New Brunswick: Economy

Major Industries and Commercial Activity

Research, business, and industry are the economic pillars of Middlesex County, where well over 20,000 firms are located. At the heart of research activity is Rutgers University, which maintains more than 60 research facilities. Research as well as business and industrial activities are carried out at the more than 100 Fortune 500 corporations that maintain plants and other facilities in Middlesex County, including Johnson & Johnson (world headquarters), Ford, General Motors, Pepsico, Cola-Cola, E. I. DuPont, General Electric, and others. Middlesex County boasts one of the largest business parks in the country, the 2,350-acre Raritan Center, which lists the presence of 20 Fortune 500 companies.

Rutgers University is at the northern end of the U.S. Route 1 "high technology corridor" that extends to Princeton University at the southern end of Middlesex County. Both universities are high technology centers in a variety of disciplines that attract research and engineering firms.

Items and goods produced: chemicals, pharmaceuticals, ceramics products, metal refining, automobiles, air conditioners, plastics, electronics

Incentive Programs—New and Existing Companies

A variety of local, state, and federal programs are available for businesses in the New Brunswick area. The Middlesex County Certified Local Development Company administers the 504 program (long-term fixed asset financing).

Local programs

The New Brunswick Department of Planning, Community and Economic Development provides programs for businesses looking to locate, expand, or upgrade their operations. The New Brunswick Small Business Loan Guarantee provides capital to small businesses located or looking to locate with the city. The New Brunswick Micro-Loan Program provides start-up businesses with modest amounts of capital. Other funds are available for facade improvement, and assistance is offered for business plan writing and site location. Certain sites within the city deemed in need of redevelopment may be eligible for favorable tax treatment and other benefits.

State programs

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) offers a wide range of financial, real estate development, and technical services to encourage business development and growth in the state. There are 20 different programs available for businesses of all sizes, from startups to Fortune 500 companies. The EDA issues bonds to provide financing at favorable interest rates for business ventures, and makes low-interest loans and guarantees loans made by private investors and lenders. It also offers a full range of real estate development services to stimulate both private and public development projects. In addition, the EDA administers a business incentive program which provides grants to expanding or relocating businesses that will create new jobs in New Jersey. Loans and grants also are available to municipalities and private property owners to encourage the clean-up and redevelopment of hazardous sites around the state.

The New Jersey Urban Development Corporation provides low-interest loans to developers and businesses seeking to construct facilities in urban areas, including small business incubators. The New Jersey Small Business Development Center also provides business assistance with free consulting, affordable training, funding partners, and corporate sponsors. The Technology Help Desk & Incubator, subsidized by the state, provides inexpensive office and wet/dry lab space to small and startup technologically oriented companies.

Job training programs

Various state and federal incentive programs offer tax credit inducements based on new hires, expansion, and relocation. Employment and training programs through the federal Workforce Investment Act and the State Workforce Development Partnership reimburse employers for providing on-the-job training to certain employees.

Development Projects

As the world moves into the twenty-first century, New Brunswick is undergoing a period of tremendous redevelopment by both the public and private sectors. The Lord Sterling Elementary School, a $25-million facility completed in 2003, was built as a joint project of a private developer and the public school board, the first such venture in New Jersey history. With more than $1.5 billion in investments, the city has also seen the construction of major office and retail complexes, the development of an internationally recognized cultural center, the emergence of world-class health facilities, and the creation of affordable housing. Through 2007, more than 1.75 million square feet of new construction is expected, representing an additional investment of $325 million.

Downtown New Brunswick is a vital part of the city and one of New Jersey's most exciting urban centers. Upcoming projects in the area include the Heldrich Center, which will include a corporate conference center, hotel, apartments, and retail space in the center of downtown. Luxury apartments are to be constructed at the Highlands at Plaza Square and the Metropolitan. Expansion and renovation will be underway in late 2005 at Albany Plaza II and Civic Square IV.

Lower George Street, which connects downtown with the Douglass College area is being rejuvenated by an influx of new housing construction and rehabilitation of existing buildings. New retail areas are planned, as is an elementary school.

In the French Street neighborhood, the Robert Woods Johnson Hospital—which has been steadily expanding over the past decade—has in the planning stages a new home for its Child Health Institute, a nationally recognized research center for children's diseases. Expansion of French Street's vibrant retail area is expected to begin in 2005 with the construction of a 75,000-square-foot shopping center. Existing French Street merchants will be offered assistance as part of the city's facade improvement plan to improve their business.

Economic Development Information: New Brunswick Development Corporation, 120 Albany Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901; telephone (732)249-2220. City of New Brunswick, 78 Bayard Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901; telephone (732)745-5004. County of Middlesex, Office of Economic Development, 1 JFK Square, 1st Floor, New Brunswick, NJ 08901; telephone (732)745-3433; fax (732)745-5911. New Jersey Economic Development Authority, Capitol Place One, Trenton, NJ 08625; telephone (609)292-1800

Commercial Shipping

Easy access to markets has facilitated the growth of Middlesex County. Major highways directly link the county to the markets of New York, Philadelphia, and beyond. Freight is handled by more than 200 common carrier truck/van lines and a commuter rail network that includes service on the Northeast Corridor rail route. Deep water shipping is possible through facilities at the mouth of the Raritan River and the Arthur Kill, as well as the Port of New York and Port Elizabeth, a short distance away.

Labor Force and Employment Outlook

Middlesex County is home to a large, growing, and highly skilled labor pool; unskilled labor is also abundant. Businesses benefit from the presence of Rutgers University and the county-wide vocational and technical high schools there. Nearly half of the county's population has been to college. Ample space has been set aside for future industrial expansion and the outlook is considered good for continued balanced and controlled growth. Since the turn of the century, a major portion of new jobs created in Middlesex County have been in the service sector, especially accounting, personnel specialists, and engineering. The New Brunswick area benefits from its proximity to a wide array of cultural facilities.

The following is a summary of data regarding the New Brunswick labor force, 2004 annual averages (Edison, New Jersey in Middlesex County).

Size of nonagricultural labor force: 1,009,200

Number of workers employed in . . .

construction and mining: 46,600

manufacturing: 82,700

trade, transportation, and utilities: 227,200

information: 31,800

financial activities: 63,000

professional and business services: 163,600

educational and health services: 129,300

leisure and hospitality: 77,600

other services: 40,400

government: 147,000

Average hourly earnings of production workers employed in manufacturing: $15.30 (Statewide average)

Unemployment rate: 4.2% (April 2005; New Jersey)

Cost of Living

Middlesex County boasts an expanding supply of affordable rental apartments, single-family homes, townhouses, and condominiums.

The following is a summary of data regarding several key cost of living factors for New Brunswick.

2004 ACCRA Average Home Price: Not reported

2004 ACCRA Cost of Living Index: Not reported

State income tax rate: 1.4% to 8.97%

State sales tax rate: 6%

Local income tax rate: None

Local sales tax rate: None

Property tax rate: $3.75 per $100 of assessed value (2003)

Economic Information: Middlesex County Planning Board, 40 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick, NJ 08901; telephone (732)745-3062; Middlesex County Regional Chamber of Commerce, 1 Distribution Way, Suite 101, Monmouth Junction, NJ, 08852; telephone (732)821-7700, fax (732)821-5852; email info@mcrcc.org

New Brunswick: Recreation

Sightseeing

New Brunswick preserves many historic buildings, including nineteenth-century rubber factories, churches with pre-Revolutionary cemeteries, Buccleuch Mansion (now operated as a museum), and Henry S. Guest House, a stone structure built about 1760, renovated and exhibiting shawls, old lace, and Japanese items. The birthplace of Alfred Joyce Kilmer, now used as an office, contains period furniture and photos of the Kilmer family; tours are available by appointment. The historic "Town Clock" Church, built in 1812, also offers guided tours by appointment.

The multiple campuses of Rutgers University are a popular destination for visitors. Historic buildings there include Old Queens, a brownstone designed by the man responsible for New York's City Hall; it is now the university's administrative center. On campus can also be found art, geology, and history museums. The university's 50-acre Display Gardens are notable for specimens of American holly.

New Brunswick is the eastern terminus of the Delaware & Raritan Canal, built in the 1830s. The canal is now a state park, with headquarters at Somerset, just east of New Brunswick. Along its main and feeder canals may be seen the remains of the canal and the famous Camden & Amboy railroad, as well as restored homes and stations of lock and bridge tenders.

Arts and Culture

New Brunswick Cultural Center Inc., located downtown, provides year-round programming in the visual and performing arts. Its 1,800-seat, acoustically acclaimed State Theater, home to the American Repertory Ballet, hosts symphonies performed by the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, jazz, dance, chamber music, children's programs, and other fare. Extensive renovations began on the historic building in December 2003 and were completed in late 2004, in an attempt to restore the theater as closely as possible to its original appearance while updating sound and lighting systems to rival that of any brand new facility. For theater-goers, new plays and musicals bound for Broadway are previewed at the 367-seat George Street Playhouse; the Playhouse also features several regional theatrical productions. Crossroads Theatre, an African American professional company, offers plays, musicals, and touring programs during a September-to-May season. The Rutgers Theater Company, based at Rutgers University, offers an academic-year Subscription Series of professional theater. Rutgers is also home to the renowned children's theater group, the Shoestring Players; unfortunately the group has been on hiatus since the 2004–2005 school year because of budget cutbacks, and its future is uncertain. New Brunswick is within easy reach of the vast cultural resources of New York and Philadelphia.

Museums of note in New Brunswick include Buccleuch Mansion, built in 1739 and displaying antiques in period rooms; Hungarian Heritage Center; New Jersey Museum of Agriculture, presenting historic farming tools, household items, toys, and photographs; and Rutgers University Geology Museum. Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, also at Rutgers, offers permanent and changing exhibits of paintings from the early sixteenth century through the present, with emphasis on the graphic arts. Considered one of the finest university museums in the country, the Zimmerli houses the university's collection of more than 35,000 art objects.

Nearby Piscataway offers East Jersey Olde Towne, a reconstructed colonial village, and the restored Cornelius Low House/Middlesex County Museum, a fine example of eighteenth-century Georgian architecture. The County Museum presents exhibits on the impact of New Jersey's people, products, and resources on American history and progress; many of these exhibits have won national awards for excellence. The Artists' League of Central New Jersey presents an annual tri-state exhibit of the works of visual artists, sculptors, and craftspeople at Cornelius Low House. At the East Brunswick Museum, fine art and historical exhibits showcase the talents of central New Jersey artists. Historic sites, museums, and theatrical performances are abundant throughout Middlesex County.

Festivals and Holidays

The annual Raritan River Festival joins New Brunswick with its cross-the-river neighbor, Highland Park, for food and fun on both sides of the Raritan. Water taxis, cabs, and buses transport participants to both cities during the festival. Boyd Park on the riverfront is the site of the annual Hispanic Riverfront Festival that celebrates the music, cuisine, and other entertainments of the city's Puerto Rican community. The annual Hungarian Festival, the first Saturday in June, features Hungarian dancing, food, crafts, and games, fencing demonstrations, a museum gift shop, and a twilight concert. The New Jersey International Film Festival, held each year in June and July, features screenings of independent, classic, international, and experimental films. October brings the Autumn in the Park Downtown Harvest Festival, with old-fashioned carriage rides, live music, and other family entertainment throughout Highland Park.

Taking place at the end of each school year, RutgersFest is an annual carnival and concert that has become a tradition for university students. A variety of musical performers, food vendors, and other amusements offer students a welcome break from exam preparation. East Brunswick presents the Middlesex County Fair during the second week in August. The holiday season is kicked off by the annual Holiday Lighting Spectacular, in which crowds fill Monument Square to see the lights come up on the city's 50-foot tree adorned with 3,200 lights. Holiday music fills the air as horse-drawn carriages take visitors for free rides on the brick-paved streets of the city.

Sports for the Spectator

Spectator sports in the region center around collegiate football and basketball competitions at Rutgers and Princeton universities. In 1869 Rutgers defeated Princeton in the world's first intercollegiate football game, held in New Brunswick. The actor Paul Robeson was a Rutgers graduate and an All-American football player there.

Middlesex County and its municipalities offer horse shows and amateur harness racing at various local parks. Year-round horse racing is also offered at nearby Meadowlands Sports Complex, home of the New Jersey Nets and Devils and host to the New York Giants and Jets.

Sports for the Participant

The New Brunswick Park System features 285 acres of parks, playgrounds, passive areas, athletic fields, facilities, lawns, and gardens. Boyd Park, located on New Brunswick's river front, was just reopened after an $11-million redevelopment. Home to numerous festivals and special events, the park now boasts views of the Raritan River and New Brunswick's skyline. The 15-acre Memorial Stadium park hosts sporting events with seating for 5,000 people. The 78-acre Buccleuch has many athletic fields, a cross country fitness trail, and sledding and skating in winter. The Colonial House, located at the park, is in the process of an historical renovation but is still open for tours on Sunday afternoons from June through October. The newly developed Alice Jennings Archibald Park includes 10.5 acres of athletic facilities for baseball, softball, soccer, football, tennis, basketball, and handball, as well as a playground and picnic area.

Also new is a 15-acre youth sports complex that hosts little league baseball and softball, as well as all youth soccer games. Still in the works at the park are a flowing brook, bridges, and picnic pavilions. Nearby is the HUB Teen Recreation Center. Scheduled for completion in 2005, the 17,000-square-foot center will offer young people the following: batting cage, golf learning center, internet cafe, computer lab, TV lounge and movie theater, dance studio, fitness gym with locker rooms, meeting rooms, game room, and a movie theater.

Recreation Information: New Brunswick Recreation Department, 65 Morris St., New Brunswick, NJ 08903; telephone (732)745-5125

Shopping and Dining

New Brunswick's major shopping areas include Albany Street Plaza, the Golden Triangle, Kilmer Square, Livingston Shopping Center, and Sears Plaza. New Jersey Designer Craftsmen, designated a resident company of the New Brunswick Cultural Center complex, displays the works of members in a gallery located there. Middlesex County is home to about 80 major shopping centers.

New Brunswick offers an array of dining establishments from the causal to the elegant. Ethnic cuisine runs the gamut from Italian to Mongolian, and includes Chinese, Japanese, Cajun, Mexican, and American fare. Several continental restaurants offer fine dining and have received both regional and national recognition in many well-known publications, such as Gourmet magazine and the New York Times.

Visitor Information: New Brunswick City Market, 120 Albany Street, 7th Floor, New Brunswick, NJ 08901; telephone (732)545-4849

New Brunswick: History

Raritan River a Vital Connecting Link Between Settlements

Lenni-Lenapes of the Delaware tribe crossed the Raritan River near modern New Brunswick in summertime expeditions to the Jersey Shore for fish and clamshells, long before Dutch messengers traveling between Holland's American settlements forded at the same spot, possibly as early as 1640. English settlers had been living there for about fifteen years when John Inian, an Englishman from Long Island, arrived in 1681 and established a ferry crossing linking the east and west banks of the Raritan River. At the time the place was known as Pridmore's Swamp. Known variously thereafter as Inian's Ferry, Onion's Ferry, and The River, the town was finally named New Brunswick in 1730 to honor the House of Brunswick, then occupying the throne of England. An early visitor noted in 1730 that "when I came to this place in 1715, there were but four or five houses in the 30 miles between Inian's Falls and the Falls of the Delaware, but now the whole way it is almost a continued lane of fences and good farmer houses" where Dutch, English, Scottish, German, and French settlers resided. The population centered near New Brunswick, which had become a storehouse and shipping point for wheat and flour produced inland.

Revolutionary War Engages City

During the American Revolution, the third reading of the Declaration of Independence in the colonies took place in New Brunswick on July 6, 1776. The Continental army took refuge at New Brunswick after their defeat at Fort Lee. George Washington's dispirited army crossed the Raritan River on the retreat south across New Jersey that led to the Battle of Trenton, burning the bridge behind them. British and Hessian troops occupied the town from December 1776 to the following June, building hatred by robbing British and revolutionary sympathizers alike. Panic spread; as many as 300 people streamed into New Brunswick during that December to accept the British Lord Howe's offer of amnesty in return for a renunciation of revolutionary sentiments. In late spring 1777, Washington moved his troops to an area overlooking the Raritan valley; Howe was forced out, burning and pillaging on his way to add to the suffering already endured. Thereafter the town experienced little direct warfare. Washington returned in 1778 on his way to a decisive victory over Cornwallis at Yorktown.

Town Thrives as Crossroad Between New York, Pennsylvania

New Brunswick gradually became the center of Middlesex County, earning the nickname Hub City. By 1830 the population there numbered more than 5,000 people. Still a center for the transport of grain, the city was also an important stop for people traveling between New York and Philadelphia. Rough-and-tumble competition grew up among transportation companies, becoming so heated that steamships would ram into New Brunswick docks, forcing passengers to leap overboard to join the fray over competing stagecoaches. The Delaware & Raritan Canal reached New Brunswick in 1834, joining the two rivers and making way for the transport of coal from Pennsylvania and other goods being transported west. Eventually the Raritan River carried the third largest tonnage of any river in the country. The railroad era was ushered in when the Camden & Amboy Railroad linking New Brunswick to the New Jersey Railroad was completed in 1839. This development, in combination with the water power made available by the canal lock's waterfall, led to the rapid rise of industry. A wallpaper factory and a rubber plant were founded. By 1860, the population numbered 10,761 people. Elsewhere in Middlesex County, rubber also became a prime industry, supplying boots and rubbers to Union soldiers during the Civil War and afterwards. Other emerging industries were the manufacture of clay, firebrick, and terra cotta products. Industry was spurred by Thomas Edison's invention in 1879 of electric lights.

Twentieth Century Brings Modern Industry

By the early twentieth century, the rubber and wallpaper industries had begun to wane, but New Brunswick had welcomed Robert W. and James W. Johnson, who came in 1885 to establish their pioneer gauze and adhesive tape plant. Where previously Americans had reached in emergencies for old sheets or towels, soon they were reaching for Johnson & Johnson bandages. That company recruited workers from Hungary, giving the city the largest Hungarian population of any city in the country. New Brunswick also welcomed the Wright-Martin Aircraft Corporation, which supplied airplane engines during World War I. Chemical manufacturers began to produce dyes and other chemicals formerly imported from Germany. Munitions manufacturers such as E. I. du Pont moved into Middlesex County, which emerged from the war with an exhilarated feeling of expanding opportunities. County population exceeded 160,000 people by 1920, and about half the population lived in New Brunswick. Roads were built and trains raced through, making the New Brunswick to Elizabeth corridor the busiest railroad stretch in the world. Between 1950 and 1965 Middlesex County's population doubled to 560,000 people. Lately, while formerly rural areas are seeing a continuing expansion of population, New Brunswick's population remains nearly stable, in the tradition of old American cities. Industry has been drawn to the vast network of intersecting superhighways there. Efforts to reverse the decline that began after World War II resulted in the redesign of the central business district, new headquarters for Johnson & Johnson, a new hotel, and new office buildings. Rutgers University, based in New Brunswick, has become an institution vital to the entire state.

A Brief History of Rutgers

Rutgers University was first chartered in 1766 under the name Queens College. It was rechartered in 1770 when the first document had produced no results. New Brunswick was chosen as the site of the college, which, under the auspices of the Dutch Reformed Church, was set up in a former tavern with Frederick Frelinghuysen as the sole faculty member. Its first graduating class produced one graduate in 1774. British troops forced the college out of town in 1777. The college returned in 1781 and closed in 1795 due to lack of interest. Classes resumed in 1807 and closed again in 1821. Application by 30 prospective students led to the college's reopening in 1825, at which time the name Queens was deemed unpatriotic and the college's name was changed to Rutgers, in honor of New York philanthropist Colonel Henry Rutgers. The college once again faced collapse when most of its students enlisted to serve in the Civil War. An infusion of money by the state for the establishment of an agricultural program, combined with the decision to make the school non-sectarian and to initiate an intensive scholarship and endowment campaign, revived the school yet again. It is now the State University of New Jersey and ranks among the country's major universities.

City Looks Forward

In 1999, New Brunswick and surrounding areas of New Jersey experienced damaging flooding from Tropical Storm Floyd. No lives were lost and the community pulled together to help affected residents of the city. James Cahill, New Brunswick's mayor since 1991, remains committed to focusing on New Brunswick's future growth with initiatives, programs, services, and developments.

Historical Information: Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Commission, 703 Jersey Ave., North Brunswick, NJ 08901; telephone (732)745-4489; fax (732)745-4524; email info@cultureheritage.org

New Brunswick: Education and Research

Elementary and Secondary Schools

New Brunswick Public Schools, founded in 1851, are governed by a Board of Education, whose seven members are appointed by the mayor to staggered three-year terms. Instruction in computer literacy is given to all students. There are special gifted and talented programs, and non-college-bound students may elect the Educational Investment Contracting program, which trains them on the job in local business and industry. A new high school is currently in the planning stage and is expected to be completed in time for the 2007–2008 school year.

The following is a summary of data regarding the New Brunswick public schools as of the 2004–2005 school year.

Total enrollment: 7,500

Number of facilities elementary schools (K-8): 11

senior high schools: 1

other: 1

Student/teacher ratio: 21:1

Teacher salaries median: $54,585

Funding per pupil: $14,533

Middlesex County Vocational and Technical High Schools were established in 1915; one of these is located in New Brunswick and four more are located throughout the county. The county also offers the New Jersey State Teen Arts program, which identifies and promotes the artistic talents of teenagers. New Brunswick is the site of three parochial schools.

Public Schools Information: New Brunswick Public Schools, 24 Bayard St., New Brunswick, NJ 08901; telephone (732)745-5414

Colleges and Universities

Although New Jersey has existed in the shadow of New York City and Philadelphia, it has made important contributions to the nation's cultural life. In colonial times, it was the only colony to have two institutions of higher learning, at Princeton and New Brunswick, where Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, more commonly known as Rutgers University, is located. The eighth-oldest college in the United States, Rutgers is located on three regional campuses in Camden, Newark, and New Brunswick/Piscataway. Although enrollment is large (more than 50,000 students), the many colleges of small to moderate size maintain separate identities, traditions, and programs. Undergraduate programs lead to degrees in the arts, sciences, music, and fine arts. The university offers majors in more than 100 fields in its 29 degree-granting units. The Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers serves the creative needs of the local community, including students enrolled in the college as well as other lifelong learners. Programs focus on the interaction of the visual arts with poetry, music, dance, and science.

The Robert Wood Johnson Medical School is one of eight schools of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. Rated among the top 50 primary care medical schools in the country, the school's faculty numbers more than 2,500. Middlesex County College in Edison has a two-year degree program that emphasizes job skills with more than 80 degree and certificate programs.

Libraries and Research Centers

New Brunswick Free Public Library, which traces its roots back to the 1796 Union Library Company, holds about 80,000 books, more than 200 periodicals, and some 1,000 videos. One of the library's main foci is being able accommodate the multicultural nature of the community it serves. The library's children's room is said to be remembered affectionately by generations of patrons. The system maintains one bookmobile. Special collections are maintained on local history and on the Hungarian language, and the library is a U.S. government document depository.

Among the more than one dozen libraries at Rutgers University are the main university library, whose collection numbers nearly 3 million volumes, and the Center for the American Woman and Politics Library. Rutgers' library system is ranked among the top 25 in the United States. Health, pharmacology, clinical medicine, and related topics are the focus of collections at Saint Peter's Medical Center Library, E.R. Bristol-Myers Squibb Company's Pharmaceutical Institute Library, Medical Research Library, and Robert Wood Johnson Library of Health Sciences. Gardner A. Sage Library, built in 1875, holds the archives of the Reformed Dutch Church. Middlesex County's Archives and Records Management Center in North Brunswick houses hundreds of thousands of government records and other public documents that have accumulated since 1683.

More than 60 research centers at Rutgers University study such topics as food technology, biology, economics, engineering, politics, AIDS research, computer science, shell-fish, mosquitoes, and the works of Thomas Alva Edison. The William L. Hutcheson Memorial Forest, in continuous ownership by the same family from 1701 to 1955, is maintained by Rutgers as a living forest laboratory. Rutgers is one of only 11 universities in the country to be part of the establishment of a national mathematics research center, and it has been designated by the State of New Jersey as one of five academic industrial centers for high technology research. Rutgers is part of the "super computer" consortium that operates the ETA-10 super computer, the largest computer of its kind in the world.

Public Library Information: New Brunswick Free Public Library, 60 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-2597; telephone (732)745-5108, fax (732)846-0226

New Brunswick

The City in Brief

Founded: 1730 (formed by royal charter) (incorporated as a town, 1736; reincorporated, 1784, 1801, 1838, 1844, 1845, 1849, 1850, 1863)

Head Official: Mayor James M. Cahill (since 1991)

City Population

1980: 41,442

1990: 41,711

2000: 48,573

Percent change, 1990–2000: 16.6%

U.S. rank in 1980: 525th (State rank: 17th)

U.S. rank in 1990: 624th (State rank: 15th)

U.S. rank in 2000: Not reported

Metropolitan Area Population (Middlesex County)

1980: 595,893

1990: 671,780

2000: 750,162

Percent change, 1990–2000: 11.7%

U.S. rank in 1980: 1st (CMSA)

U.S. rank in 1990: 1st (CMSA)

U.S. rank in 2000: 1st (CMSA)

Area: 5.2 square miles (2000)

Elevation: 86 feet above sea level

Average Annual Temperature: 52.2° F

Average Annual Precipitation: 53.3 inches of rain; 27.2 inches of snow

Major Economic Sectors: Research, business, industry

Unemployment Rate: 4.2% (April 2005; New Jersey)

Per Capita Income: $14,308 (1999)

2004 ACCRA Average Home Price: Not reported

2004 ACCRA Cost of Living Index: Not reported

2002 FBI Crime Index Total: Not reported

Major Colleges and Universities: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Daily Newspaper: Home News Tribune