page_title: Essex County, New Jersey
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Essex County, New Jersey / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Looking north at Hall of Records on a sunny morning.
context_page_description: Essex County is a county in the northeastern part of New Jersey. As of the 2019 Census estimate, the county's population was 798,975, making it the state's third-most populous county, an increase of 3.1% from the 2010 United States Census, when its population was enumerated at 783,969, in turn a decrease of 1.2% from the 793,633 enumerated in the 2000 census. In 2010, the county dropped down to third-largest, behind Middlesex County, and was one of only two counties in the state to see a decline between 2000 and 2010. Its county seat is Newark, the most populous city in the state. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area.
  In 2015, the county had a per capita personal income of $60,030, the eighth-highest in New Jersey and ranked 153rd of 3,113 counties in the United States. The Bureau of Economic Analysis ranked the county as having the 94th-highest per capita income of all 3,113 counties in the United States as of 2009.
context_section_description: Essex was originally formed as one of four administrative districts within Province of East Jersey in 1675, together with Bergen, Middlesex and Monmouth districts. Essex County was formed within East Jersey on March 7, 1683. The county was named after the English county of Essex. When the provinces of East Jersey and West Jersey were combined in 1702, the county boundaries were retained.
  Portions of Essex were taken in 1741 and transferred to Somerset County. In 1837, Passaic County was formed from portions of Essex and Bergen counties. In 1857, Union County was created from parts of Essex County.
caption: Essex County Hall of Records
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