Central Jersey

Central Jersey
With 15 travel lanes and six shoulder lanes, Driscoll Bridge on the Garden State Parkway in Central Jersey is one of the world's widest and busiest motor vehicle bridges; the bridge crosses Raritan River near Raritan Bay.[1]
With 15 travel lanes and six shoulder lanes, Driscoll Bridge on the Garden State Parkway in Central Jersey is one of the world's widest and busiest motor vehicle bridges; the bridge crosses Raritan River near Raritan Bay.[1]
CountryUnited States
StateNew Jersey
Largest municipalities by populationElizabeth
Lakewood
Woodbridge Township
Edison
Hamilton
Trenton
Middletown Township
Old Bridge Township
Franklin Township
Union
Piscataway
New Brunswick
Perth Amboy
Howell Township
Plainfield
Population
 (2020)
3,580,999

Central Jersey, or Central New Jersey, is the middle region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The designation Central Jersey is a distinct administrative toponym.[2][3] While New Jersey is often divided into North Jersey and South Jersey, many residents recognize Central Jersey as a distinct third entity.[4] As of the 2020 census, Central Jersey has a population of 3,580,999.

Many descriptions of Central Jersey include Middlesex County, the population center of New Jersey, and tend to include much of nearby Monmouth, Mercer, Somerset, and Hunterdon counties. The inclusion of adjacent areas of Union and Ocean are a source of debate.[5][6][7] In 2015, New Jersey Business magazine defined Central Jersey more narrowly as the five counties of Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth and Somerset.[8]

In 2022, legislation was proposed in the New Jersey Legislature to establish distinct geographic areas for tourism in the state. Bill A4711 was sponsored by Assemblymembers Roy Freiman, Sadaf Jaffer, and Anthony Verrelli in the New Jersey General Assembly.[9] This included an official designation of the region of Central Jersey, which the legislation defines more broadly as the seven counties of Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Somerset, and Union.[10][11] The New Jersey Senate version of this legislation passed by a vote of 36-1 on June 20, 2023.[12] On August 24, 2023, Gov. Murphy signed legislation officially designating Central Jersey including, at a minimum, the counties of Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, and Somerset.[13]

The intersection of the two busiest highways in New Jersey, the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway, are located in Woodbridge in Central Jersey.[14]

Trenton, the seat of Mercer County and the state capital of New Jersey, is located in the region. New Jersey's geographic center is in Hamilton Township in Mercer County. In 2011, the population center of the state was in the western portion of East Brunswick.[15]

  1. ^ "Garden State Parkway opens world's widest bridge - 15 lanes". TOLLROADSnews, Peter Samuel. Archived from the original on March 23, 2012. Retrieved June 6, 2011.
  2. ^ Stirling, Steven (April 17, 2015). "Help us figure out the boundaries of North, Central and South Jersey once and for all (Interactive Map)". NJ Advance Media. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  3. ^ Stirling, Steven (April 24, 2015). "Here are the North, Central and South Jersey borders as determined by you (Interactive)". NJ Advance Media. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  4. ^ "Gov. Phil Murphy declares Central Jersey exists.", Courier News, December 10, 2019
  5. ^ Jean Mikle (March 31, 2008). "An invisible boundary divides N.J." Home News Tribune. Archived from the original on January 8, 2016. Retrieved January 12, 2010.("Of course, part of the problem with understanding New Jersey's enduring regional tension is that few residents can agree on where the northern half of the state ends and the southern half begins.")
  6. ^ North Versus South, Jersey Style; A shared sense of place hard to find in the Garden State (PDF), Monmouth University Polling Institute, March 8, 2008, archived from the original (PDF) on January 16, 2013, retrieved February 15, 2012
  7. ^ Hiembuch, Jeff (May 19, 2009), "North Vs South Vs Central - Where Do YOU Live?", nj.com, retrieved February 5, 2012
  8. ^ Saliba, George N. "Central New Jersey’s Success The low-down on economic developments within this five-county region.", New Jersey Business, March 16, 2015. Accessed December 4, 2019. "While New Jersey’s onerous tax structure and an uncertain economic climate have often been headline news, perhaps unsung is the fact that portions of the Garden State are steadily thriving, including much of Central New Jersey, which is comprised of: Somerset County, Monmouth County, Mercer County, Hunterdon County and Middlesex County."
  9. ^ New Jersey Legislature. Bill A4711 Session 2022 - 2023], New Jersey Legislature, introduced October 11, 2022. Accessed February 18, 2023. "The Division of Travel and Tourism shall re-draw the State tourism map to create a 'Central Jersey' region comprised, at a minimum of the counties of Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, and Somerset, and to incorporate the 'Central Jersey' region in all regional marketing activities, including in publications and on the VisitNJ.org website."
  10. ^ Mitman, Hayden."New Bill Looks to Establish ‘Central Jersey': In support of tourism, a New Jersey lawmaker has proposed an official 'central' region that would include Hunterdon, Somerset, Union, Middlesex, Mercer, Monmouth, and Ocean counties", NBC 10: Philadelphia, Published February 17, 2023. Accessed February 18, 2023.
  11. ^ Sobko, Katie."Central Jersey exists, and NJ lawmakers have defined it in a bill that just advanced", mycentraljersey.com, Trenton Bureau, Published February 17, 2023. Accessed February 18, 2023.
  12. ^ Redmond, Kimberly (June 21, 2023). "Senate advances bill to officially put Central Jersey on the map". NJBIZ. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  13. ^ "The Official Website of Governor Phil Murphy". nj.gov. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  14. ^ Peter Genovese (November 14, 2016). "11 reasons why Central Jersey is better than North or South Jersey (slide 4)". New Jersey On-Line LLC. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  15. ^ Stirling, Stephen (March 31, 2011). "U.S. Census shows East Brunswick as statistical center of N.J." The Star-Ledger. Retrieved November 7, 2012. if all 8.8 million residents of the state were to stand on a giant table supported by a single leg, Nenninger Lane would be the fulcrum point keeping it balanced

© MMXXIII Rich X Search. We shall prevail. All rights reserved. Rich X Search