New Jersey

New Jersey is the fifth smallest but most densely populated state of the United States of America; the U.S. postal abbreviation is NJ. The state is named after the island of Jersey in the English Channel.

Demographics

As of 2004, the population of New Jersey was estimated to be 8,698,879. There are 1.6 million foreign-born living in the state (accounting for 19.2% of the state population). New Jersey is the tenth most populous state, but the most densely populated, at 1,134.4 residents per square mile. http://www.njfaq.com/njfaq4.shtml.

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Race, ethnicity, and ancestry

The racial makeup of New Jersey is:

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• 66.0% White Non-Hispanic
• 13.6% Black
• 13.3% Hispanic
• 5.7% Asian
• 0.2% Native American (U.S. Census)
• 2.5% Mixed race

New Jersey has the 15th largest percentage of minority residents of any state and the 2nd highest percentage in the North.

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Race/ethnicity citation with state percentages: http://www.census.gov/population/cen2000/phc-t6/tab02.pdf(Adobe PDF)

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Diversity index citation with state percentages:

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http://www.census.gov/population/cen2000/atlas/divers.xls(Microsoft Excel)

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It also has the second largest percentage of Jews (after New York), the second largest percentage of Muslims (after Michigan.

Related Topics:
Jews - New York - Muslims - Michigan

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New Jersey is the third most Italian-American state in the nation, according to the 2000 Census, and has large percentages of Blacks, Hispanics, Arabs, and Asians.

Related Topics:
Italian-American - 2000 Census - Blacks - Hispanics - Arabs - Asians

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Ancestry citation with state percentages: http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/c2kbr-35.pdf(Adobe PDF)

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The five largest ancestry groups in New Jersey are: Italian (17.9%), Irish (15.9%), African American (13.6%), German (12.6%), Polish (6.9%).

Related Topics:
Italian - Irish - African American - German - Polish

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Newark and Camden are two of the poorest cities in America, but New Jersey as a whole has the highest median household income in the nation, as well as the second highest per capita income, after Connecticut. This is largely due to the fact that so much of New Jersey is comprised of suburbs, most of them affluent, of New York City and Philadelphia. New Jersey is also the most densely populated state in the nation, and the first and only state that has had every one of its 21 counties deemed "urban," as opposed to rural.

Related Topics:
Newark - Camden - Connecticut - New York City - Philadelphia

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The dominant race, ethnicity, or ancestry by region and county, according to the 2000 Census, are the following:

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• New Jersey
• Italian - Bergen, Morris, Somerset, Ocean, Monmouth counties
• Irish - Sussex
• Black - Essex, Union, Mercer
• German - Warren, Hunterdon
• Polish/Slavic - Middlesex
• Puerto Rican/Hispanic - Hudson, Passaic
• Turkish - Passaic, Hudson, Bergen

Ancestry citation with county maps: http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/c2kbr-35.pdf (Adobe PDF)

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Specific ancestry maps by county, place, and census tract available at:

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http://factfinder.census.gov

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6.7% of its population were reported as under 5, 24.8% under 18, and 13.2% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 51.5% of the population.

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Religion

The religious affiliations of adults of New Jersey are:

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• Christian – 77%
• Roman Catholic – 39%
• Protestant – 36%
• Baptist – 9%
• Methodist – 6%
• Presbyterian – 4%
• Other Protestant or general Protestant – 17%
• Other Christian – 2%
• Jewish – 5%
• Muslim – 1%
• Other Religions (e.g. Hindu, Sikh) – 1%
• Non-Religious – 16%