# List of counties in New Jersey

New Jersey's 21 counties
There are 21 counties in the U.S. state of New Jersey. These counties together have 564 municipalities, or administrative entities composed of clearly defined territory; 253 boroughs, 52 cities, 15 towns, 241 townships, and 3 villages. In New Jersey, a county is a local level of government between the state and municipalities. County government in New Jersey includes a Board of Chosen Freeholders, sheriff, clerk, and surrogate (responsible for uncontested and routine probate),. All of these jobs are elected officials. Counties are responsible for the maintenance of jails, parks, and certain roads. The site of a county's administration and courts is called the county seat.

## FIPS code

The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) code, used by the United States government to uniquely identify counties, is provided with each entry. FIPS codes are five digit numbers. For New Jersey the codes start with 34 and are completed with the three digit county code. The FIPS code for each county in the table links to census data for that county.

## Counties

| County  | FIPS code | County seat | Largest City | Established | Formed from | Named for | Density (per mi2) | Population (2020) | Land Area | Map   |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Atlantic County | 001 | Mays Landing | Egg Harbor Township 47,842 | 1837 | Gloucester County | The Atlantic Ocean, which forms the county's eastern border | 494 | 274,534 | 556 sq mi (1,440 km2) |  |
| Bergen County | 003 | Hackensack | Hackensack 46,030 | 1683 | One of 4 original counties created in East Jersey | Bergen, New Netherland settlement | 4,106 | 955,732 | 233 sq mi (603 km2) |  |
| Burlington County | 005 | Mount Holly | Evesham Township 46,826 | 1694 | One of two original counties created in West Jersey | The old ancient name for an inland market near Bridlington, England | 578 | 461,860 | 799 sq mi (2,069 km2) |  |
| Camden County | 007 | Camden | Cherry Hill 74,553 | 1844 | Gloucester County | Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden (1714–1794), an English supporter of the colonists during the American Revolution | 2,365 | 523,485 | 221 sq mi (572 km2) |  |
| Cape May County | 009 | Cape May Court House | Lower Township 22,057 | 1692 | Burlington County | The 17th-century Dutch explorer Cornelius Jacobsen Mey, who explored and surveyed the Delaware Bay to the south of the county | 379 | 95,263 | 252 sq mi (653 km2) |  |
| Cumberland County | 011 | Bridgeton | Vineland 60,780 | 1748 | Salem County | Prince William, Duke of Cumberland (1721–1765), second son of George II of Great Britain and military victor at the Battle of Culloden in 1746 | 319 | 154,152 | 483 sq mi (1,251 km2) |  |
| Essex County | 013 | Newark | Newark 311,549 | 1683 | One of four original counties created in East Jersey | The county of Essex in England | 6,850 | 863,728 | 126 sq mi (326 km2) |  |
| Gloucester County | 015 | Woodbury | Washington Township 48,677 | 1686 | Burlington County | The city of Gloucester, England | 939 | 302,294 | 322 sq mi (834 km2) |  |
| Hudson County | 017 | Jersey City | Jersey City 292,449 | 1840 | Bergen County | The English explorer Henry Hudson (d. 1611), who explored portions of New Jersey's coastline | 15,692 | 724,854 | 46 sq mi (119 km2) |  |
| Hunterdon County | 019 | Flemington | Raritan Township 23,447 | 1714 | Burlington County | Robert Hunter (1664–1734), the Colonial Governor of New Jersey from 1710 to 1720 | 301 | 128,947 | 428 sq mi (1,109 km2) |  |
| Mercer County | 021 | Trenton | Hamilton Township 92,297 | 1838 | Burlington County, Hunterdon County, Middlesex County, and Somerset County | The Continental Army General Hugh Mercer (1726–1777), who died at the Battle of Princeton | 1,726 | 387,340 | 224 sq mi (580 km2) |  |
| Middlesex County | 023 | New Brunswick | Edison 107,588 | 1683 | One of four original counties created in East Jersey | The historic county of Middlesex in England | 2,791 | 863,162 | 309 sq mi (800 km2) |  |
| Monmouth County | 025 | Freehold Borough | Middletown Township 67,106 | 1683 | One of four original counties created in East Jersey | The historic county of Monmouthshire in Wales | 1,375 | 643,615 | 468 sq mi (1,212 km2) |  |
| Morris County | 027 | Morristown | Parsippany-Troy Hills 56,162 | 1739 | Hunterdon County | Colonel Lewis Morris (1671–1746), colonial governor of New Jersey at the time of the county's formation | 1,105 | 509,285 | 461 sq mi (1,194 km2) |  |
| Ocean County | 029 | Toms River | Lakewood Township 135,158 | 1850 | Monmouth County and Burlington County | The Atlantic Ocean, which forms the eastern border of New Jersey | 1,014 | 637,229 | 628 sq mi (1,627 km2) |  |
| Passaic County | 031 | Paterson | Paterson 159,732 | 1837 | Bergen County and Essex County | "Pasaeck", a Lenape word meaning "valley" | 2,818 | 524,118 | 186 sq mi (482 km2) |  |
| Salem County | 033 | Salem | Pennsville Township 12,684 | 1694 | One of two original counties created in West Jersey | A Hebrew word meaning "peace" | 195 | 64,837 | 332 sq mi (860 km2) |  |
| Somerset County | 035 | Somerville | Franklin Township 68,364 | 1688 | Middlesex County | The county of Somerset in England | 1,144 | 345,361 | 302 sq mi (782 km2) |  |
| Sussex County | 037 | Newton | Vernon Township 22,358 | 1753 | Morris County | The county of Sussex in England | 278 | 144,221 | 519 sq mi (1,344 km2) |  |
| Union County | 039 | Elizabeth | Elizabeth 137,298 | 1857 | Essex County | The union of the United States, which was being threatened by the dispute over slavery | 5,599 | 575,345 | 103 sq mi (267 km2) |  |
| Warren County | 041 | Belvidere | Phillipsburg 15,249 | 1824 | Sussex County | The American Revolutionary War General Joseph Warren (1741–1775), killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill | 307 | 109,632 | 357 sq mi (925 km2) |  |