Largest Cities in New Jersey: Ranked by Population

The largest city in New Jersey in our data is Trenton, NJ, with an estimated 290,716 people, followed by Newark, NJ (282,011) and Jersey City, NJ (262,075). This list ranks the top 50 places among the 243 New Jersey communities with at least 5,000 residents.

What are the top 50 in New Jersey?

How big are the largest cities in New Jersey?

Of the 243 places with pages, 6 have more than 100,000 residents, 31 have between 25,000 and 100,000, and 206 have fewer than 25,000. The median place has about 10,998 people. The ten largest places account for about 34% of the combined population of all pages, which shows how spread out the state's population is across communities. Bergen County contributes 12 of the top 50.

Which counties do the top 50 belong to?

The 50 places on this list are spread across 14 counties of New Jersey. Bergen County has 12 (Hackensack, Fort Lee, Fair Lawn, Garfield, Englewood, Bergenfield, Paramus, Cliffside Park); Hudson County has 8 (Jersey City, Union City, Bayonne, West New York, Hoboken, Kearny, Secaucus, Harrison); Union County has 7 (Elizabeth, Plainfield, Linden, Rahway, Westfield, Summit, Roselle). Counties with several entries are usually centers of a metropolitan area, where one large city is surrounded by many suburbs that each pass the 5,000-resident threshold.

How does New Jersey compare with the rest of the country?

The median New Jersey place with a page has about 10,998 residents, compared with about 13,459 nationwide, so the state's typical community is smaller than the national typical place. Trenton, NJ ranks 148th among all US places by estimated population in our data. The state has 508 communities in total, of which 243 reach 5,000 residents. See the national ranking of the largest cities for comparison.

Quick answers about New Jersey cities

• Which is the largest city in New Jersey? Trenton (290,716 people).
• How many New Jersey cities have more than 100,000 people? 6 in our data.
• How many have 25,000 to 100,000? 31.
• What is the typical size? About 10,998 residents for a place with a page.

How is this ranking made?

The data comes from the SimpleMaps US Cities Database, which gives each place an estimated population and a density in people per square kilometer. We convert density to people per square mile and rank the places with at least 5,000 residents. Boundaries matter: a city that includes large parks or farmland scores lower on density than a compact city of the same size, and population estimates can include areas that share a city's ZIP codes. Read why population figures differ and how density is calculated before you quote a number.

Where to go next

Rankings use dataset estimates, not official counts.