List of counties in New Jersey
Encyclopedia
County (United States)
In the United States, a county is a geographic subdivision of a state , usually assigned some governmental authority. The term "county" is used in 48 of the 50 states; Louisiana is divided into parishes and Alaska into boroughs. Parishes and boroughs are called "county-equivalents" by the U.S...
in the U.S. state of New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. These counties together contain 566 municipalities, or administrative entities composed of clearly defined territory; 250 borough
Borough (New Jersey)
A borough in the context of New Jersey local government refers to one of five types and one of eleven forms of municipal government....
s, 52 cities
City (New Jersey)
A City in the context of New Jersey local government refers to one of five types and one of eleven forms of municipal government....
, 15 town
Town (New Jersey)
A Town in the context of New Jersey local government refers to one of five types and one of eleven forms of municipal government...
s, 245 township
Township (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...
s, and 4 village
Village (New Jersey)
A Village in the context of New Jersey local government, refers to one of five types and one of eleven forms of municipal government.The Village Act of 1891 defined the form of government to consist of a five-member board of trustees to be elected to three-year staggered terms. One member serves...
s. 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 Chosen Freeholders
Board of Chosen Freeholders
In New Jersey, the Boards of Chosen Freeholders are the county legislatures in each of that state's 21 counties.- Origin :New Jersey's system of naming county legislators "freeholders" is unique in the United States...
, sheriff, clerk, and surrogate, all of which are elected officials. Counties organized under the Optional County Charter Law may also have an elected county executive
County executive
A county executive is the head of the executive branch of government in a county. This position is common in the United States.The executive may be an elected or an appointed position...
. Counties traditionally perform state-mandated duties such as the maintenance of jails, parks, and certain roads. The site of a county's administration and courts is called the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
.
History
New Jersey was governed by two groups of proprietors as two distinct provinces, East JerseyEast Jersey
The Province of East Jersey and the Province of West Jersey were two distinct, separately governed parts of the Province of New Jersey that existed as separate provinces for 28 years, between 1674 and 1702. East Jersey's capital was located at Perth Amboy...
and West Jersey
West Jersey
West Jersey and East Jersey were two distinct parts of the Province of New Jersey. The political division existed for 28 years, between 1674 and 1702...
, 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
Bergen County, New Jersey
Bergen County is the most populous county of the state of New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 905,116. The county is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Hackensack...
, Essex
Essex County, New Jersey
Essex County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the United States 2010 Census, the population was 783,969, ranking it third in the state after Bergen County and Middlesex County; Essex County's population has declined from 786,147 as of the bureau's...
, Middlesex
Middlesex County, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 750,162 people, 265,815 households, and 190,855 families residing in the county. The population density was 2,422 people per square mile . There were 273,637 housing units at an average density of 884 per square mile...
and Monmouth
Monmouth County, New Jersey
Monmouth County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey, within the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 630,380, up from 615,301 at the 2000 census. Its county seat is Freehold Borough. The most populous municipality is Middletown Township with...
counties, while West Jersey's initial counties of Burlington
Burlington County, New Jersey
There were 154,371 households out of which 34.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.70% were married couples living together, 10.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.70% were non-families. 22.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.50% had...
and Salem
Salem County, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 64,285 people, 24,295 households, and 17,370 families residing in the county. The population density was 190 people per square mile . There were 26,158 housing units at an average density of 77 per square mile...
date to 1681. The most recent county created in New Jersey is Union County
Union County, New Jersey
Union County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 536,499. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Elizabeth. Union County ranks 93rd among the highest-income counties in the United States. It also ranks 74th in...
, created in 1857 and named after the union of the United States when the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
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
Bergen County, New Jersey
Bergen County is the most populous county of the state of New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 905,116. The county is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Hackensack...
is the most populous county—as of the Census Bureau's 2008 population estimate—with 894,840 people, while Salem County
Salem County, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 64,285 people, 24,295 households, and 17,370 families residing in the county. The population density was 190 people per square mile . There were 26,158 housing units at an average density of 77 per square mile...
is the least populous with 66,141 people.
Representation in the New Jersey Senate
Until the 1960s, the New Jersey SenateNew Jersey Senate
The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. From 1844 until 1965 New Jersey's counties elected one Senator, each. Under the 1844 Constitution the term of office was three years. The 1947...
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
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
in Reynolds v. Sims
Reynolds v. Sims
Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533 was a United States Supreme Court case that ruled that state legislature districts had to be roughly equal in population.-Facts:...
, establishing the one man, one vote principle that state legislative districts must be approximately equal in size, David Friedland
David Friedland
David J. Friedland is an American lawyer and Democratic Party politician from Hudson County, New Jersey who served in both houses of the New Jersey Legislature, serving in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1966 to 1974 and then was elected to the Senate, serving from 1978 until his conviction...
filed suit in New Jersey Supreme Court
New Jersey Supreme Court
The New Jersey Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It has existed in three different forms under the three different state constitutions since the independence of the state in 1776...
on behalf of two union leaders, challenging a system under which each county was represented by a single member in the New Jersey Senate
New Jersey Senate
The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. From 1844 until 1965 New Jersey's counties elected one Senator, each. Under the 1844 Constitution the term of office was three years. The 1947...
. The senate enacted a proposal whereby each senator's vote would be weighted based on the population of the county represented, under which Cape May County
Cape May County, New Jersey
-Climate:Being the southernmost point in New Jersey, Cape May has fairly mild wintertime temperatures. Contrary to that, the summertime has lower temperatures than most places in the state, making the county a popular place to escape the heat. It is in zone 7a/7b, which is the same as parts of...
's senator would receive one vote while the senator from Essex County
Essex County, New Jersey
Essex County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the United States 2010 Census, the population was 783,969, ranking it third in the state after Bergen County and Middlesex County; Essex County's population has declined from 786,147 as of the bureau's...
would receive 19.1, in direct relation to the ratio of residents between counties. In a decision issued on December 15, 1964, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the weighted voting system as adopted was unconstitutional. The court ordered that interim measures be established for the 1965 legislative elections, in which weighted voting could be used as a temporary measure, and that the needed constitutional changes to restructure the New Jersey Legislature
New Jersey Legislature
The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the Senate...
to be in compliance with "one man, one vote" requirements be in place before elections took place in 1967. The legislature's final decision was to establish 40 districts statewide, each represented by one senator and two assemblymembers, without relation to county boundaries.
FIPS code
The Federal Information Processing StandardFederal Information Processing Standard
A Federal Information Processing Standard is a publicly announced standardization developed by the United States federal government for use in computer systems by all non-military government agencies and by government contractors, when properly invoked and tailored on a contract...
(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.
Counties
| County |
FIPS Code | County Seat County seat A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States.... |
Created | Formed from | Named for | Population | Area | Map |
|---|
See also
- Metropolitan Statistical Areas of New JerseyMetropolitan Statistical Areas of New JerseyNew Jersey has seven Metropolitan Statistical Areas defined by the federal Office of Management and Budget. The New York City and Philadelphia MSAs are also divided into divisions, of which there are five in New Jersey....
—each New Jersey county is included in a Metropolitan Statistical Area as defined by the federal Office of Management and Budget