014. This widening would require the condemnation of part of the Molly Pitcher Service Area as well as construction of new overpasses that cross the Turnpike. New entrance & exit ramps would be constructed as well to access the service area.
Corporate residents
Companies based in Cranbury Township include Blacklight Power, an alternative energy firm.The Associated University Presses
Associated University Presses
Associated University Presses is a publishing company based in the United States, formed and operated as a consortium of several American university presses. AUP was first established and incorporated in 1966, with the first titles bearing the AUP imprint appearing from 1968...
, an academic publishing company supplying textbooks to colleges and universities, is also based in Cranbury.
Notable residents
Notable current and former residents of Cranbury include:- Melanie BalcombMelanie BalcombMelanie Balcomb is the Head Women's Basketball Coach at Vanderbilt University.Balcomb attended Hightstown High School, in Hightstown, New Jersey, where she starred as a point guard for the girls' varsity basketball team from 1976 to 1980...
, head coach of the Vanderbilt CommodoresVanderbilt CommodoresThe Vanderbilt Commodores are the NCAA athletic teams of Vanderbilt University, located in Nashville, Tennessee. The university fields 16 varsity teams , 14 of which compete in the Southeastern Conference...
Women's Basketball team. - Todd BeamerTodd BeamerLisa Beamer was born on april 10, 1969 in Albany, New york.Lisa Beamer is the widow of Todd Beamer, a victim of the United Flight 93 crash as part of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States....
(1968–2001), passenger aboard United Airlines Flight 93United Airlines Flight 93United Airlines Flight 93 was United Airlines' scheduled morning transcontinental flight across the United States from Newark International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco International Airport in California. On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, the Boeing 757–222 aircraft operating the...
, who uttered the words, heard by a phone operator, to fellow passengers with whom he was planning an assault on the terrorists in the cockpit -- "Let's rollLet's roll"Let's roll" is a catchphrase that has been used extensively as a term to move and start an activity, attack, mission or project. After the September 11 attacks, the phrase, especially in the United States, has come to symbolize heroism, self sacrifice and initiative in a tough situation...
". - Jan MorrisJan MorrisJan Morris CBE is a Welsh nationalist, historian, author and travel writer. She is known particularly for the Pax Britannica trilogy, a history of the British Empire, and for portraits of cities, notably Oxford, Venice, Trieste, Hong Kong, and New York City.With an English mother and Welsh father,...
(born 1926), Welsh travel writer and historian, lived in Cranbury for several months in the 1950s whose impressions of the town are recorded in the book Coast to Coast: A Journey Across 1950s America.
External links
- Cranbury Township Official Website
- Cranbury Public Library Website
- Cranbury Township School
- Data for Cranbury Township School, National Center for Education StatisticsNational Center for Education StatisticsThe National Center for Education Statistics is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district finance information in the United States...
- Princeton High School
- Cranbury Historical and Preservation Society
- Cranbury Forums