List of counties in New Jersey

There are 21 counties in the U.S. state of New Jersey. These counties together have 564 municipalities, or administrative entities composed of clearly defined territory; 253 boroughs, 52 cities, 15 towns, 241 townships, and 3 villages.^[1] 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,^[2] sheriff, clerk, and surrogate (responsible for uncontested and routine probate),.^[3] All of these jobs are elected officials. Counties are responsible for the maintenance of jails, parks, and certain roads.^[4] The site of a county's administration and courts is called the county seat.

New Jersey's 21 counties

FIPS code

The Federal Information Processing Standard (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.^[5]

Counties

County	FIPS code[5]	County seat[6]	Largest City[7]	Established[6]	Formed from[8][9]	Named for[10]	Density (per mi2)	Population (2020)[11]	Land Area[6]	Map
Atlantic County	001	Mays Landing	Egg Harbor Township 47,842	1837	Gloucester County	The Atlantic Ocean, which forms the county's eastern border	494	274,534	556 sq mi (1,440 km2)
Bergen County	003	Hackensack	Hackensack 46,030	1683	One of 4 original counties created in East Jersey	Bergen, New Netherland settlement	4,106	955,732	233 sq mi (603 km2)
Burlington County	005	Mount Holly	Evesham Township 46,826	1694	One of two original counties created in West Jersey	The old ancient name for an inland market near Bridlington, England	578	461,860	799 sq mi (2,069 km2)
Camden County	007	Camden	Cherry Hill 74,553	1844	Gloucester County	Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden (1714–1794), an English supporter of the colonists during the American Revolution[12]	2,365	523,485	221 sq mi (572 km2)
Cape May County	009	Cape May Court House	Lower Township 22,057	1692	Burlington County	The 17th-century Dutch explorer Cornelius Jacobsen Mey, who explored and surveyed the Delaware Bay to the south of the county	379	95,263	252 sq mi (653 km2)
Cumberland County	011	Bridgeton	Vineland 60,780	1748	Salem County	Prince William, Duke of Cumberland (1721–1765), second son of George II of Great Britain and military victor at the Battle of Culloden in 1746	319	154,152	483 sq mi (1,251 km2)
Essex County	013	Newark	Newark 311,549	1683	One of four original counties created in East Jersey	The county of Essex in England	6,850	863,728	126 sq mi (326 km2)
Gloucester County	015	Woodbury	Washington Township 48,677	1686	Burlington County	The city of Gloucester, England	939	302,294	322 sq mi (834 km2)
Hudson County	017	Jersey City	Jersey City 292,449	1840	Bergen County	The English explorer Henry Hudson (d. 1611), who explored portions of New Jersey's coastline	15,692	724,854	46 sq mi (119 km2)
Hunterdon County	019	Flemington	Raritan Township 23,447	1714	Burlington County	Robert Hunter (1664–1734), the Colonial Governor of New Jersey from 1710 to 1720	301	128,947	428 sq mi (1,109 km2)
Mercer County	021	Trenton	Hamilton Township 92,297	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[13]	1,726	387,340	224 sq mi (580 km2)
Middlesex County	023	New Brunswick	Edison 107,588	1683	One of four original counties created in East Jersey	The historic county of Middlesex in England	2,791	863,162	309 sq mi (800 km2)
Monmouth County	025	Freehold Borough	Middletown Township 67,106	1683	One of four original counties created in East Jersey	The historic county of Monmouthshire in Wales	1,375	643,615	468 sq mi (1,212 km2)
Morris County	027	Morristown	Parsippany-Troy Hills 56,162	1739	Hunterdon County	Colonel Lewis Morris (1671–1746), colonial governor of New Jersey at the time of the county's formation[14][15]	1,105	509,285	461 sq mi (1,194 km2)
Ocean County	029	Toms River	Lakewood Township 135,158	1850	Monmouth County and Burlington County	The Atlantic Ocean, which forms the eastern border of New Jersey	1,014	637,229	628 sq mi (1,627 km2)
Passaic County	031	Paterson	Paterson 159,732	1837	Bergen County and Essex County	"Pasaeck", a Lenape word meaning "valley"	2,818	524,118	186 sq mi (482 km2)
Salem County	033	Salem	Pennsville Township 12,684	1694	One of two original counties created in West Jersey	A Hebrew word meaning "peace"	195	64,837	332 sq mi (860 km2)
Somerset County	035	Somerville	Franklin Township 68,364	1688	Middlesex County	The county of Somerset in England	1,144	345,361	302 sq mi (782 km2)
Sussex County	037	Newton	Vernon Township 22,358	1753	Morris County	The county of Sussex in England	278	144,221	519 sq mi (1,344 km2)
Union County	039	Elizabeth	Elizabeth 137,298	1857	Essex County	The union of the United States, which was being threatened by the dispute over slavery	5,599	575,345	103 sq mi (267 km2)
Warren County	041	Belvidere	Phillipsburg 15,249	1824	Sussex County	The American Revolutionary War General Joseph Warren (1741–1775), killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill	307	109,632	357 sq mi (925 km2)

References

1. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
2. Coppa, Frank J. (2000). County government: a guide to efficient and accountable government. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 39–40. ISBN 9780275968298. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
3. Coppa, County government, p. 165
4. "An Overview of County Government". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on April 17, 2013. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
5. "EPA County FIPS Code Listing". US Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved July 24, 2007.
6. National Association of Counties. "NACo County Explorer". Retrieved 17 January 2024.
7. "Population Density by County and Municipality: New Jersey, 2010 and 2017" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Health. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
8. "County Formation Map" (PDF). New Jersey Association of Election Officials. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-07-24. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
9. Torp, Kim (2006). "New Jersey County Formation". Genealogy Trails. Archived from the original on March 17, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
10. Hutchinson, Viola L. The Origin of New Jersey Place Names, New Jersey Public Library Commission, May 1945. Accessed November 14, 2015.
11. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/NJ/POP010210
12. Greenberg, Gail (August 30, 2009). "A Brief History of Camden County". Camden County Board of Freeholders. Archived from the original on June 23, 2009. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
13. "History". Mercer County Cultural & Heritage Commission. Archived from the original on February 21, 2009. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
14. "The Land Past and Present". Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders. Archived from the original on August 22, 2009. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
15. "How did our county get its name?". Morris County Library. July 26, 2008. Archived from the original on February 23, 2009. Retrieved August 31, 2009.