NEW JERSEY AT A GLANCE

21 Counties

New Jersey is made up of 21 counties, stretching from the New York metropolitan area to the Delaware Bay and the southern Jersey Shore.

The Garden State

New Jersey is known as the Garden State, a nickname that reflects the state’s long agricultural history.

Liberty and Prosperity

“Liberty and Prosperity” is New Jersey’s official state motto.

Small State, Lots of People

New Jersey is the most densely populated state in the United States, packing a remarkable number of people into its relatively small footprint.

A Highly Urbanized State

New Jersey has one of the highest percentages of residents living in urban areas in the country.

Surrounded by Water

With the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Delaware River and Delaware Bay along much of its western and southern borders, water has always played an important role in New Jersey life.

Down the Shore

There’s Nothing Quite Like the Jersey Shore.

For generations, New Jersey’s coastline has been a destination for beachgoers, vacationers and locals alike. Its shore towns, boardwalks and seaside traditions have become an unmistakable part of the state’s identity.

Cape May

With its Victorian architecture, beaches and long history as a vacation destination, Cape May is widely recognized as one of America’s oldest seaside resorts.

Atlantic City Boardwalk

The Atlantic City Boardwalk dates to 1870 and became one of the most famous boardwalks in the world.

Ship Bottom

The name Ship Bottom dates back to an 1817 shipwreck. According to local history, Captain Stephen Willets rescued a young woman from the overturned hull of a ship near what is now Long Beach Island. The area became known as “Ship Bottom.”

Beachwood’s Newspaper Beginning

In 1914, the New York Tribune offered subscribers an unusual promotion: subscribe to the newspaper and receive a lot in the newly developing community of Beachwood, New Jersey.

Shore Towns

New Jersey is home to dozens of resort and beach communities, including Asbury Park, Wildwood, Atlantic City, Seaside Heights, Long Branch and Cape May.

Miss America

Atlantic City became the longtime home of the Miss America competition, which began there in 1921.

New Jersey Did It First

A Small State With a Long List of Firsts.

New Jersey has played an outsized role in American innovation, transportation, entertainment and sports.

The Birthplace of College Football

Rutgers and Princeton played what is generally recognized as the first intercollegiate football game in New Brunswick on November 6, 1869. Rutgers won 6–4.

The Drive-In Movie Theater

The first patented drive-in movie theater opened in Camden County, New Jersey, in 1933.

A Landmark Dinosaur Discovery

In 1858, the nearly complete skeleton of a Hadrosaurus was excavated in Haddonfield. The discovery became a landmark in the development of American paleontology.

The Holland Tunnel

When it opened in 1927, the Holland Tunnel was an engineering achievement, carrying automobile traffic beneath the Hudson River between New Jersey and Manhattan.

The Pulaski Skyway

Opened in 1932, the Pulaski Skyway became one of New Jersey’s most recognizable transportation landmarks, connecting the Newark and Jersey City areas.

Invented in Jersey

You Can Thank New Jersey for That.

Some of the technologies that transformed everyday life were developed right here in the Garden State.

Thomas Edison and Menlo Park

Thomas Edison established his famous research laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey, in 1876. His work there helped transform the way the world experienced light and sound and earned him the nickname “The Wizard of Menlo Park.”

The Phonograph

Edison developed his first phonograph at Menlo Park in 1877, demonstrating that recorded sound could be played back.

Electric Light

Edison and his team conducted groundbreaking work on practical incandescent lighting and electrical systems at his New Jersey laboratory.

Motion Pictures

Edison’s later New Jersey laboratories played an important role in the early development of motion-picture technology.

John Roebling

John A. Roebling established a wire-rope manufacturing operation in Trenton in 1848. The Roebling company later became closely associated with some of America’s great suspension bridges, including the Brooklyn Bridge.

Les Paul

Guitar innovator Les Paul spent years experimenting with solid-body electric guitar designs, including important work while living in New Jersey.

Only in Jersey

Some Things Just Feel Like Home.

From diners to pork roll, New Jersey has developed a culture all its own.

The Diner Capital

New Jersey is famous for its abundance of diners and is widely known as the “Diner Capital of the World.”

Pork Roll or Taylor Ham?

Few debates are more New Jersey than what to call the state’s famous processed pork product. South and Central Jersey generally call it pork roll. In much of North Jersey, you’ll hear “Taylor Ham.”

Either way, it’s Jersey.

Monopoly and Atlantic City

The properties on the classic U.S. Monopoly board take their names from streets and locations in and around Atlantic City.

Frank Sinatra

Legendary singer and entertainer Frank Sinatra was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1915.

Jersey Tomatoes

The Jersey tomato has become one of the Garden State’s most iconic foods, prized by generations of residents during the summer growing season.

Diners, Boardwalks and Late Nights

Whether it’s breakfast at midnight, pizza on the boardwalk or pork roll on a hard roll, food is an essential part of the New Jersey experience.

The Garden State

More Than Just a Nickname.

Despite its dense population and proximity to major cities, agriculture has long been an important part of New Jersey’s identity.

Jersey Fresh

New Jersey farms produce a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, including tomatoes, blueberries, cranberries, peaches, corn and peppers.

Blueberries

New Jersey is one of the country’s major blueberry-producing states, with much of the industry centered in the Pine Barrens region of South Jersey.

Cranberries

Cranberries have been commercially cultivated in New Jersey since the 19th century and remain an important crop in the state’s sandy southern growing regions.

The Jersey Tomato

For many New Jersey residents, few things signal summer quite like a fresh Jersey tomato.

Revolutionary Jersey

Where American History Happened.

New Jersey’s location between Philadelphia and New York made it strategically important during the American Revolution. Armies repeatedly crossed the state, and some of the war’s most significant moments happened here.

Washington Crossed the Delaware

On Christmas night in 1776, George Washington and his troops crossed the Delaware River before launching a surprise attack on Hessian forces at Trenton.

The Battle of Trenton

Washington’s victory at Trenton on December 26, 1776 became one of the most famous turning points of the Revolutionary War.

The Battle of Princeton

Just days after Trenton, American and British forces fought at Princeton, giving Washington another important victory.

The New Jersey State Seal

New Jersey’s state seal was designed by Pierre Eugène du Simitière and dates to 1777.

Where the Name Came From

New Jersey was named for Jersey, one of the Channel Islands in the English Channel.

Symbols of the Garden State

Officially New Jersey.

State Insect: Honeybee

The honeybee was designated New Jersey’s official state insect in 1974.

State Shell: Knobbed Whelk

The knobbed whelk can be found along New Jersey’s beaches and bays and was designated the official state shell in 1995.

State Dinosaur: Hadrosaurus

Hadrosaurus foulkii became New Jersey’s official state dinosaur in 1991, honoring the groundbreaking fossil discovery made in Haddonfield.

State Motto

Liberty and Prosperity.

Built in Jersey

Small State. Serious Infrastructure.

New Jersey’s location between New York and Philadelphia has helped make it an important center for transportation, shipping, industry and innovation.

Port Newark–Elizabeth

The Port Newark–Elizabeth Marine Terminal is a major container-shipping complex and an important gateway for goods entering and leaving the New York metropolitan region.

Newark Liberty International Airport

Newark Liberty International is one of the major airports serving the New York metropolitan area and has played an important role in American commercial aviation.

Highways and Railroads

New Jersey has an extensive network of highways and rail lines connecting its communities with New York, Philadelphia and the rest of the Northeast.

Pharmaceuticals and Technology

New Jersey has a long history as a center for pharmaceutical, chemical, telecommunications and technology companies.

Weird, Wonderful & Very Jersey

Because Normal Would Be Boring.

New Jersey history has plenty of unexpected stories, unusual places and distinctly Jersey traditions.

A Town Called Roosevelt

The Borough of Roosevelt is a remarkable planned community established during the New Deal era and is listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Pine Barrens

The vast Pinelands of South Jersey contain forests, wetlands, historic villages and a culture all their own — along with more than a few legends.

The Jersey Devil

For centuries, stories have circulated about a mysterious creature said to inhabit the Pine Barrens. The Jersey Devil has become one of the state’s most enduring legends.

Taylor Ham vs. Pork Roll

Yes, we already mentioned it.

No, New Jersey will never agree.

From the Garden State to the Jersey Shore

There’s More to Discover.

New Jersey may be small, but there’s no shortage of places to explore, stories to uncover and local businesses worth supporting.

Discover the people, places and businesses that make the Jersey Shore home.

EXPLORE THE JERSEY SHORE

The Following is a List of Famous New Jersey Natives: