Avenel is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...

(CDP) located within Woodbridge Township, in Middlesex County,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, United States.New Jersey: 2010 - Population and Housing Unit Counts - 2010 Census of Population and Housing (CPH-2-32)

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, August 2012. Accessed November 29, 2012. As of the

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servi ...

, the CDP's population was 17,011.DP-1 - Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data for Avenel CDP, New Jersey
,

. Accessed November 29, 2012.

History

The community was established in 1901; it was named for the daughter of Captain Demarest, the founder of the village, which had formerly been known as Demarest on the Hill. Besides the Demarests, the first settlers included members of the Brown, Clark, Cooper, Crowell, Douglass, Edgar, and Thorpe families.

Community

The Avenel Fire Company #1 celebrated its 100th anniversary on June 8, 2013, with a parade and picnic. The area also has three public schools: Avenel Middle School, Avenel Street School #4&5 and Woodbine Avenue School #23. Places of worship in Avenel include the First Presbyterian Church, St. Andrew's Roman Catholic Church, Central Baptist Church and Fellowship Bible Church. Sports teams in Avenel include the Avenel Warriors. In 2019, the Avenel Performing Arts Center opened near the Avenel train station. The venue features a professional recording studio.

Geography

According to the

, Avenel had a total area of 3.532 square miles (9.148 km²), including 3.517 square miles (9.109 km²) of land and 0.015 square miles (0.039 km²) of water (0.42%).US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990

. Accessed September 4, 2014.

Demographics

Census 2010

Census 2000

As of the

2000 United States Census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 cen ...

there were 17,552 people, 5,233 households, and 3,799 families residing in the CDP. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 1,970.0/km² (5,099.2/mi²). There were 5,353 housing units at an average density of 600.8/km² (1,555.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 53.52%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 19.66%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.35% Native American, 18.90% Asian, 0.03%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 3.65% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 3.89% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

or Latino of any race were 9.85% of the population.DP-1 - Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000 from the Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data for Avenel CDP, New Jersey
,

. Accessed November 29, 2012. There were 5,233 households, out of which 36.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.9% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.4% were non-families. 21.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.23. In the CDP the population was spread out, with 20.8% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 42.8% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 8.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 134.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 145.2 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $54,929, and the median income for a family was $61,029. Males had a median income of $48,000 versus $31,804 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the CDP was $19,794. About 6.1% of families and 9.6% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 8.1% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over. As part of the 2000 Census, 13.65% of Avenel's residents identified themselves as being Indian American. This was the fifth highest percentage of Indian people in any place in the United States with 1,000 or more residents identifying their ancestry.

Economy

Avenel was the flagship location of Bradco Supply, founded in 1966, one of the country's leading distributors of building products. The company had grown to over 130 locations in more than 30 states.

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential econo ...

operates a fulfillment center in Avenel. The facility, which opened in June 2013, covers .

East Jersey State Prison East Jersey State Prison (EJSP) is a medium-security prison operated by the New Jersey Department of Corrections in Avenel, Woodbridge Township, New Jersey. It was established in 1896 as Rahway State Prison, and was the first reformatory in N ...

is located in Avenel, near the border of

Rahway Rahway () is a city in southern Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A bedroom community of New York City, it is centrally located in the Rahway Valley region, in the New York metropolitan area. The city is southwest of Manhattan ...

; Though located in Woodbridge Township, the prison's mailing address had led to it being called "Rahway State Prison". Also located in Avenel is the

Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center The Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center (ADTC) is a secure correctional facility operated by the New Jersey Department of Corrections. Its purpose is to provide treatment and incarceration for certain criteria meeting repetitive and compulsive ...

, which provides treatment to convicted sex offenders.

Transportation

The Avenel station provides direct NYC service on

NJ Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...

North Jersey Coast Line The North Jersey Coast Line is a commuter rail line running from Rahway to Bay Head, New Jersey, traversing through the Jersey Shore region. Operated by New Jersey Transit, the line is electrified as far south as Long Branch. On rail system m ...

. Avenel Station is a direct 45-minute one-seat train ride to New York Penn Station. Riders can also connect with the

PATH A path is a route for physical travel – see Trail. Path or PATH may also refer to: Physical paths of different types * Bicycle path * Bridle path, used by people on horseback * Course (navigation), the intended path of a vehicle * Desire p ...

train to reach lower Manhattan. In the wake of the creation of a 500-unit development transit village near the station and requests from passengers, NJ Transit began new weekday stops at the station starting in September 2019 and that weekend service would resume for the first time since 1985. NJ Transit provides service on the

115 115 may refer to: * 115 (number), the number * AD 115, a year in the 2nd century AD * 115 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC * 115 (Hampshire Fortress) Corps Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers, a unit in the UK Territorial Army * 115 (Leicestershire) ...

route between Avenel and the Port Authority Bus Terminal.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Avenel include: * Antonio Alfano,

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

defensive tackle for the Colorado Buffaloes. * Eric LeGrand (born 1990), football player, writer, speaker. * Jazlyn Moya (born 1997), footballer who plays as a forward for

United Women's Soccer United Women's Soccer (UWS, also commonly abbreviated UWS) is a second-division pro-am women's soccer league in the United States. The league was founded in 2015 as a response to the dual problems of disorganization in the WPSL and of the fold ...

club New Jersey Copa FC and the Dominican Republic women's national team. * Dagmara Wozniak (born 1988), Polish-American U.S. Olympic sabre fencer.Orr, Cono
"Olympics 2012: Fencer Dagmara Wozniak, an Avenel native, flourished with work ethic learned from immigrant parents"
''

The Star-Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to '' The Jersey Journal'' of Jersey City, ''The Times'' of Trenton and the '' Staten Island Advance'', all of ...

'', July 25, 2012. Accessed June 19, 2013."Her inclusion on the Olympic team — in 2008 as an alternate and in London as a full-fledged member — is a testament to the way she can parse through the chaos during a bout and forge a precision attack."

References

External links

Avenel Fire Company No. 1

Avenel-Colonia First Aid Squad

Woodbridge Township School District
{{Authority control Census-designated places in Middlesex County, New Jersey Neighborhoods in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey