Monmouth County, New Jersey

"Monmouth County" redirects here. Not to be confused with Monmouth Land District, Tasmania, or Monmouthshire, Wales.

Monmouth County
County
Sandy Hook Light in Sandy Hook, New Jersey
Sandy Hook Light in Sandy Hook, New Jersey
Flag of Monmouth County
Flag
Official seal of Monmouth County
Seal
Map of New Jersey highlighting Monmouth County
Location within the U.S. state of New Jersey
Map of the United States highlighting New Jersey
New Jersey's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 40°17′N 74°09′W / 40.29°N 74.15°W / 40.29; -74.15
Country United States
State New Jersey
Founded1683
Named forMonmouthshire
SeatFreehold[1]
Largest cityMiddletown (population)
Howell (area)
Government
 • Commissioner DirectorThomas A. Arnone (R, term ends December 31, 2025)
Area
[2]
 • Total661.40 sq mi (1,713.0 km2)
 • Land468.18 sq mi (1,212.6 km2)
 • Water193.22 sq mi (500.4 km2)  29.2%
Population
 (2020)[3][4]
 • Total643,615
 • Estimate 
(2023)[3][5]
642,799 Decrease
 • Density1,372.9/sq mi (530.1/km2)
Congressional districts3rd, 4th, 6th
Websitewww.co.monmouth.nj.us
Map
Interactive map of Monmouth County, New Jersey

Monmouth County (/ˈmɒnməθ/) is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is bordered to its west by Mercer and Middlesex Counties, to its south by Ocean County, to its east by the Atlantic Ocean, and to its north by the Raritan Bay (sharing a border with the boroughs of Staten Island, Brooklyn, and Queens in New York City, across it). Monmouth County's geographic area comprises 30% water. The county is part of the Jersey Shore region of the state.[6] It has also been categorized under the Central Jersey region,[7] though it was not among the four counties explicitly listed as included in Central Jersey as part of legislation signed into law in 2023.[8]

As of the 2020 United States census, the county was the state's fifth-most-populous county[9] with a population of 643,615,[3][4] its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 13,235 (+2.1%) from the 2010 census count of 630,380,[10] which in turn reflected an increase of 15,079 from 615,301 at the 2000 census.[11] As of 2010, the county fell to the fifth-most populous county in the state, having been surpassed by Hudson County.[12][13] Monmouth's county seat is Freehold Borough,[1] though many county offices are also located in neighboring Freehold Township.[14] The most populous place was Middletown Township, with 67,106 residents at the time of the 2020 Census,[4] while Howell Township covered 61.21 square miles (158.5 km2), the largest total area of any municipality.[13]

While there are differing historical theories, the most plausible of theories in the origin of the county's name are attributed to many settlers originating from Rhode Island where the Rhode Island Monmouth Society hailed from, or it being named after the historic county of Monmouthshire in Wales, Great Britain. The county, like much of the state, was significantly involved during the American Revolutionary War. The Battle of Monmouth was fought in June 1778 in what has been preserved as Monmouth Battlefield State Park, currently located in Freehold Township and Manalapan Township.[15]

The county's economy is rich and diverse, due to its high population density and proximity to New York City. Located in the middle of the Northeast megalopolis, its inland county seat of Freehold Borough, the Tri-City region of coastal cities of Red Bank, Long Branch, and Asbury Park, along with the county constituting a vast swath of the New Jersey coastline, has contributed in its draw of tourists throughout the state (and much of the Northeastern United States at large), particularly during the Summer months.[16][17] Many communities within the county serve as commuter towns to and from New York City and other points north. Highways such as the Garden State Parkway, U.S. 9, Route's 34, 35, and 36, along with NJ Transit's North Jersey Coast Line and Seastreak, connects county residents to economic centers in North Jersey and New York City.[18][19] In 2015, the county had a per capita personal income of $69,410, making it the fifth highest in New Jersey and ranked 74th of 3,113 counties in the United States.[20][21] Many inland areas of the county are still quite agricultural, with many orchards, wineries, equestrian farms, and distilleries, such as Cream Ridge Winery, Delicious Orchards, Four JG's Orchards & Vineyards, and Laird & Company. The Bell Labs Complex is a major scientific research facility in Holmdel, where important breakthroughs, such as evidence for the Big Bang, were discovered.[22] The county is also home to Monmouth University, a private university in West Long Branch.

  1. ^ a b New Jersey County Map Archived March 13, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Department of State. Accessed July 10, 2017.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference CensusArea was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Census2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference LWD2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference PopEst was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Regions: North, Central, South, Shore - Best of NJ", Best of NJ, Accessed May 30, 2024. "Atlantic, Cape May, Monmouth, and Ocean County make up the Jersey Shore region."
  7. ^ Willis, David P. "'This is how wars start': Does Central Jersey include both Ocean and Union counties?", Asbury Park Press, February 20, 2023. Accessed March 31, 2024. "North Jersey is defined as Sussex, Warren, Morris, Passaic, Bergen, Essex and Hudson counties; South Jersey would be Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Atlantic, Salem, Cumberland and Cape May counties. But for Central, things get a little tricky. It would include Hunterdon, Somerset, Union, Middlesex, Mercer, Monmouth, and Ocean counties."
  8. ^ "Governor Murphy Settles Central Jersey Debate", Governor of New Jersey Phil Murphy, August 24, 2023. Accessed April 15, 2024. "Governor Phil Murphy today signed S3206 to promote Central Jersey tourism. The bill requires the Division of Travel and Tourism, within the Department of State, to re-draw the State tourism map to create a 'Central Jersey' region and to incorporate it in all regional marketing campaigns, including publications and on VisitNJ.org. The 'Central Jersey' region will be comprised of, at minimum, the counties of Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, and Somerset."
  9. ^ Table1. New Jersey Counties and Most Populous Cities and Townships: 2020 and 2010 Censuses, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Accessed December 1, 2022.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Census2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ DP-1 - Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000; Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data for Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States Census Bureau. Accessed January 22, 2013.
  12. ^ NJ Labor Market Views Archived September 20, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, March 15, 2011. Accessed October 7, 2013.
  13. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference CPH232 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ "Monmouth County Departments". Monmouth County, New Jersey. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  15. ^ Monmouth Battlefield State Park Archived November 3, 2005, at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Division of Parks and Forestry. Accessed February 3, 2024.
  16. ^ [1], tri CityNews. Accessed February 3, 2024.
  17. ^ Jill P. Capuzzo (June 16, 2017). "Not Your Mother's Jersey Shore". The New York Times. Retrieved September 17, 2017. Five years after Hurricane Sandy destroyed communities along the shore, some towns have used the rebuilding process as a time to reinvent themselves.
  18. ^ Tarabour, Brooke (January 10, 1993). "New Jersey-Bound: The Staten Island Migration". The New York Times. ISSN 1553-8095. OCLC 1645522. Archived from the original on June 10, 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  19. ^ Loyer, Susan (January 31, 2022). "NJ Transit, Old Bridge could benefit from Route 9 development study over 21-mile stretch". My Central Jersey. Archived from the original on February 1, 2024. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  20. ^ 250 Highest Per Capita Personal Incomes available for 3113 counties in the United States: 2015 Archived October 26, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Accessed February 4, 2024.
  21. ^ Local Area Personal Income: 2015 Archived October 15, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, Bureau of Economic Analysis. Accessed February 3, 2024.
  22. ^ Penzias and Wilson discover cosmic microwave radiation - 1965 Archived August 10, 2017, at the Wayback Machine PBS. Accessed February 3, 2024. "Bell Labs built a giant antenna in Holmdel, New Jersey, in 1960. It was part of a very early satellite transmission system called Echo.... Since Penzias, Wilson, and Dicke's work, all that has changed. The measurement of cosmic background radiation (as the Holmdel telescope's noise is now called), combined with Edwin Hubble's much earlier finding that the galaxies are rushing away, makes a strong case for the big bang. By the mid 1970s, astronomers called it 'the standard model.' Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson received the Nobel Prize in physics in 1978."