Somerset County, New Jersey

**Somerset County** is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

## History

Somerset County is one of America's oldest counties, and is named after the English county of Somerset.  The area was first settled in 1681.

Most of the early residents were Dutch. General George Washington and his troops marched through the county on several occasions and slept in many of the homes located throughout the area.  Somerset County also played an important part during both World War I and World War II with weapons depots and the manufacturing of the army's woolen blankets.

Somerset County was primarily an agricultural county.  In the late 19th century, the county saw many wealthy people come to live. The area is still the home of several wealthy people who were in the pharmaceutical industry.

In the 1960s, townships that were once exclusively agricultural were quickly transformed into suburban communities. Examples include Bridgewater Township and the Watchung Hills communities of Watchung, Green Brook and Warren Township.

### Census 2020

At the 2020 United States Census, there were 345,361 people, 125,598 households, and 90,945 families living in the county. The population density was 1,144.1 per square mile (441.7/km<sup>2</sup>).

### Census 2010

At the 2010 United States Census, there were 323,444 people, 117,759 households, and 84,669 families living in the county. The population density was 1,071.7 per square mile (413.8/km<sup>2</sup>).

### Census 2000

At the 2000 United States Census, there were 297,490 people, 108,984 households and 78,359 families living in the county. The population density was 976 per square mile (377/km²).

## Municipalities

Municipalities in Somerset County are below. A CDP is a Census-designated place, as described by the Census Bureau.

|Municipality (with map key)|href="Bridgewater Township, New Jersey"|Municipal type|href="Green Brook, New Jersey"|Population|href="Warren Township, New Jersey"|Housing Units|Total Area|href="2020 United States Census"|Water Area <th>Land Area </th>|Pop. Density|href="population density"|Housing Density <th>Communities (CDPs are marked in <em>italic</em> type)</th>|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|Bedminster Township (21)|township|href="Bridgewater Township, New Jersey"|8,272|4,483|26.38|0.25|26.12|href="United States Census Bureau"|316.7|171.6|href="United States Census Bureau"|<em>Bedminster</em>, Burnt Mills, Greater Cross Roads, <em>Lamington</em>, <em>Pluckemin</em>, <em>Pottersville</em>, Union Grove, Vliettown|
|Bernards Township (20)|township|27,830|10,665|24.33|0.13|24.20|1,150.0|440.7|<em>Basking Ridge</em>, Hardscrabble, <em>Liberty Corner</em>, <em>Lyons</em>, Madisonville, Mount Horeb, Stone House, White Bridge||||
|Bernardsville (1)|borough|7,893|2,953|12.91|0.08|12.84|614.9|230.1|Bernardsville||||
|Bound Brook (6)|borough|11,988|4,389|1.70|0.03|1.66|7,217.3|2,642.4|||||
|Branchburg Township (16)|township|14,940|5,843|20.30|0.23|20.07|744.4|291.1|Branchburg, <em>Neshanic Station</em>, North Branch, North Branch Depot, Woodfern||||
|Bridgewater Township (17)|township|45,977|16,739|32.36|0.47|31.89|1,441.8|524.9|<em>Bradley Gardens</em>, <em>Bridgewater Center</em>, Chimney Rock, <em>Finderne</em>, <em>Green Knoll</em>, <em>Martinsville</em>, Middlebrook Heights, Milltown, Sunset Lake||||
|Far Hills (3)|borough|924|418|4.90|0.06|4.85|190.6|86.2|||||
|Franklin Township (14)|township|68,364|27,335|46.88|0.71|46.17|1,480.7|529.1|<em>Blackwells Mills</em>, <em>Clyde</em>, <em>East Franklin</em>, <em>East Millstone</em>, <em>East Rocky Hill</em>, <em>Franklin Center</em>, <em>Franklin Park</em>, <em>Griggstown</em>, <em>Kingston</em>, <em>Middlebush</em>, <em>Pleasant Plains</em>, <em>Six Mile Run</em>, <em>Somerset</em>, <em>Ten Mile Run</em>, <em>Voorhees</em>, <em>Weston</em>, <em>Zarephath</em>||||
|Green Brook Township (19)|township|7,281|2,510|4.42|0.01|4.41|1,652.1|569.5|||||
|Hillsborough Township (15)|township|43,276|15,955|55.10|0.49|54.61|792.4|292.1|Amwell, <em>Belle Mead</em>, <em>Blackwells Mills</em>, Cloverhill, <em>Flagtown</em>, Frankfort, Hamilton, <em>Hillsborough</em>, Montgomery, <em>Neshanic</em>, Pleasantview, Royce Field, Royce Valley, South Branch, Woods Tavern, Zion||||
|Manville (8)|borough|10,953|4,290|2.45|0.09|2.36|4,639.1|1,817.0|||||
|Millstone (11)|borough|448|168|0.70|0.02|0.68|657.9|246.7|||||
|Montgomery Township (13)|township|23,690|8,390|32.47|0.17|32.30|733.4|259.8|Amwell, <em>Belle Mead</em>, <em>Blawenburg</em>, Bridgepoint, Dutchtown, Fairview, <em>Harlingen</em>, Plainville, <em>Skillman</em>, Stoutsburg, Zion||||
|North Plainfield (5)|borough|22,808|8,055|2.82|0.01|2.81|8,125.4|2,869.6|||||
|Peapack-Gladstone (2)|borough|2,558|937|5.80|0.07|5.73|446.2|163.4|Gladstone, Peapack||||
|Raritan (10)|borough|7,835|3,167|2.03|0.04|1.99|3,933.2|1,589.9|||||
|Rocky Hill (12)|borough|743|298|0.61|0.00|0.61|1,216.0|487.7|||||
|Somerville (9)|borough|12,346|5,387|2.37|0.03|2.34|5,280.6|2,304.1|||||
|South Bound Brook (7)|borough|4,863|1,941|0.74|0.10|0.65|7,539.5|3,009.3|||||
|Warren Township (18)|township|15,923|5,614|19.64|0.07|19.57|813.8|286.9|Coontown, Dock Watch Hollow, Mount Bethel, Round Top, Smalleytown, Springdale,  Warrenville||||
|Watchung (4)|borough|6,449|2,284|6.04|0.03|6.02|1,072.0|379.7|||||
|**Somerset County**|**county**|**345,361**|**131,822**|**304.95**|**3.09**|**301.87**|**1,144.1**|**436.7**|||||

### Roads and highways

Somerset County has numerous roads. , the county had a total of  of roadways.  were maintained by the towns.  were maintained by Somerset County and  were by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

The only two state routes that traverse through are Route 27 (only in Franklin) and Route 28.

U.S. Routes include U.S. Route 22, U.S. Route 202 and U.S. Route 206. The two interstates that pass through are Interstate 78 and Interstate 287.

Route 18 runs at the New Brunswick border of Somerset.

### Public transportation

New_Jersey_Transit provides train service. It operates  Raritan_Valley_Line.It can go to New York City. PPublic bus transportation is provided by several transit agencies.

NJ Transit provides bus service Midtown Manhattan, as well as service to major cities in New Jersey and within Somerset County.