POPULATION
Population of New Jersey
Population of New Jersey
The population of New Jersey in 1910, according to the United States Census, was 2,537,168; and the density of population, or the number of people per square mile, was 337.7. In 1920, according to the United States Census, the population was 3,155,900, an increase of 24.4 per cent., giving a density of 420. Compared with other states. New Jersey was tenth in population, and third in density of population, Rhode Island being first and Massachusetts second. The area of greatest density of population is the northeastern section, including Bergen, Hudson, Passaic, Essex, Union, and Middlesex counties, which with an area of 1018 square miles had a population of 2,112,933, or more than sixty-five per cent, of the total population of the state. In this section there were more than 2000 persons per square mile. Hudson County, the smallest in the state, had the largest population, which was 629,124 or 14,630 per square mile. In Hoboken, with an area of less than two square miles, the population was more than 68,000 or more than 34,000 to the square mile. Other thickly populated sections are those of which Trenton and Camden are centers. Cape May County had the smallest and Ocean County the most scattered population, which was 22,155 or 35 per square mile.
The urban population, that is, the number residing in towns of more than 2500 people, was 2,486,378 in 1920, or 79 per cent, of the total population. This still leaves a rural population of 669,522, or about 90 per square mile, who are largely engaged in cultivation of the soil or the raising of stock.
Broad and Market Streets, Newark
Broad and Market Streets, Newark
The chief occupations of the people of the state are agriculture, fishing, manufacturing, and commerce. Many thousands of people of New Jersey are engaged in commercial and industrial enterprises and other business pursuits, in the large cities of the neighboring states. Many opportunities for comfortable residence with all conveniences and advantages and unsurpassed facilities for rapidly traveling back and forth attract many to this state who are employed in the cities of New York and Philadelphia.
According to the United States Census of 1920 the population of the New York City Metropolitan District was 7,750,237. Included in this district are the cities and towns in Hudson County and in parts of Bergen, Passaic, Essex, Union, and Middlesex counties, with a population of 1,795,590. In the Metropolitan District of Philadelphia, with a population of over 2,000,000, are parts ofBurlington, Camden, and Gloucester counties with a population of 239,740. It is clear, therefore, that the occupations of two thirds of our people, at least, are subject to the direct influence of the commercial and industrial activities of these cities. (The United States Census Bureau defines a Metropolitan District as that which embraces the central city and all cities or parts of cities which lie within ten miles of its boundaries.)