New Jersey

New Jersey sits at the center of the heavily built-up Northeast megalopolis, straddling the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It shares its northwestern, northern, and northeastern borders with New York State; its eastern, southeastern, and southern edges meet the Atlantic Ocean; to the west lie the Delaware River and Pennsylvania; and to the southwest, Delaware Bay and Delaware. Covering 7,354 square miles, it ranks as the fifth-smallest state by land area. As of a 2025 estimate from the U.S. Census Bureau, New Jersey holds over 9.5 million people—its highest population count on record—making it the 11th-most populous state. Trenton serves as the capital, while Newark is the largest city. It is the most densely populated state in the country and the only one where every county is classified as urban by the Census Bureau. Paleo-Indians first reached the area around 13,000 BC. By the time European explorers arrived in the early 1600s, the Lenape were the dominant Indigenous group, split into dialectal divisions: the Munsee in the north, and the Unami and Unalachtigo elsewhere. Dutch and Swedish settlers established the first European colonies, but the British later took control and created the Province of New Jersey, naming it after the Channel Island of Jersey. The colony’s fertile soil and relatively tolerant religious atmosphere attracted a broad mix of people. New Jersey was one of the original Thirteen Colonies that backed the American Revolution, hosting key battles and military commands that earned it the nickname “Crossroads of the American Revolution.” During the Civil War, it stayed with the Union, supplying troops, resources, and military leaders. Afterward, it grew into a major manufacturing hub and a top destination for immigrants, fueling the Industrial Revolution in the United States. The state has been the birthplace of countless industrial, technological, and commercial breakthroughs, and many influential Americans from New Jersey have left their mark on academia, social reform, business, entertainment, government, the military, nonprofits, and beyond. Its central spot in the Northeast megalopolis drove rapid growth and suburban expansion in the latter half of the 1900s. Since the early 2000s, the economy has diversified significantly, with New Jersey now hosting the world’s largest pharmaceutical industry—earning it the title “Medicine Chest of the World.” The state also excels in biotechnology, information technology, STEM education, finance, digital media, filmmaking, and tourism, and has become a key Atlantic seaboard center for logistics and distribution. It remains a major immigrant destination and is home to one of the most multicultural populations globally. Since the start of the 21st century, re-urbanization has been underway, especially near New Jersey Transit rail hubs. New Jersey is the fastest-growing state in the Northeast and one of the fastest-growing nationwide, thanks to a resilient economy and aggressive homebuilding policies. New Jersey is among the most developed states in the U.S. Its median household income reached $99,781 in 2023, the second-highest in the country after Massachusetts. Nearly one in ten households—over 323,000—are millionaires, giving the state the highest concentration of millionaires both by percentage and per square mile. Although it is not a border state, a quarter of its population is foreign-born, the second-highest proportion after California. The state ranks near the top on both the American Human Development Index and the standard Human Development Index. It has also been rated the top U.S. state for physical and emotional wellness, despite being one of the most expensive places to live. According to research from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, New Jersey has experienced the fastest warming in average air temperature over a 100-year period starting in the early 1900s, a trend linked to significant warming of the North Atlantic Ocean. The coastal waters of the Jersey Shore are among the fastest-warming urban ocean shorelines in the world. The collision of tectonic plates between North America and Africa created the Appalachian Mountains. Around 18,000 years ago, glaciers from the Ice Age reached New Jersey. As they melted, they left behind Lake Passaic, along with rivers, meadows, swamps, and gorges. Since the 6th millennium BC, Native American peoples—starting with the Lenape tribe—have lived in the area. The Lenape called the land *Scheyichbi*. They were made up of several autonomous groups who supplemented hunting and gathering with maize agriculture in the region around the Delaware River, the lower Hudson River, and western Long Island Sound. Their society was organized into matrilineal clans based on common female ancestors, which were grouped into three phratries identified by animal symbols: Turtle, Turkey, and Wolf. They first encountered the Dutch in the early 1600s, and their main interaction with the Dutch and later European settlers involved the fur trade. The Dutch were the first Europeans to claim territory in what is now New Jersey.