Central Jersey

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. While New Jersey is often divided into North Jersey and South Jersey, many residents recognize Central Jersey as a distinct third entity. As of the 2020 census, Central Jersey has a population of 3,580,999. Broadly speaking, Central Jersey is the fastest-growing region of the State of New Jersey, attributed to consistently robust levels of new housing construction, accompanied by an influx of Indians, Chinese, and Orthodox Jews. All descriptions of Central Jersey include Middlesex County, the population center of New Jersey, and most include much of nearby Monmouth, Mercer, Somerset, and Hunterdon counties. The inclusion of adjacent Union and Ocean counties on the north and south of the region, respectively, is a source of debate. In 2015, New Jersey Business magazine defined Central Jersey more narrowly as the five counties of Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, and Somerset. 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. 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. The New Jersey Senate version of this legislation passed by a vote of 36-1 on June 20, 2023. On August 24, 2023, Gov. Murphy signed legislation officially designating Central Jersey including, at a minimum, the counties of Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, and Somerset. Trenton, the seat of Mercer County and the state capital of New Jersey, is located in Central Jersey. New Jersey's geographic center is in Hamilton, Mercer...