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Essex County, New Jersey
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Essex County, New Jersey
Map of New Jersey highlighting Essex County
Location in the state of New Jersey
Map of the U.S. highlighting New Jersey
New Jersey's location in the U.S.
Seat Newark
Largest city Newark
Area
- Total
- Land
- Water
130 sq mi (337 km˛)
126 sq mi (326 km˛)
3 sq mi (8 km˛), 2.54%
Population
- (2000)
- Density
793,633
6,286/sq mi (2,427/km˛)
Founded March 7, 1683[1]
Website www.essex-countynj.org
Essex County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of
New Jersey. As of the United States 2000 Census, the population was 793,633,
ranking it second in the state after Bergen County; Essex County's population
had declined to 786,147 as of the bureau's 2006 population estimate.[2] Its
county seat is Newark.[3] It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area.
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Overview
* 2 Secession
* 3 History
* 4 Government
o 4.1 Politics
* 5 Geography
o 5.1 Adjacent counties
o 5.2 National protected area
* 6 Demographics
o 6.1 Census 2000 data
* 7 Municipalities
* 8 Parks
* 9 References
* 10 External links
Overview
Essex County is the second most densely populated county in the state after
Hudson County[4], and has the third largest total population after Bergen County
and Middlesex County. Newark, with a population density of 11,400 people/square
mile, is the largest municipality in the county both in terms of area (24.14
square miles) and population (280,000). Meanwhile, Caldwell is the smallest in
terms of land area (1.2 square miles) and Essex Fells has the smallest
population (2,071); nevertheless, even these small towns have population
densities (6,396 people/square mile and 1,534 people/square mile, respectively)
that rival many big cities, and are well above the state's average, which in
turn is the highest in the nation.
Like many of the counties of Northern New Jersey near New York City — which tend
to have sharp divides between relatively rich suburban neighborhoods and less
wealthy, more densely-populated cities nearby — the eastern region of Essex
County tends to be poorer and more urbanized, while the western parts tend to be
more affluent and suburban.
Eastern Essex This wide area has significant pockets of areas that qualify as
inner-city: high building density, high poverty and high crime rates and
underperforming school systems. Within this general area however are many
stable, mixed and middle-income areas of diverse populations. For example, north
and west sides of Newark have well-kept suburban areas such as Vailsburg and
Forest Hill, Newark, New Jersey. The east side of Newark is the Ironbound, a
thriving Brazilian and Portuguese community. East Orange has a Presidential
Estate section. Belleville and Bloomfield are old Italian cities that, in spite
of retaining a core Italian-American population, now have many immigrants from
Latin America and Asia. According to Applied Geographic Solutions, as of 2009,
Nutley was 80.1% Italian.
Beginning at about the turn of the century, this region led the state in the
rebuilding and rehab of its housing stock. In the 2000s, Newark led the state in
the issuance of building permits. Many reasons were cited: city-wide incentives
to encourage construction development, an improving local economy, the rising
demand of low-cost housing so close to Manhattan. Newark has since then become
one of the fastest growing cities in the entire Northeast.[5][6] and reported a
gain in median income and drop in poverty rate.[7] This is a welcome turnaround
to the deterioration and abandonment, experienced in the post-riot 70s, 80s and
early part of the 90s.
Crime in this part of the county has traditionally been among the highest in the
state and the country as well, but recently has also seen significant declines,
mirroring its large neighbor to the east, New York City.[8] By 2006, crime in
Newark had fallen 60% over 10 years to its lowest levels in 40 years.[9][10]
Neighboring East Orange has seen crime fall more recently, dropping 50% in the
three years (2005 to 2007).[11] Despite the overall progress, the murder rates
in Newark, Irvington, and East Orange remain stubbornly high. In 2006, Newark
had 113 homicides, up from 98 in 2005 and the highest since 1995, but a
substantial decrease since the record of 161 murders set in 1981.[8][12]
In contrast, Western Essex tends to be more suburban and affluent. However,
within this region are some of the most diverse and racially integrated
municipalities in the state and nation, including Montclair, South Orange, and
Maplewood. As well, many neighborhoods are well-known magnets for New Yorkers,
with their liberal flavor, downtowns, and architecturally beautiful, pre-war
housing stock, such as Glen Ridge, Montclair and the Oranges. As an example of
the widespread affluence of the area, the communities of Livingston, Millburn,
North Caldwell, and Essex Fells are four of the hundred wealthiest towns in
America and have all been known to be home to famous actors, musicians,
corporate heads, and members of the New Jersey Nets and New Jersey Devils. Short
Hills is regionally well-known as an affluent Jewish-American suburb with a
popular upscale shopping mall.
As the poorest place in the county, Newark has a median household income of
$26,913 and a per capita income of $13,009; at the other extreme, Essex Fells,
one of the wealthier places in the county and the 4th wealthiest municipality in
the state, has a median household income of $148,173 and a per capita income of
$77,434. Newark and Essex Fells are only ten miles apart.
While many residents commute to New York City, Organon International,
Anheuser-Busch, Automatic Data Processing, Inc., CIT Group, Hoffmann-LaRoche,
Grainger, Dun & Bradstreet and Prudential have large facilities in Essex County
or are headquartered there, and there are numerous factories and large office
parks scattered throughout.
Essex County was one of the first counties in America to become fully
urbanized[citation needed] and was the first county in the country to create a
county park system, to ensure that it did not lose all its land to
development.[13]
The various towns of the county, especially Newark, the Oranges, and the
Caldwells can be seen in every episode of the HBO mob drama The Sopranos, which
is set in North Caldwell.
The county is also home to Newark Liberty International Airport, Essex County
Airport, and Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal.
[edit] Secession
This article contains weasel words, vague phrasing that often accompanies biased
or unverifiable information. Such statements should be clarified or removed.
(March 2009)
Essex County has some of the highest property taxes in the state of New Jersey,
which is the state with the overall highest level of property taxes in the
nation. This has been an issue of contention for some time between the county's
wealthier west and its poorer east.
In 2003, the towns of Millburn, Roseland, and Montclair had all voted to secede
from Essex County if something was not changed about the towns' taxation.[14] In
2004, the towns of Verona and Cedar Grove followed suit, with the secession bill
passing overwhelmingly.[15] However, people in favor and opposed to the
secession alike stated that the bills were mostly symbolic, as it would take a
lot of work for the towns to actually secede from Essex County. Some critics
even claimed that the desire to secede was inspired by racism (due to the fact
that Newark and surrounding cities are mostly black, and West Essex's towns are
mostly white).[citation needed]
If they were to form their own new county, "West Essex County," they would have
to have support from several of the county's towns because what would remain
Essex County and what would become West Essex County would each need contiguous
borders. There was also talk that the towns who wished to secede might choose to
become part of Morris County to their west, Passaic County to their north, or
Union County to their south. But similarly there would be difficulties if the
towns could not all agree on contiguous borders and coordinate the secession
with their new county's government.
The issue of secession was mainly forgotten for a while until in 2005,
representatives from the nineteen suburban Essex towns of Caldwell, West
Caldwell, North Caldwell, Fairfield, Essex Fells, Roseland, Livingston,
Maplewood, Millburn, Cedar Grove, Verona, West Orange, South Orange, Orange,
Montclair, Glen Ridge, Nutley, Bloomfield, and Belleville decided to get
together and form a committee. They began to discuss a way that they could
potentially all agree to either fight the Essex County government to allow them
lower tax rates, or to coordinate a breakaway from the cities of Newark, East
Orange, and Irvington, which would alone remain as Essex County.[dubious –
discuss]
[edit] History
Essex was originally formed as one of four administrative districts within the
very brief reign of East Jersey in 1675, together with Bergen, Middlesex and
Monmouth Counties. Essex County was formed within on March 7, 1683.[1]
[edit] Government
Essex County's County Executive is Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. The executive,
along with the Board of Chosen Freeholders administer all county business. Nine
members are elected to serve concurrent terms. Five of the freeholders represent
districts; four are elected from the county on an at-large basis. The Freeholder
President and Vice-President serve one-year terms.[16] The County Executive is
elected by a direct vote of the electorate.
As of 2009, Essex County's Freeholders are:[17]
* Blonnie R. Watson - Freeholder President/ At-Large
* Ralph R. Caputo - Freeholder Vice President/ District 5
* Rufus I. Johnson - Freeholder-At-Large
* Donald M. Payne, Jr. - Freeholder-At-Large
* Patricia Sebold - Freeholder-At-Large
* Samuel Gonzalez - Freeholder District 1
* D. Bilal Beasley - Freeholder District 2
* Carol Y. Clark - Freeholder District 3
* Linda Lordi Cavanaugh - Freeholder District 4
Politics
In presidential elections the county has long been Democratic and was the only
county in the state to be won by Walter Mondale in 1984.[18] In the 2004 U.S.
Presidential election, John Kerry carried the county by a 41.6% margin over
George W. Bush, the highest winning margin in any county in New Jersey, with
Kerry carrying the state by 6.7% over Bush.[19] In each of the last four
elections the Democratic candidate received 69% or more of the county's
vote.[20]
[edit] Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 130 square
miles (336 km˛), of which, 126 square miles (327 km˛) of it is land and 3 square
miles (9 km˛) of it (2.54%) is water.
The county rises from generally flat in the east to the twin ridges of the
Watchung Mountains in the western half, beyond which the land lowers again into
the Passaic River valley.
The highest elevation is found at four areas scattered between Verona, North
Caldwell and Essex Fells, all of which reach at least 660 feet (201 m) above sea
level. The lowest point is sea level, at Newark Bay.
[edit] Adjacent counties
* Passaic County, New Jersey - north
* Bergen County, New Jersey - east
* Hudson County, New Jersey - east
* Union County, New Jersey - south
* Morris County, New Jersey - west
Passaic County
Morris County North Bergen County and Hudson County
West Essex County, New Jersey East
South
Union County
[edit] National protected area
* Edison National Historic Site
[edit] Demographics
Historical populations
Census Pop. %±
1790 17,785
—
1800 22,269 25.2%
1810 25,984 16.7%
1820 30,793 18.5%
1830 41,911 36.1%
1840 44,621 * 6.5%
1850 73,950 65.7%
1860 98,877 * 33.7%
1870 143,839 45.5%
1880 189,929 32.0%
1890 256,098 34.8%
1900 359,053 40.2%
1910 512,886 42.8%
1920 652,089 27.1%
1930 833,513 27.8%
1940 837,340 0.5%
1950 905,949 8.2%
1960 923,545 1.9%
1970 932,526 1.0%
1980 851,304 −8.7%
1990 778,206 −8.6%
2000 793,633 2.0%
Est. 2008 770,675 [2] −2.9%
* lost territory
historical census data source:[21][22]
[edit] Census 2000 data
As of the census[23] of 2000, there were 793,633 people, 283,736 households, and
193,507 families residing in the county. The population density was 6,285 people
per square mile (2,427/km˛). There were 301,011 housing units at an average
density of 2,384 per square mile (920/km˛). The racial makeup of the county was
44.46% White, 41.24% Black or African American, 0.23% Native American, 3.71%
Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 6.88% from other races, and 3.42% from two or
more races. 15.42% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 12.3%
were of Italian, 5.7% West Indian and 5.6% Irish ancestry according to Census
2000.
There were 283,736 households out of which 33.80% had children under the age of
18 living with them, 42.30% were married couples living together, 20.40% had a
female householder with no husband present, and 31.80% were non-families. 26.70%
of all households were made up of individuals and 9.60% had someone living alone
who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the
average family size was 3.30.
In the county the population was spread out with 26.10% under the age of 18,
9.40% from 18 to 24, 31.10% from 25 to 44, 21.50% from 45 to 64, and 11.90% who
were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100
females there were 90.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there
were 86.40 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $44,944, and the median
income for a family was $54,818. Males had a median income of $41,374 versus
$32,052 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,943. About
12.80% of families and 15.60% of the population were below the poverty line,
including 20.50% of those under age 18 and 12.20% of those age 65 or over.
The county has a high Italian population, with significant percentages of
residents (over 25%) in several communities, of the West Essex area and
northeastern district, mostly in the northern half of the county, being of
Italian descent. This includes the communities of Belleville (30.9%), Bloomfield
(26.4%), Caldwell (26.3%), Cedar Grove (34.8%), Fairfield (45.8%), Nutley
(44.5%), Roseland (38.7%), Verona (34.3%) and West Caldwell (35.2%).[24]
The county has a notable Jewish population, with 76,200 Jewish residents
according to the 2002 results of the National Jewish Population Survey.[25]
As of 2005 36.4% of the population was non-Hispanic whites. African Americans
made up 42.6% of the population. Latinos formed 17.5% of the population. 4.2% of
the population was Asian, as the municipalities of Belleville, Bloomfield, West
Orange, Livingston, Millburn, Nutley, and Cedar Grove have Asian populations of
5% or more.
[edit] Municipalities
Index map of Essex County Municipalities (click to see index key)
* Belleville (township)
* Bloomfield (township)
* Caldwell (borough)
* Cedar Grove (township)
* City of Orange (township)
* East Orange (city)
* Essex Fells (borough)
* Fairfield (township)
* Glen Ridge (borough)
* Irvington (township)
* Livingston (township)
* Maplewood (township)
* Millburn (township)
* Montclair (township)
* Newark (city)
* North Caldwell (borough)
* Nutley (township)
* Roseland (borough)
* South Orange Village (township)
* Verona (township)
* West Caldwell (township)
* West Orange (township)
[edit] Parks
Essex county was the first county in the United States to have its own parks
department.[26] It is called the Essex County Park System.
* Anderson Park Montclair
* Becker Park, Roseland
* Branch Brook Park, Newark/Belleville (the country's oldest county park)
* Brookdale Park, Montclair/Bloomfield
* Eagle Rock Reservation, West Orange/Montclair
* Elmwood Park, East Orange/Newark
* Glenfield Park, Montclair/Glen Ridge
* Grover Cleveland Park, Caldwell
* Hilltop Reservation, Caldwell/ Cedar Grove/ North Caldwell/ Verona
* Irvington Park, Irvington
* Kip's Castle Park, Verona
* Mills Reservation, Cedar Grove/Upper Montclair
* Orange Park, Irvington
* Oval Park, East Orange
* South Mountain Reservation, West Orange/South Orange/Millburn/Maplewood
* Vailsburg Park, Newark
* Verona Park, Verona
* Watsessing Park, Bloomfield/East Orange
* Weequahic Park, Newark
* West Essex Park, West Caldwell/Roseland
* Westside Park, Newark
* Yanticaw Park, Nutley
References
1. ^ a b "The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P.
Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 125.
2. ^ a b "QuickFacts: Essex County, New Jersey". U.S. Census Bureau. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/34/34013.html.
Retrieved 2009-12-10.
3. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Template.cfm?Section=Find_a_County&Template=/cffiles/counties/usamap.cfm.
Retrieved 2008-01-31.
4. ^ Buying a Home in Jersey City, New Jersey - Real Estate Agents in Jersey
City - Homes in Jersey City
5. ^ Roberts, Sam. "Biggest Urban Growth Is in South and West", June 28, 2007.
Accessed November 13, 2007.
6. ^ Census data for Newark, New Jersey, accessed November 14, 2006
7. ^ Newark city, New Jersey - Fact Sheet - American FactFinder
8. ^ a b Wang, Katie. "County reports largest drop is in violent crime", The
Star-Ledger, October 17, 2007. Accessed November 13, 2007. "For the second year
in a row, overall crime in Essex County dropped by 10 percent, according to the
annual crime statistics released by the State Police yesterday. The county saw
the biggest drops in violent crime in 2006, particularly in robberies and
aggravated assaults. Those incidents dropped by 6 percent and 7 percent
respectively."
9. ^ Total Crime Rate for US Cities, 1995: Population 40,000+, accessed November
14, 2006
10. ^ Crime in the Cities, New Jersey State Police. Accessed November 14, 2006
11. ^ Jones, Richard G. "The Crime Rate Drops, and a City Credits Its Embrace of
Surveillance Technology", The New York Times, May 29, 2007. Accessed November
11, 2007.
12. ^ Lueck, Thomas J. "As Newark Mayor Readies Crime Fight, Toll Rises", The
New York Times, January 8, 2007. Accessed October 6, 2007. "For all of 2006, the
police said, Newark had 104 homicides, far below its record of 161 in 1981, but
more than in any other year since 1995."
13. ^ Accomando, Peter R. and Liebau, Michelle M. "Essex County park system
celebrates 100 years of beauty and service", Parks & Recreation, March 1995.
Accessed May 26, 2007. "This picturesque scheme amid the bustling cityscape of
Newark is Branch Brook Park, the largest park in Essex County and the first
county park in the United States."
14. ^ MONTCLAIR, NEW JERSEY Council minutes, dated June 22, 2004
15. ^ http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E03E5DF153EF93BA15752C1A9629C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all
16. ^ Definition of a Freeholder, Essex County, New Jersey. Accessed January 30,
2008.
17. ^ Essex County Freeholders, Essex County, New Jersey. Accessed January 30,
2008.
18. ^ David Leip's Presidential Atlas (Maps for New Jersey by election)
19. ^ New Jersey Presidential Election Returns by County 2004, Eagleton
Institute of Politics at Rutgers University. Accessed August 31, 2008.
20. ^ The New York Times electoral map (Zoom in on New Jersey)
21. ^ "New Jersey Resident Population by County: 1880 - 1930". http://www.wnjpin.net/OneStopCareerCenter/LaborMarketInformation/lmi01/poptrd5.htm.
22. ^ "Geostat Center: Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia
Library. http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/collections/stats/histcensus/. Retrieved
2007-03-02.
23. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov.
Retrieved 2008-01-31.
24. ^ 2000 Census data for Essex County, New Jersey county subdivisions:
Ancestry profile, United States Census Bureau, accessed May 11, 2006
25. ^ Jewish Population in the United States, 2002, National Jewish Population
Survey, accessed May 11, 2006
26. ^ Essex County parks history, Essex County, new jersey. Accessed August 23,
2007.
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