77 Facts About New Jersey

1.

New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States.

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2.

At 7, 354 square miles, New Jersey is the fifth-smallest state in land area; but with close to 9.

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3.

New Jersey was first inhabited by Native Americans for at least 2, 800 years, with the Lenape being the dominant group when Europeans arrived in the early 17th century.

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4.

New Jersey was among the Thirteen Colonies that supported the American Revolution, hosting multiple pivotal battles and military commands in the American Revolutionary War.

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5.

New Jersey remains a major destination for immigrants and has one of the most multicultural populations in the U S Echoing historical trends, the state has increasingly re-urbanized, with growth in cities outpacing suburbs since 2008.

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6.

New Jersey is one of the wealthiest states in the U S with the third highest median household income as of 2019.

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7.

New Jersey was originally settled by Native Americans with the Lenni-Lenape tribe being dominant at the time.

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8.

The Dutch colony of New Jersey Netherland consisted of parts of modern Mid-Atlantic states.

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9.

Since the state's inception, New Jersey has been characterized by ethnic and religious diversity.

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10.

Unlike Plymouth Colony, Jamestown and other colonies, New Jersey was populated by a secondary wave of immigrants who came from other colonies instead of those who migrated directly from Europe.

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11.

New Jersey remained agrarian and rural throughout the colonial era, and commercial farming developed sporadically.

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12.

New Jersey was then ruled by the governors of New York, but this infuriated the settlers of New Jersey, who accused these governors of favoritism to New York.

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13.

New Jersey was one of Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution.

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14.

On February 15, 1804, New Jersey became the last northern state to abolish new slavery and enacted legislation that slowly phased out existing slavery.

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15.

The canal allowed for coal to be brought from eastern Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley to northern New Jersey's growing industries in Paterson, Newark, and Jersey City.

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16.

New Jersey was one of the few Union states to select a candidate other than Abraham Lincoln twice in national elections, and sided with Stephen Douglas (1860) and George B McClellan (1864) during their campaigns.

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17.

Bog iron pits in the southern New Jersey Pinelands were among the first sources of iron for the new nation.

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18.

New Jersey became a principal location for defense in the Cold War.

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19.

In 1951, the New Jersey Turnpike opened, facilitating efficient travel by car and truck between North Jersey and metropolitan New York and South Jersey and metropolitan Philadelphia.

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20.

New Jersey is bordered on the north and northeast by New York; on the east by the Atlantic Ocean; on the southwest by Delaware across Delaware Bay; and on the west by Pennsylvania across the Delaware River.

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21.

New Jersey is broadly divided into three geographic regions: North Jersey, Central Jersey, and South Jersey.

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22.

Some New Jersey residents do not consider Central Jersey a region in its own right, but others believe it is a separate geographic and cultural area distinct from the North and South.

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23.

Northeastern New Jersey, often referred to as the Gateway Region, lies closest to Manhattan in New York City, and up to a million residents commute daily into the city for work, many via public transportation.

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24.

Northwestern New Jersey, often referred to as the Skylands Region, is more wooded, rural, and mountainous.

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25.

The Pine Barrens region is in the southern interior of New Jersey; covered rather extensively by mixed pine and oak forest.

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26.

New Jersey is located at the center of the Northeast megalopolis, the nation's second most populated region.

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27.

Major New Jersey rivers include the Hudson, Delaware, Raritan, Passaic, Hackensack, Rahway, Musconetcong, Mullica, Rancocas, Manasquan, Maurice, and Toms rivers.

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28.

New Jersey receives between 2, 400 and 2, 800 hours of sunshine annually.

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29.

New Jersey is one of the most ethnically and religiously diverse states in the United States.

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30.

New Jersey has the fourth-largest Filipino population, and fourth-largest Chinese population, per the 2010 U S Census.

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31.

New Jersey has the-third highest Indian population of any state by absolute numbers and the highest by percentage, with India Square in Jersey City, Hudson County hosting the highest concentration of Asian Indians in the Western Hemisphere.

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32.

Diverse collection of languages has since evolved amongst the state's population, given that New Jersey has become cosmopolitan and is home to ethnic enclaves of non-English-speaking communities:.

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33.

In September 2021, the State of New Jersey aligned with the World Hindu Council to declare October as Hindu Heritage Month.

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34.

New Jersey is home to the second-highest Jewish American population per capita, after New York.

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35.

New Jersey is home to the highest Muslim population concentration in the U S, and Paterson, which houses the Islamic Center of Passaic County, is the epicenter of New Jersey's Muslim community, leading South Paterson to be nicknamed Little Istanbul and Little Ramallah.

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36.

New Jersey's estimated taxpayer burden in 2015 was $59, 400 per taxpayer.

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37.

In 2020, New Jersey had the highest number of millionaires both per capita and per square mile in the United States, approximately 9.

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38.

Nine of New Jersey's counties are among the 100 wealthiest U S counties.

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39.

New Jersey has seven tax brackets that determine state income tax rates, which range from 1.

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40.

New Jersey's economy is multifaceted, featuring the pharmaceutical industry, biotechnology, information technology, the financial industry, chemical development, telecommunications, food processing, electric equipment, printing, publishing, and tourism.

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41.

New Jersey has a strong scientific economy and is home to major pharmaceutical and telecommunications firms, drawing on the state's large and well-educated labor pool.

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42.

New Jersey is a key participant in the renewable wind industry.

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43.

New Jersey has more scientists and engineers per square mile than anywhere in the world, and is a global leader in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, life sciences, and technology.

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44.

Several New Jersey counties, including Somerset, Morris (10), Hunterdon (13), Bergen (21), and Monmouth (42), have been ranked among the highest-income counties in the United States.

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45.

In 1976, a referendum by New Jersey voters approved casino gambling in Atlantic City, where the first legalized casino opened in 1978.

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46.

Sports betting has become a growing source of gambling revenue in New Jersey since being legalized across the nation by the U S Supreme Court on May 14, 2018.

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47.

New Jersey's electricity comes primarily from natural gas and nuclear power.

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48.

New Jersey is seventh in the nation in solar power installations, enabled by one of the country's most favorable net metering policies and renewable portfolio standard.

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49.

In 2013, Rutgers University, headquartered in New Brunswick, Middlesex County as the flagship institution of higher education in New Jersey, regained medical and dental schools, augmenting its profile as a national research university as well.

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50.

New Jersey has continued to play a prominent role as a U S cultural nexus.

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51.

New Jersey is the birthplace of many modern inventions, including FM radio, the motion picture camera, the lithium battery, the light bulb, transistors, and the electric train.

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52.

New Jersey is frequently the target of jokes in American culture, especially from New York City-based television shows, such as Saturday Night Live.

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53.

Reality television shows like Jersey Shore and The Real Housewives of New Jersey have reinforced stereotypical views of New Jersey culture, but Rockland cited The Sopranos and the music of Bruce Springsteen as exporting a more positive image.

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54.

New Jersey is known for several foods developed within the region, including Taylor Ham, sloppy joe sandwiches, tomato pies, salt water taffy, and Texas wieners.

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55.

New Jersey is one of the top 10 producers of blueberries, cranberries, peaches, tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, apples, spinach, squash, and asparagus in the United States.

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56.

New Jersey has long been an important origin for both rock and rap music.

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57.

New Jersey currently has six teams from major professional sports leagues playing in the state, although one Major League Soccer team and two National Football League teams identify themselves as being from the New York metropolitan area.

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58.

From 1977 to 2012, New Jersey had a National Basketball Association team, the New Jersey Nets.

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59.

New Jersey has long offered tax credits to television producers.

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60.

New Jersey Turnpike is one of the most prominent and heavily trafficked roadways in the United States.

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61.

New Jersey is connected to New York City via various key bridges and tunnels.

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62.

New Jersey is connected to Staten Island by three bridges—from north to south, the Bayonne Bridge, the Goethals Bridge, and the Outerbridge Crossing.

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63.

New Jersey has interstate compacts with all three of its neighboring states.

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64.

Liberty Water Taxi in New Jersey City has ferries from Paulus Hook and Liberty State Park to Battery Park City in Manhattan.

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65.

New Jersey is one of only five states that elects its state officials in odd-numbered years.

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66.

New Jersey holds elections for these offices every four years, in the year following each federal Presidential election year.

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67.

New Jersey's judiciary is unusual in that it still has separate courts of law and equity, like its neighbor Delaware but unlike most other U S states.

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68.

New Jersey is divided into 21 counties; 13 date from the colonial era.

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69.

New Jersey was completely divided into counties by 1692; the present counties were created by dividing the existing ones; most recently Union County in 1857.

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70.

New Jersey was formerly the only state in the nation where elected county officials were called "freeholders".

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71.

New Jersey currently has 564 municipalities; the most recent dissolution of a municipality was when Pine Valley merged into Pine Hill on January 1, 2022.

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72.

In May 2009, the Local Unit Alignment Reorganization and Consolidation Commission began a study of about 40 small communities in South New Jersey to decide which ones might be good candidates for consolidation.

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73.

Socially, New Jersey is considered one of the more liberal states in the nation.

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74.

New Jersey has some of the most stringent gun control laws in the U S These include bans on "assault firearms", hollow-nose bullets and slingshots.

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75.

New Jersey was a crucial swing state in the elections of 1960, 1968, and 1992.

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76.

New Jersey was the first state to pass such legislation since Iowa and West Virginia eliminated executions in 1965.

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77.

New Jersey is the location of most of the boardwalks in the U S, with nearly every town and city along the Jersey Shore having a boardwalk with various attractions, entertainment, shopping, dining, arcades, water parks, amusement parks.

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