Central Jersey

File:CentralJerseyMapFromChris2.jpg

Central Jersey is a region in New Jersey. Central Jersey has no hard boundaries, as perceptions of the region differ throughout New Jersey. Generally speaking, two distinct regions in New Jersey form Central Jersey. The first region is the Raritan Valley, defined roughly by the borders of the Raritan River. Some refer to the Raritan Valley as North-Central Jersey. The second region is the Suburban Northern Jersey Shore. All of Central Jersey is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area.

Most of Central Jersey is actually not in the geographic center of the state. Rather, most of Central Jersey is located north of the geographic center of the state. The region's name may stem instead from New Jersey's center of population, which is currently located in East Brunswick in Middlesex County. Interestingly, East Brunswick also appears to be the geographic center of Central Jersey. The geographic center of New Jersey is located much farther south near Plumsted Township.

Raritan Valley

Geography

The Raritan Valley consists of Somerset County, Union County, Hunterdon County and the Northern portion of Middlesex County.

Union County is also considered part of North Jersey. The Raritan River does not run through Union County, but perhaps because much of the county's numerous commuters to New York City are served by New Jersey Transit's Raritan Valley Line, Union is sometimes included as part of the Raritan Valley and Central Jersey.

Economy

The Raritan Valley serves as a bedroom community for New York City. However, the Raritan Valley has a robust local economy. In particular, the Raritan Valley is home to many pharmaceutical and telecommunications companies. Pharmaceutical firms in the Raritan Valley include Johnson and Johnson, Merck and Sanofi-Aventis. Telecommunications firms in Raritan Valley include Verizon Wireless, AT&T Communications and Avaya. The existence of these strong local industries is a key distinguishing feature between the Raritan Valley and North Jersey.

Perhaps as a result of this strong local economy and its existence as a bedroom community for New York City, all five Raritan Valley counties are ranked as one of the highest income counties in the United States, as measured by per-capita income. Their ranks include.

Somerset County: 7th

Hunterdon County: 13th

Union County: 93rd

Middlesex County (part, Northern section): 100th

Raritan Valley as North-Central Jersey

In the past three decades many Northern New Jerseyans and New York City residents have migrated to the Raritan Valley. The corresponding demographic shift has meant that sometimes the Raritan Valley is referred to as "North-Central Jersey", an area that is part of both North and Central Jersey.

Central Jersey counties of Raritan Valley

The following counties are often considered to be part of the area:

• Somerset County
• Union County (Also considered part of North Jersey)
• Middlesex County (North)
• Hunterdon County

Suburban Northern Jersey Shore

Geography

The Suburban Northern Jersey Shore consists of the Southern portion of Middlesex County and Monmouth County. Residents of the Suburban Northern Jersey Shore also consider themselves to be part of the Jersey Shore and the terms Central Jersey and Jersey Shore are often used interchangeably in the region. Much of the region is part of the Raritan Bayshore region of New Jersey. The term "suburban" is used because the character of the Suburban Northern Jersey Shore is not centered on tourism even though some areas are close to the Atlantic Ocean. In fact, much of the Atlantic Ocean waters in the Suburban Northern Jersey Shore region are unfit for beach tourism, as they are often contaminated by sewage runoffs and pollutants from New York City and the surrounding area. Rather, the area is mainly a bedroom community that his home to New York City commuters, thereby creating a stark contrast in the identity of the region compared with the Jersey Shore resort communities further south.

Economy

The Suburban Northern Jersey Shore serves as a bedroom community for New York City. However, there are numerous local industries as well.

Monmouth County is ranked 42nd in the nation in terms of per-capita income, while Middlesex County is 100th.

Central Jersey counties of Suburban Northern Jersey Shore

The following counties are often considered to be part of the area:

• Middlesex County (South)
• Monmouth County (All except for small southern portion and western edge)

Mercer County

Others may include Mercer County within Central Jersey. The main distinction between Mercer County and Central Jersey is the fact that Mercer County consists of both New York and Philadelphia influences, whereas the the Central Jersey counties are all affiliated with New York. Mercer County is officially part of the New York Metropolitan Region, though.

In Mercer County, local newspapers generally cover sports teams from both New York and Philadelphia, along with the two New Jersey teams. Additionally, residents get both New York and Philadelphia channels on television. Mercer County serves as a bedroom community for both New York and Philadelphia, though there has been an influx of New York commuters in recent years. The two main towns in Mercer County are Princeton in the north and Trenton in the south.

Trenton, in the south of Mercer County, is fittingly the capital of New Jersey, a state divided between the New York and Philadelphia Metropolitan Regions. Trenton is its own metropolitan region, called the Trenton-Ewing MSA. The Trenton-Ewing MSA is considered by many as the meeting point between the New York and Philadelphia metropolitan regions, and a dividing point in New Jersey, perhaps since commuting times by train to both cities is roughly the same. The Trenton Train Station is the terminus for both the Northeast Corridor Line operated by New Jersey Transit and the R7 line operated by SEPTA.

Princeton, in the north of Mercer County, is home to the prestigious Princeton University. Princeton is roughly equidistant between New York and Philadelphia, though the commute to New York by train via New Jersey Transit's Northeast Corridor Line is much shorter than the train commute to Philadelphia. Princeton has a very robust local economy. In addition to Princeton University, Princeton is the home of the Institute for Advanced Study, Educational Testing Service (ETS), Opinion Research Corporation, Siemens Corporate Research, Sarnoff Corporation, FMC Corporation, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Princeton Theological Seminary, Westminster Choir College, Church and Dwight and Dow Jones & Company.

Famous Central Jerseyans

• Bam Bam Bigelow
• Jon Bon Jovi
• Danny DeVito
• Ray Evernham
• Tammy Lynn Sytch
• Ethan Hawke
• David DeJesus
• Dan Klecko
• Doug Lawrence
• Brittany Murphy
• Jim Nantz
• Jack Nicholson
• Jim Norton
• Mark L. Polansky
• David Pollack
• Paul Robeson
• Susan Sarandon
• Norman Schwarzkopf
• Kevin Smith
• Bruce Springsteen
• Jon Stewart
• Joe Theismann
• Ashley Tisdale