Central Jersey
With 15 travel lanes and six shoulder lanes,Driscoll Bridge on theGarden State Parkway in Central Jersey is the world's widest and one of the busiest motor vehicle bridges, with 15 travel lanes, and 6 shoulder lanes; the bridge crosses theRaritan River nearRaritan Bay, connectingSayreville andWoodbridge, both inMiddlesex County.[1]
Interactive map of Central Jersey
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
Largest municipalities by population	Elizabeth Lakewood Edison Woodbridge Trenton Franklin Township Old Bridge Middletown Piscataway New Brunswick Perth Amboy Plainfield Howell
Population  (2020)	3,580,999

Central Jersey, orCentral New Jersey, is the middle region of theU.S. state ofNew Jersey. The designation Central Jersey is a distinctadministrativetoponym.^[2][3] While New Jersey is often divided intoNorth Jersey andSouth Jersey, many residents recognize Central Jersey as a distinct third entity.^[4] As of the2020 census, Central Jersey has a population of 3,580,999.

All descriptions of Central Jersey includeMiddlesex County, the population center of New Jersey, and most include much of nearbyMonmouth,Mercer,Somerset, andHunterdon counties. The inclusion of adjacentUnion andOcean counties on the north and south of the region, respectively, is a source of debate.^[5][6][7] In 2015,New Jersey Business magazine defined Central Jersey more narrowly as the five counties of Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, and Somerset.^[8]

In 2022, legislation was proposed in theNew Jersey Legislature to establish distinct geographic areas for tourism in the state. Bill A4711 was sponsored by AssemblymembersRoy Freiman,Sadaf Jaffer, andAnthony Verrelli in theNew Jersey General Assembly.^[9] 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.^[10][11] TheNew Jersey Senate version of this legislation passed by a vote of 36-1 on June 20, 2023.^[12] On August 24, 2023, Gov. Murphy signed legislation officially designating Central Jersey including, at a minimum, the counties of Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, and Somerset.^[13]

Trenton, theseat of Mercer County and thestate capital of New Jersey, is located in Central Jersey. New Jersey's geographic center is inHamilton, Mercer County. In 2011, the population center of the state was in the western portion ofEast Brunswick, in Middlesex County.^[14] The two busiest highways in New Jersey, theNew Jersey Turnpike and theGarden State Parkway, intersect inWoodbridge, Middlesex County.^[15]Princeton University andRutgers University, the two most prominent institutions of higher education in the state, are situated in Central Jersey, partially contributing to the region's status as the world's largestpharmaceutical industry hub.

The region lies roughly at the geographic heart of theNortheast megalopolis and is wholly in theNew York metropolitan area, the nation's largest metropolitan area. All of Central Jersey has a hot-summerhumid continental climate (Dfa).

TheDelaware Valley is another area that is associated with some parts of Central Jersey, specifically Mercer County. Yet despite the County’s close geographic proximity toPhiladelphia'scombined statistical area, Mercer County is considered part of theNew York Combined Metropolitan Statistical Area as defined by the United States Census Bureau.^[16][17][18] Some but not all regions ofHunterdon County associate themselves with theDelaware Valley and the Philadelphia metropolitan area.

The Raritan Valley is the region along the middle reaches of theRaritan River and itsNorth Branch andSouth Branch. The Raritan Valley includes the communities ofBranchburg,Bridgewater,Somerville,Raritan,Hillsborough,Franklin Township,Green Brook,North Plainfield,Bound Brook, andSouth Bound Brook, all in Somerset County;Dunellen,Middlesex,Piscataway,South Plainfield,Highland Park,New Brunswick,East Brunswick,Edison, andMetuchen, all in the northern and central portions of Middlesex County; andPlainfield in southwestern Union County.^{[19][20][21][22][23]}

TheRaritan Bayshore is used to describe the region in Middlesex and Monmouth Counties, located along the coastline of theRaritan Bay, from the mouth of the Raritan River in the west to the barrier island ofSandy Hook bordering theAtlantic Ocean in the east.^[24] The Raritan Bayshore includes the communities ofSayreville,Woodbridge,Perth Amboy,South Amboy, andOld Bridge, all in northeastern Middlesex County;Aberdeen,Matawan,Keyport,Union Beach,Hazlet,Keansburg,Holmdel,Middletown,Atlantic Highlands, andHighlands, all in northern Monmouth County.^[25][26]

The telephonearea codes 732 and 848 includes Middlesex, Monmouth, Somerset, Union, and northern Ocean counties. Whilearea codes 609 and 640 includes southern Ocean, Hunterdon, and Somerset counties, as well as Mercer County.^[27]

Between 1674 and 1702, in the early part ofNew Jersey's colonial period, theborder between West Jersey and East Jersey ran diagonally across the middle part of the state. TheKeith Line, as the demarcation is known, ran through the center of what is now Mercer County.^[28] This border remained important in determining ownership and political boundaries until 1745. Remnants of that division are seen today, notably as the Hunterdon-Somerset, Ocean-Burlington, and Monmouth-Burlington county lines.^[29] The division of the two provinces was cultural as well as geographical.^[30]

New Jersey's position between the cities ofNew York andPhiladelphia led to the saying that the state was like "a barrel tapped at both ends", a quote often attributed toBenjamin Franklin.^[31][32] Travel between the two cities originally included a ferry crossing. Due to the obstacles created by theMeadowlands and theHudson Palisades, passengers from New York would cross theNorth River and theUpper New York Bay by boat and then transfer tostagecoaches to travel overland through what is now Central Jersey. One route fromElizabethtown toLambertville was known asOld York Road. Another route, fromPerth Amboy throughKingston toBurlington, ran along a portion of theKings Highway, These roads followedLenape paths known respectively as the Naritcong Trail and theAssunpink Trail.

Raritan Landing, across fromNew Brunswick in today'sPiscataway, became an importantinland port and commercial hub for the region.^[33] Two of the nineColonial Colleges, founded before theAmerican Revolution, were the College of New Jersey (nowPrinceton University), and Queens College (nowRutgers University).

Central New Jersey, particularly Edison and surrounding Middlesex County, is prominently known for its significant concentration ofAsian Indians. The world's largestHindu temple outsideAsia was inaugurated inRobbinsville in 2014, aBAPS temple.^[34] The growingLittle India is a South Asian-focused commercial strip in Middlesex County, the U.S. county with the highest concentration of Asian Indians, at nearly 20% as of 2020.^[35][36][37] The Oak Tree Road strip runs for about one-and-a-half miles throughEdison and neighboringIselin inWoodbridge Township, near the area's sprawlingChinatown andKoreatown, running alongNew Jersey Route 27.^[38] It is the largest and most diverseSouth Asian cultural hub in the United States.^[39][40]Monroe Township (nicknamedEdison South), in Middlesex County, has experienced a particularly rapid growth rate in itsIndian American population, with an estimated 5,943 (13.6%) as of 2017,^[41] which was 23 times the 256 (0.9%) counted as of the 2000 Census; andDiwali is celebrated by the township as aHindu holiday.Carteret'sPunjabiSikh community, variously estimated at upwards of 3,000, constitutes the largest concentration of Sikhs in the state.^[42] In Middlesex County, electionballots are printed in English,Spanish,Gujarati,Hindi, andPunjabi.^[43]

Indianpharmaceutical and technology companies are coming to Central New Jersey to gain a foothold in the United States.Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, based inHyderabad, set up its U.S. headquarters inPrinceton,Mercer County.^[44] Pharmaceutical companyAurobindo, also headquartered in Hyderabad, has established its U.S. headquarters inEast Windsor, Mercer County, and has implemented a multimillion-dollar expansion of these Central New Jersey operations.^[45] In March 2023,Bengaluru-based technology services andconsulting companyWipro opened its American internationalheadquarters inEast Brunswick, Middlesex, County.^[46] In July 2025,Biocon Biologics established its U.S. headquarters inBridgewater, Somerset County.^[47]

Starting in the 2000s, highly educated suburbs in central and northern New Jersey have received a large influx ofChinese immigrants, including manyTaiwanese immigrants. ManyChinese American families send their children toMandarin language schools in Edison. Some of these private schools include Edison Chinese School, located at John Adams Middle School, orTzu Chi, located at Woodrow Wilson Middle School, both of which teach inTraditional Chinese, in addition toHuaxia Chinese School, which teaches inSimplified Chinese.

The Taiwanese airlineChina Airlines provides private bus service toJohn F. Kennedy International Airport from theKam Man Food location in Edison to feed its flight toTaipei,Taiwan.^[48]

Central Jersey is also home to a large Korean-American population. In 2010, anH Mart opened inEdison, Middlesex County.^[49] and in 2017, Woo-Ri Mart opened inWest Windsor, Mercer County. The area is also home to severalKorean churches, including, in Somerset County, Praise Presbyterian Church (찬양교회) inSomerset, Bountiful United Methodist Church (가득한교회) inMartinsville, and Presbyterian Church (세빛교회) inWarren; and Princeton Korean Community Church and Princeton Korean Presbyterian Church (프린스톤한인장로교회), both inPrinceton, Mercer County. KPOT Korean BBQ, founded in 2018 and with over 100 branches across the United States, isheadquartered inEast Brunswick, Middlesex County.^[50]

Swaminarayan Akshardham (Devanagari:स्वामिनारायण अक्षरधाम) inRobbinsville,Mercer County, isthe world's largest Hindu temple outsideAsia, left.

Beth Medrash Govoha (Hebrew:בית מדרש גבוה), inLakewood Township,Ocean County, is the world's largestyeshiva outside theState of Israel, right.Asian Indians andOrthodox Jews constitute the fastest-growing segments of New Jersey's population, and both are highly represented in central New Jersey.^[51][52]

Central Jersey is also home to the fastest-growingJewish community in the U.S., especiallyOrthodox.Beth Medrash Govoha (Hebrew:בית מדרש גבוה), inLakewood Township, Ocean County, is the world's largestyeshiva outside theState of Israel.^[51][52] The world's largest Jewish gathering outside of Israel occurred inEdison, Middlesex County on December 1, 2024.^[53]

All of the region's counties are ranked among thehighest income counties in the United States, as measured bymedian household income.^[54] Central New Jersey has been called the state's "wealth belt".^[55][56]

For decades, Central Jersey was a hub formanufacturing in the eastern United States. Many industrial companies had major production facilities in and around the area, includingEdison Assembly,Ford Motor Company's production plant for Rangers, Mustangs, Pintos, Mercurys, and Lincolns. Other notable companies includeGeneral Motors in Linden,Frigidaire's air-conditioner plant in Edison,Hess Corporation in Woodbridge,Siemens in Edison, andExxonMobil Chemical.

Starting in the 2000s, manufacturing began to leave Central Jersey, and many facilities had closed and moved overseas.^{[57][58][59][60]}

TheBell Labs Holmdel Complex has been the site of manyinnovations in telecommunications and is experiencing arenaissance as abusiness incubator forhigh-techstartup companies.^[61] TodayVerizon Wireless,AT&T Communications,Vonage,Avaya, andBell Labs are located in the region.

Central New Jersey is a global leader in thepharmaceuticals industry. New Brunswick is known as "the Healthcare City",^[63][64] due to the concentration of medical facilities in Central Jersey, includingRobert Wood Johnson University Hospital andSaint Peter's University Hospital, as well as theUniversity of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ)-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.University Medical Center of Princeton is located inPlainsboro. The campuses of the major pharmaceutical corporationsBristol-Myers Squibb Company,Johnson & Johnson,Merck andSanofi-Aventis are located in the region, as are major operations ofDr. Reddy's Laboratories andAurobindo Pharma.Princeton University'sFrist Campus Center^[a] is used for the aerial views of Princeton‑Plainsboro Teaching Hospital seen in the television seriesHouse.^[65][66]

Major shopping centers include theFreehold Raceway Mall,Woodbridge Center,Menlo Park Mall,Bridgewater Commons,The Grove at Shrewsbury,Monmouth Mall,Brunswick Square Mall,Forrestal Village,Quaker Bridge Mall,Princeton Market Fair,Ocean County Mall,Jackson Premium Outlets, andJersey Shore Premium Outlets.

Princeton University inPrinceton is one of eightIvy League universities and the nation, one of the world's most prominentresearch universities, and consistently ranked as one of the best universities in the world; in the 2023-24 issue ofU.S. News & World Report Best Colleges Ranking, Princeton University is ranked the best university in the nation.^[69]Rutgers-New Brunswick is the flagship university campus of the state of New Jersey.Beth Medrash Govoha, the largestYeshiva in the western hemisphere, is located inLakewood inOcean County.^[70][71] As of 2019, it had 6,715 students, 2,748 regular and 3,967 inKollel status.^[72]Monmouth University,Rider University, andThe College of New Jersey are located in Central Jersey as well. Each county maintains its owncounty college, with the exception of Hunterdon County - whose residents may attend eitherRaritan Valley Community College (located in Somerset County) orMercer County Community College (located in Mercer County) at no additional cost. Monmouth County's residents have the choice of attendingBrookdale Community College which was recently listed as one of the top three community colleges in the state.Thomas Edison State College in Trenton provides extensive on-line and adult education.Kean University is in Union County.

Populartourist attractions in Central New Jersey includeSix Flags Great Adventure,Gateway National Recreation Area,Monmouth Park Racetrack,Freehold Raceway, and the manyboardwalks along the northernJersey Shore, in Monmouth County and northern Ocean County.

TheNew Brunswick music scene has produced many successful indie bands. The city also is home to theNew Jersey Folk Festival. In an early era, theStone Pony andAsbury Park Convention Hall were important venues on the rock scene. Major music and theater venues in the region includePNC Bank Arts Center, theTrenton War Memorial,CURE Insurance Arena, theMcCarter Theater, theCount Basie Theater, theGeorge Street Playhouse and theStarland Ballroom.

East Jersey Olde Towne Village, theRoad Up Raritan Historic District as well as those inTrenton,Lawrence, andPrinceton recall the colonial era. The region saw a lot of action during theAmerican Revolution due to the region's strategic importance betweenPhiladelphia andNew York City.^[75] As such, many important battles took place here. These battle sites have been converted into state parks, offering historic preservation of the important structures contingent to their respected battles. State parks includeWashington Crossing State Park,Princeton Battlefield State Park, andMonmouth Battlefield State Park.^[76] TheMiddlebrook encampment inBridgewater was where the first officialflag of the United States was unfurled, after a law to adopt a national flag had been passed by Congress on June 14, 1777.^[77]Ocean Grove is one of the largest national historic sites in the United States.

Depending on the location, different parts of Central Jersey fall into overlapping spheres of influence fromNew York media market andPhiladelphia media market. Mercer County is located in the Philadelphia television market, while the rest of the region belongs wholly to the New York City market.

The Star-Ledger, based inNewark, is the largest circulatednewspaper in New Jersey. Four Central Jersey newspapers,Asbury Park Press,Home News Tribune, and twoTrenton dailies,The Trentonian andThe Times and several local papers are published in Central Jersey.New Jersey On-Line,MyCentralJersey.com and CentralJersey.com^[78] are online news services. During statewide political events like Gubernatorial or Senatorial election debates often held in Trenton, partner stations from both the New York and Philadelphia markets pool resources together to co-host the events and bring them to New Jersey homes.

Identification with sports teams is also affected by the region's location, and it is not uncommon to find fans of major sports teams of either city. For example, while residents of northern New Jersey root for New York teams, those in the southern part of the state root for Philadelphia teams.^[79][80][81] The distinction is less clear in Central Jersey.^[82] Central Jersey Riptide was a short-lived professional soccer club.^[83]

TheNew Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) operates three divisions in the state: North, South, and Central, which encompasses Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, and Somerset counties and portions ofWarren County. (Routes 22, 122, 173, 78 and including south of Route 57).^[84] Apart from Mercer County, which comes under the auspices of theDelaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, all counties in the region are part of theNorth Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, a government partner which approves transportation projects for the state.

TheUnited New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company traversed the region in 1830, eventually becoming thePennsylvania Railroad (PRR). NJT'sNortheast Corridor Line and theNorth Jersey Coast were once part of the PRR, as was Amtrak which serves the commuter hub atMetropark, New Brunswick, and theTrenton Transit Center. TheCentral Railroad of New Jersey once connectedJersey City (with connecting ferries to Manhattan) and manyCentral Jersey towns. Much of that system is now included inNew Jersey Transit rail operations to theRaritan Valley. New Brunswick is known as the Hub City, and at one time was a regional transportation hub for streetcars which converged in the city.^[85] TheMonmouth Ocean Middlesex Line has been proposed for the region.

TheGarden State Parkway,New Jersey Turnpike (I-95),I-287,US 1,US 9,Route 18, andRoute 18 are major automobile routes through Central Jersey that pass over the Raritan River atPerth Amboy andNew Brunswick.I-195 travels through Central Jersey (hence the name "Central Jersey Expressway") from the Trenton area towardsBelmar.New Jersey Route 33 travels between Trenton and Asbury Park.

From the Raritan Bayshore,SeaStreak catamarans travel toPier 11 at Wall Street andEast 34th Street Ferry Landing.NY Waterway ferries travel toPaulus Hook Ferry Terminal inJersey City,Battery Park City Ferry Terminal, andWest Midtown Ferry Terminal. As of 2018, there are plans to create ferry service fromCarteret in Middlesex County.^[86]

Trenton-Mercer Airport is the only airport in Central New Jersey providing long-distance commercial service.Monmouth Executive Airport, formerly known as Allaire Airport, is a public-use airport located nearAllaire State Park.Central Jersey Regional Airport is a privately owned, public airport inSomerset County.Linden Airport is a smallgeneral aviation airport located alongU.S. Route 1&9 inUnion County.

The Route 9 BBS, the New Brunswick BRT, and the Central Jersey Route 1 Corridor are projects in the region intended to expand the use ofbus rapid transit in New Jersey.

• North Jersey
• South Jersey

• Strauss, Robert (July 13, 2008)."North Jersey or South? A Search for the Line".The New York Times.
• Sullivan, S. P. (May 30, 2014)."Jersey's Mason-Dixon line: Mapping the Taylor Ham vs. pork roll divide". NJ.com.

40°26′10″N74°52′30″W / 40.4361°N 74.875°W /40.4361; -74.875

• Central Jersey
• Culture of New Jersey
• Regions of New Jersey

• Webarchive template archiveis links
• Webarchive template wayback links
• Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas
• Use American English from October 2017
• All Wikipedia articles written in American English
• Use mdy dates from October 2017
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Pages using infobox mapframe without shape links in Wikidata
• Pages using infobox settlement with no map
• Pages using infobox settlement with no coordinates
• Articles containing undetermined-language text
• Articles containing Hebrew-language text
• Coordinates on Wikidata
• Pages using the Kartographer extension