Middlesex County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the

north North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

- central part of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, extending inland from the Raritan Valley region to the northern portion of the

Jersey Shore The Jersey Shore, commonly called the Shore by locals, is the coast, coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The term encompasses about of shore, oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy, New Jersey, Perth Amboy in the n ...

. As of the 2020 United States census, the county was the state's third-most populous county with a population of 863,162, its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 53,304 (+6.6%) from the 2010 census count of 809,858, which in turn reflected an increase of 59,696 (8.0%) from the 750,162 counted in the 2000 census.Wu, Sen-Yuan
''NJ Labor Market Views: Population Keeps Growing in the Most Densely Populated State''
March 15, 2011. Accessed December 26, 2022. Middlesex is part of the

New York metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also called the Tri-State area and sometimes referred to as Greater New York, is the List of cities by GDP, largest metropolitan economy in the world, with a List of U.S. metropolitan areas by GDP, gross metropo ...

. Many communities within the county serve as commuter towns to and from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and other points north. The county is part of the

Central Jersey Central Jersey, or Central New Jersey, is the middle region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The designation Central Jersey is a distinct administrative toponym. While New Jersey is often divided into North Jersey and South Jersey, many resi ...

region of the state. The county is located in the middle of the

Northeast megalopolis The Northeast megalopolis, also known as the Northeast Corridor, Acela Corridor, Boston–Washington corridor, BosWash, or BosNYWash, is the most populous megalopolis exclusively within the United States, with slightly over 50 million resident ...

of the U.S. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is the

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

,New Jersey County Map

New Jersey Department of State The secretary of state of New Jersey oversees the Department of State, which is one of the original state offices. The Secretary is responsible for overseeing New Jersey State Council on the Arts, artistic, cultural, and New Jersey Historical Com ...

. Accessed January 20, 2024. a center for the sciences, arts, and cultural activities, and the

headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

of the state's flagship academic institution,

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

. The county's most populous place, with 107,588 residents as of the 2020 census, is Edison,QuickFacts Edison township, Middlesex County, New Jersey
Accessed January 4, 2024. while Monroe Township covers the largest area of any municipality, at . Since the 2010 census, the state's

center of population In Demography, demographics, the center of population (or population center) of a region is a geographical point that describes a centerpoint of the region's population. There are several ways of defining such a "center point", leading to dif ...

is in East Brunswick; the center of population for New Jersey has been in Middlesex County since the 1900 census. Middlesex County hosts an extensive transportation network, including several rail stations along the heavily traveled

Northeast Corridor Line The Northeast Corridor Line is a commuter rail service operated by NJ Transit between the Trenton Transit Center and New York Penn Station on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor in the United States. The service is the successor to Pennsylvania Railroad ...

of the

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

commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...

system, as well as the intersection of the New Jersey Turnpike and the

Garden State Parkway The Garden State Parkway (GSP) is a Controlled-access highway, controlled-access toll road that stretches the north–south length of eastern New Jersey from the state's southernmost tip near Cape May, New Jersey, Cape May north to the New York ...

, the state's two busiest motor vehicle roadways, in Woodbridge Township. Middlesex County calls itself ''The Greatest County in the Land''. The county was primarily settled due to its optimal location along the

Raritan River The Raritan River is a river of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its Drainage basin, watershed drains much of the mountainous areas in the North Jersey, northern and Central Jersey, central sections of the state, emptying into the Raritan Bay near ...

. Middlesex was originally formed as one of four administrative districts within Province of East Jersey in 1675, together with

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

and

Monmouth Monmouth ( or ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated on where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. The population in the 2011 census was 10,508, rising from 8 ...

districts. Middlesex County was formed within East Jersey on March 7, 1683.Snyder, John P
''The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606–1968''
Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 125. Accessed June 6, 2012. The population increased so the county was partitioned on October 31, 1693, into the townships of Piscataway, Perth Amboy, and Woodbridge. Adjacent Somerset County was established on May 14, 1688, created from portions of Middlesex County. The county's first court met in June 1683 in Piscataway, and held session at alternating sites over the next century in Perth Amboy, Piscataway, and Woodbridge before relocating permanently to New Brunswick in 1778. Despite its status as a residential, commercial, and industrial stronghold and a centrally accessible transportation hub, Middlesex is also home to an extensive public

park system A park system, also known as an open space system, is a network of parks and other green spaces that are connected by public walkways, bridleways or cycleways. The concept first emerged with the need to minimize fragmentation of natural envir ...

with expansive greenways, totaling more than . Middlesex County is most demographically notable as the U.S. county with the highest concentration of Asian Indians, at nearly 20% in 2020, spanning the county's boundaries between Little India, Edison/Iselin in the north and Monroe Township at its southern tip.

Geography and climate

Middlesex has a hot-summer

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(''Dfa'') which borders a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(''Cfa'') on

Raritan Bay Raritan Bay is a bay located at the southern portion of Lower New York Bay between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey and is part of the New York Bight. The bay is bounded on the northwest by New York's Staten Island, on the west b ...

and Arthur Kill. Average monthly temperatures in downtown New Brunswick range from in January to in July, while in South Amboy they range from in January to in July. In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of New Brunswick have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1984 and a record high of was recorded in July 1999. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in July. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of the 2020 Census, the county had a total area of , of which was land (95.8%) and was water (4.2%).2020 Census Gazetteer File for Counties in New Jersey

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

. Accessed April 1, 2023. The county is named after the historic English county of

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

. Bisected by the

, the county is topographically typical of

in that it is largely flat. The majority of the county is located on the inner coastal plain, with the remainder of the county being located on the Eastern Piedmont. The elevation ranges from

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

to above sea level on a hill scaled by Major Road/ Sand Hill Road near Route 1 in South Brunswick Township. Another area with higher elevation in the county is the Perth Amboy Moraine, left by the southern limit of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. Only the far northeastern area of the county was glaciated, and the Perth Amboy Moraine stretches from Perth Amboy, through Woodbridge, Edison and Metutchen, and stradles the border of Edison and South Plainfield before exiting the county. The area includes peaks of over 200 feet.

Demographics

Indian community

Middlesex County is prominently known for its significant concentration of Indians. The growing

Little India Little India (also known as Indian Street, India Bazaar, or India Town) is an Indian people, Indian or South Asian sociocultural environment outside India or the Indian subcontinent. It especially refers to an area with a significant concentra ...

is a Desi-focused commercial strip in Middlesex County, the U.S. county with the highest concentration of Indians. The Oak Tree Road strip runs for about one-and-a-half miles through Edison and neighboring Iselin in Woodbridge Township, near the area's sprawling

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

and

Koreatown A Koreatown (), also known as a Little Korea or Little Seoul, is a Korean-dominated ethnic enclave within a city or metropolitan area outside the Korean Peninsula. History Koreatowns as an East Asian ethnic enclave have only been in existence s ...

, running along New Jersey Route 27. It is the largest and most diverse

Desi Desi ( or or ; Hindustani language, Hindustani: देसी , , ) also Deshi, is a loose term used to describe the ethnic groups in South Asia, peoples, culture of South Asia, cultures, and products of the Indian subcontinent and their Sout ...

cultural hub in the United States. Monroe Township in Middlesex County has experienced a particularly rapid growth rate in its

Indian American Indian Americans are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from India. The terms Asian Indian and East Indian are used to avoid confusion with Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans in the United States, who ar ...

population, with an estimated 5,943 (13.6%) as of 2017,DP05: ACS DEMOGRAPHIC AND HOUSING ESTIMATES from the 2013-2017 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates for Monroe township, Middlesex County, New Jersey
,

. Accessed February 11, 2019. which was 23 times the 256 (0.9%) counted as of the 2000 Census; and

Diwali Diwali (), also called Deepavali (IAST: ''Dīpāvalī'') or Deepawali (IAST: ''Dīpāwalī''), is the Hindu festival of lights, with variations celebrated in other Indian religions such as Jainism and Sikhism. It symbolises the spiritual v ...

is celebrated by the township as a

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

holiday. Carteret's Punjabi

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

community, variously estimated at upwards of 3,000, is the largest concentration of Sikhs in New Jersey. In Middlesex County, election

ballot A ballot is a device used to cast votes in an election and may be found as a piece of paper or a small ball used in voting. It was originally a small ball (see blackballing) used to record decisions made by voters in Italy around the 16th cent ...

s are printed in English, Spanish, Gujarati,

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

, and Punjabi.

Jewish community

Along with other counties in New Jersey, Middlesex is also home to a large

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

community, especially Orthodox. The world's largest Jewish gathering outside of Israel occurred in Edison on December 1, 2024.

2020 census

As of the Census of 2020, the county had 863,162 people, 285,906 households, and 209,808 families. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

was . There were 315,521 housing units at an average density of . The county's racial makeup was 41.9%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 9.8%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.53% Native American, 26.5% Asian, and 9.06% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 22.4% of the population. There were 285,906 households, of which 34.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.9% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 24.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 14.2% had a male householder with no wife present and 26.6% were non-families. 14.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.32. About 21.6% of the county's population was under age 18, 9.3% was from age 18 to 24, 40.1% was from age 15 to 44, and 15.5% was age 65 or older. The median age was 39.3 years. The gender makeup of the county was 49.4% male and 50.5% female. For every 100 females, there were 97.8 males. The county's median household income was $93,418, and the median family income was $107,149. About 8.8% 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 ...

, including 11.1% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 809,858 people, 281,186 households, and 203,016 families in the county. The

was 2,621.6 per square mile (1,012.2/km²). There were 294,800 housing units at an average density of 954.3 per square mile (368.5/km²). The racial makeup was 58.60% (474,589)

, 9.69% (78,462) Black or African American, 0.34% (2,777) Native American, 21.40% (173,293) Asian, 0.03% (251)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 6.99% (56,569) from other races, and 2.95% (23,917) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 18.40% (148,975) of the population. Of the 281,186 households, 34.4% had children under the age of 18; 55.9% were married couples living together; 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present and 27.8% were non-families. Of all households, 22.5% were made up of individuals and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.8 and the average family size was 3.29. 22.9% of the population were under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 26.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.2 years. For every 100 females, the population had 96.4 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 94 males.

Economy

The

Bureau of Economic Analysis The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) of the United States Department of Commerce is a U.S. government agency that provides official macroeconomic and industry statistics, most notably reports about the gross domestic product (GDP) of the United ...

calculated that the county's

gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performanc ...

was $59.0 billion in 2021, which was ranked second in the state and was a 6.8% increase from the prior year. Major non-governmental employers in Middlesex County include the following, grouped by ranges of employees: * 9,010:

*5,000 – 5,249: Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital * 3,500 – 3,749:

Bristol-Myers Squibb The Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, doing business as Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), is an American multinational pharmaceutical company. Headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey, BMS is one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies and consist ...

, Wakefern Food Corporation * 3,000 – 3,249:

Merrill Lynch Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, doing business as Merrill, and previously branded Merrill Lynch, is an American investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America. Along with BofA Securities, the investm ...

Novo Nordisk Novo Nordisk A/S is a Danish multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Bagsværd, with production facilities in nine countries and affiliates or offices in five. Novo Nordisk is controlled by majority shareholder Novo Holdings A/S ...

* 2,750 – 2,999:

Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical technologies corporation headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Its common stock is a c ...

, Prudential Insurance Company, Silverline Building Products, St. Peter's University Hospital, Telcordia Technologies * 2,500 – 2,749: JFK Medical Center, Raritan Bay Medical Center * 2,000 – 2,249: Pathmark * 1,750 – 1,999:

Home Depot The Home Depot, Inc., often referred to as Home Depot, is an American multinational corporation, multinational home improvement retail corporation that sells tools, construction products, appliances, and services, including fuel and transportat ...

United Parcel Service United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) is an American multinational corporation, multinational package delivery, shipping & receiving and supply chain management company founded in 1907. Originally known as the American Messenger Company specializi ...

* 1,500 – 1,749:

Hess Corporation Hess Corporation (formerly Amerada Hess Corporation) is an American global independent energy company involved in the oil exploration, exploration and production of Petroleum, crude oil and natural gas. It was formed by the merger of Hess Oil and ...

Dow Jones & Company Dow Jones & Company, Inc. (also known simply as Dow Jones) is an American publishing firm owned by News Corp, and led by CEO Almar Latour. The company publishes ''The Wall Street Journal'', '' Barron's'', '' MarketWatch'', ''Mansion Global'' ...

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the positi ...

* 1,250 – 1,499:

AT&T AT&T Inc., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the w ...

BASF BASF SE (), an initialism of its original name , is a European Multinational corporation, multinational company and the List of largest chemical producers, largest chemical producer in the world. Its headquarters are located in Ludwigshafen, Ge ...

(formerly Engelhard) * 1,000 – 1,249:

Aetna Aetna Inc. ( ) is an American managed health care company that sells traditional and consumer directed health care insurance and related services, such as medical, pharmaceutical, dental, behavioral health, long-term care, and disability plans, ...

, Fujitsu, Prudential * Undisclosed:

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

, Japanese company specializing in imaging products.

History

Clay was once frequently mined in Middlesex County, with mining across the Raritan Formation continuing until the late twentieth century. Clay mining activity north of the Raritan River was particularly active near Woodbridge.

Etymology

Middlesex County is named after the county of the same name in England.

Government

County government

Middlesex County is governed by a Board of Commissioners, which is comprised of seven members who are elected

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather tha ...

on a partisan basis to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with either two or three seats coming up for election each year as part of the November general election. At an annual reorganization meeting held in January, the board selects from among its members a Commissioner Director and deputy director. The Commissioner Director appoints commissioners to serve as chairpersons and members on the various committees which oversee county departments. Middlesex County also elects three "constitutional officers" whose existence is laid out in the

New Jersey Constitution The Constitution of the State of New Jersey is the basic governing document of the State of New Jersey. In addition to three British Royal Charters issued for East Jersey, West Jersey and united New Jersey while they were still colonies, the s ...

. The County Clerk and Surrogate serve five-year terms and the Sheriff serves a three-year term of office. In 2016, freeholders were paid $23,438 and the freeholder director was paid an annual salary of $24,428, though Ronald Rios has accepted a salary of $8,340 as director. , Middlesex County's Commissioners (with terms for director and deputy ending every December 31) are:Board of County Commissioners
Middlesex County, New Jersey. Accessed June 19, 2022. "County Commissioner is a term used by all 21 of New Jersey's counties to describe county legislators. The residents of Middlesex County's 25 municipalities elect seven persons at-large to staggered three-year terms in the November general election to serve as members of the Board of County Commissioners. Every January, the Board selects one County Commissioner to serve as Director and another to serve as Deputy Director and all County Commissioners serve as chairpersons and members of various committees to oversee County departments."Elected Officials
Middlesex County, New Jersey. Accessed June 19, 2022. Article VII Section II of the New Jersey State Constitution requires each county in New Jersey have three elected administrative officials known as "constitutional officers." These officers are the

County Clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keepin ...

and County Surrogate (both elected for five-year terms of office) and the

County Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is commonly ...

(elected for a three-year term). Middlesex county's constitutional officers are: Republicans have not won countywide in Middlesex County since 1991. The Middlesex County Prosecutor has been Yolanda Ciccone since June 2020. Middlesex County constitutes Vicinage 8 of the

New Jersey Superior Court The Superior Court is the state court in the U.S. state of New Jersey, with statewide trial and appellate jurisdiction. The New Jersey Constitution of 1947 establishes the power of the New Jersey courts: under Article Six of the State Consti ...

; the vicinage is seated at the Middlesex County Courthouse, at 56 Paterson Street in New Brunswick.Middlesex Vicinage
, New Jersey Courts. Accessed October 21, 2017. The Middlesex Vicinage also has facilities for the Family Part at the Middlesex County Family Courthouse at 120 New Street, also in New Brunswick; there are also other facilities in New Brunswick and Perth Amboy for Probation. The Assignment Judge for Vicinage 8 is Alberto Rivas.

Federal representatives

The 6th and 12th congressional districts cover the county.

State representatives

The 25 municipalities of Middlesex County are part of seven legislative districts.

Law enforcement

Thomas N. Acken served as the sheriff in 1891. Joseph Spicuzzo served in 2014 and was arrested for bribery. Mildred S. Scott is the current county sheriff, she was sworn in on January 1, 2011, as the first female sheriff of Middlesex County and the first African-American sheriff in the state of New Jersey.

Politics

After being a Republican stronghold in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Middlesex County leaned Democratic for much of the 20th century beginning with

Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

's victory in the county in

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

. Throughout the twentieth century, in close elections, the county would always vote Democratic, sometimes by solid margins, but the county was willing to flip Republican in the midst of nationwide Republican landslides in the 1970s and 1980s. Since 1992, the county has always voted Democratic, however, the 2024 election saw the Democratic margin held to the single digits for the first time since 1992. As of August 1, 2020, there were a total of 545,795 registered voters in Middlesex County, of which 229,982 (42.1%) were registered as Democrats, 84,258 (15.4%) were registered as Republicans and 224,058 (41.1%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 7,497 (1.4%) voters registered to other parties.

Education

Higher education

* Middlesex County College (Edison – main campus; New Brunswick, Perth Amboy) * Rutgers University New Brunswick Campus (New Brunswick, Piscataway) *

Rutgers Health Rutgers Health is the umbrella group for Rutgers University's medical schools, medical research and clinical healthcare units. It was established in 2013 as Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences after parts of the University of Medicine and ...

(New Brunswick) *

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

– Forrestal Campus (Plainsboro) * DeVry University (North Brunswick) * Chamberlain University (North Brunswick) * New Brunswick Theological Seminary (New Brunswick Campus)

K-12 schools

School districts, all PreK/K-12 (except as indicated), include: * Carteret School District * Cranbury School District (K-8) * Dunellen Public Schools * East Brunswick Public Schools * Edison Township Public Schools * Highland Park Public Schools * Jamesburg Public Schools (K-8) * Metuchen School District * Middlesex Board of Education * Milltown Public Schools (K-8) * Monroe Township School District * New Brunswick Public Schools * North Brunswick Township Public Schools * Old Bridge Township Public Schools * Perth Amboy Public Schools * Piscataway Township Schools * Sayreville Public Schools * South Amboy Public Schools * South Brunswick Public Schools * South Plainfield Public Schools * South River Public Schools * Spotswood Public Schools *

West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District The West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District is a comprehensive high achieving regional public school district in the U.S. state of New Jersey, serving students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from West Windsor Township (in ...

* Woodbridge Township School District

Infrastructure

Transportation

Roads and Highways

Middlesex County hosts various county roads, state routes, US routes, and interstate highways, as well as toll highways. , the county had a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the municipality, by Middlesex County and by the

New Jersey Department of Transportation The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) is the agency responsible for transportation issues and policy in New Jersey, including maintaining and operating the state's highway and public road system, planning and developing transport ...

, by the

New Jersey Turnpike Authority The New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA) is a state agency responsible for maintaining the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway, which are two toll roads in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The agency is headquartered in Woodbridge Town ...

and by the

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, (PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ) is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate c ...

. County roads include CR 501, CR 514, CR 516 (only in Old Bridge), CR 520 (only in Old Bridge), CR 522, CR 527, CR 529, CR 531, CR 535, and CR 539 (only in Cranbury). The state routes are: Route 18, Route 26 (only in North Brunswick – entirely concurrent with Livingston Avenue), Route 27, Route 28, Route 32, Route 33 (only in Monroe Township), Route 34 (only in Old Bridge), Route 35, Route 91 (concurrent with Jersey Avenue in North Brunswick and entering

), Route 171, Route 172 (only in New Brunswick), Route 184 and Route 440.

U.S. Route The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these h ...

s include: Route 1, Route 9, Route 1/9 (only in Woodbridge) and Route 130. The county also includes some limited access highways and Interstates as well. Middlesex County hosts the southern end of I-287 which turns into Route 440 that connects to the

Outerbridge Crossing The Outerbridge Crossing, also known as the Outerbridge, is a cantilever bridge that spans the Arthur Kill between Perth Amboy, New Jersey, Perth Amboy, New Jersey, and Staten Island, New York (state), New York, United States. It carries New Yor ...

. The

passes through the eastern part of the county, which features nine interchanges and the northern start/end of the split-roadways ( Express & Local Lanes). The

New Jersey Turnpike The New Jersey Turnpike (NJTP) is a system of controlled-access highway, controlled-access toll roads in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The turnpike is maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA).The Garden State Parkway, although ma ...

carries

I-95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...

through the center of the county. The Turnpike has five interchanges in Middlesex County: Exit 12 in Carteret, Exit 11 in Woodbridge, Exit 10 in Edison, Exit 9 in East Brunswick and Exit 8A in Monroe Township. The New Jersey Department of Transportation is upgrading the Route 18 "avenue" to a freeway between the Route 1 interchange all the way up to the new 18 Extension in Piscataway. The Turnpike Authority planned to build Route 92, which was to start near the intersection of Ridge Road & Route 1 in South Brunswick to Interchange 8A in Monroe Township. This plan was cancelled on December 1, 2006. The southern end of the "dual-dual" configuration (inner car lanes and outer truck lanes) used to be one mile south of Interchange 8A at the border of Cranbury and Monroe Township. It was relocated to Exit 6 in Mansfield Township in Burlington County after the Turnpike widening project was completed in early November 2014.

Public transportation

NJ Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit or NJTransit and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey and portions of the states of New York and Pennsylvania. I ...

provides Middlesex County with frequent

service along the

North Jersey Coast Line The North Jersey Coast Line is a Commuter rail in North America, commuter rail line running from Rahway, New Jersey, Rahway to Bay Head, New Jersey, traversing through the Jersey Shore region. Operated by New Jersey Transit, the line is electr ...

, and Raritan Valley Line. The North Jersey Coast Line runs through the eastern part of the county. The Northeast Corridor Line runs through the northern and central part of the county. The Raritan Valley Line serves Dunellen and is accessible to other communities along the county's northern border with Union and

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

counties.

Intercity rail Inter-city rail services are Express train, express trains that run services that connect cities over longer distances than Commuter rail, commuter or Regional rail, regional trains. They include rail services that are neither short-distance co ...

service is provided by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

. The routes that run through Middlesex County are the ''

Acela Express The ''Acela'' ( ; originally the ''Acela Express'' until September 2019) is Amtrak's flagship passenger train service along the Northeast Corridor (NEC) in the Northeastern megalopolis, Northeastern United States between Washington, D.C. and ...

'', '' Keystone'', ''

Northeast Regional The ''Northeast Regional'' is an intercity rail service operated by Amtrak in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States. In the past it has been known as the ''NortheastDirect'', ''Acela Regional'', or ''Regional''. It is Amtrak's busie ...

'', and '' Vermonter'' services, although only the ''Keystone'' and ''Northeast Regional'' have regular stops within Middlesex County, at either

or Metropark station. The ''Acela'' service also occasionally stops at Metropark. Bus service in Middlesex County is provided by New Jersey Transit,

Coach USA Coach USA, LLC is a holding company for various American transportation service providers providing scheduled intercity bus service, local and commuter bus transit, city sightseeing, tour, yellow school bus, and charter bus service across the ...

's Suburban Transit, the extensive Rutgers Campus bus network, the MCAT shuttle system, and DASH buses. There are bus routes that serve all townships in the county on weekdays, and studies are being conducted to create the New Brunswick Bus Rapid Transit system.

Healthcare

The county offers more than 1,900

inpatient A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by healthcare professionals. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, nurse, optometrist, dentist, veterinarian, or other heal ...

beds among five major

hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

Municipalities

The 25 municipalities in Middlesex County (with 2010 Census data for population, housing units and area in square miles) are:GCT-PH1: Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County – County Subdivision and Place from the 2010 Census Summary File 1 for Middlesex County, New Jersey

. Accessed January 19, 2014. Other, unincorporated communities in the county are listed next to their parent municipality. Many of these areas are

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 counte ...

s that have been defined by the

for enumeration purposes within a

Township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

and for which 2010 population data is included in parentheses.

Parks and recreation

Landscape at Thompson Park in Monroe Township

* Donaldson Park * Carteret Park * Carteret Waterfront Park * Edison Park * Fords Park * Johnson Park * Medwick Park * Merrill Park * Raritan Bay Waterfront Park * Roosevelt Park * Spring Lake Park * Thompson Park * Warren Park * Old Bridge Waterfront Walkway * Alvin P. Williams Memorial Park * Ambrose & Doty's Brooks Park * Davidson's Mill Pond Park * Ireland Brook Park * Jamesburg Park Conservation Area * John A. Phillips Open Space Preserve * John A. Phillips Park * Catherine Von Ohlen Park

References

External links

Middlesex County official website
Retrieved July 1, 2008. * * Middlesex County's municipal borders, and unincorporated communities, localities & place names at https://www.state.nj.us/transportation/refdata/gis/maps/middlesex.pdf {{Authority control 1683 establishments in New Jersey Central Jersey Counties in the New York metropolitan area Majority-minority counties in New Jersey Populated places established in 1683