South Jersey

South Jersey comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located between Pennsylvania and the lower Delaware River to its west, the Atlantic Ocean to its east, Delaware to its south, and Central Jersey or North Jersey to its north, depending on the definition of North Jersey.

South Jersey is part of the Delaware Valley, the seventh-largest metropolitan region in the nation with 6.288 million residents in the core metropolitan statistical area and 7.366 million residents in the combined statistical area of Camden, Philadelphia and Wilmington, as of 2020.^[2] South Jersey is known for containing the unique ecoregion known as the Pine Barrens, which remains largely undisturbed despite its location within the Northeastern megalopolis. The South Jersey Pine Barrens are the largest remaining example of the Atlantic coastal pine barrens ecosystem.

Benjamin Franklin called New Jersey "a barrel tapped at both ends", referencing the Philadelphia influence on South Jersey and the New York City influence on North Jersey.^[3] South Jersey may be defined geographically as the area below I-195 that includes the state's lower seven counties: Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem.^[4]

South Jersey and the wider Philadelphia metropolitan area are situated near the center of the Northeast megalopolis and have become a U.S. East Coast epicenter for logistics and warehouse construction;^[5] Salem County, the lower portion of Gloucester County, and the upper portion of Cumberland County additionally serve as residential communities for the petrochemical industry of New Castle County, Delaware. South Jersey shore communities, including Atlantic City and others in Atlantic and Cape May counties, have a distinct economy centered around the tourism industry. Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester counties have several older streetcar towns, and many residents from these three counties commute to Philadelphia, the nation's sixth-most populous city, which is located immediately west of South Jersey across the Delaware River, accessible by the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, Betsy Ross Bridge, Tacony Palmyra Bridge and Walt Whitman Bridge.

The designation of South Jersey with a distinct toponym is a colloquialism rather than an administrative definition and reflects geographical and perceived cultural and other differences between South Jersey and the northern part of the state.^[6]