Discover the Largest City in New Jersey Now and in 2050

Several dynamics are going on with the largest city in New Jersey. That it’s an integral part of New York City creates an exciting and irritating combination of parsing through the city’s stats, such as population and demographic makeup. It’s also separated from the second-largest city, Jersey City, by only 32,477 people.

New Jersey, otherwise known as the Garden State, is located south of New England, is the fourth-smallest state and has a surprisingly numerous 565 cities. That’s assuming anyone counts a place like Tavistock, with a population of 7, as a city.

In some ways, the largest city in New Jersey is just as fascinating, especially considering its back-and-forth tug of wars with New York City, the natural result of so many close ties. So, what is New Jersey’s largest city? More importantly, will it still carry that label in 27 years?

What Is The Largest City In New Jersey?

Newark is the largest city in New Jersey, and its population numbers, present and future, are often lumped in with New York City’s. For instance, Ontario Tech University, an oft-cited site for population projections, combines New York City and Newark into a single lump sum.

Newark is only the largest City in New Jersey by a handful of people, statistically speaking. Fortunately for Newark, the decreasing population numbers of Jersey City are currently higher than Newark’s. That may be subject to change shortly, or perhaps it won’t. It’s often difficult to project, given the declining birth rates, neighboring economies, and cultural dynamics that often seem to change overnight.

Newark Statistics and Economics

According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, job growth in Newark in 2021 was -2.3%, likely a reflection of the pandemic, or at least partly so. The median household income is $90,100, and the median home price is $400k. Most of these numbers are from 2020.

By September of 2023, the unemployment rate in Newark was 4.5%, similar to Watertown and Hunterdon counties but lower than New York City. Employment rates have steadily risen since the sharp drop throughout the pandemic. Of course, you can only go up when you hit rock bottom. New Jersey’s overall economic factors largely reflect the country since New Jersey was not the lone state affected.

Interestingly, Newark is seeing a growth in employment with health services, professionals, and businesses, while manufacturing and finance declined before leveling out in 2022.

What Attracts People To Newark?

As the largest city in New Jersey, Newark has many attractions that are hard to pass up, not to mention that going to Newark is like visiting a popular room in a house, with the home being New York City.

Newark is home to the Newark Museum of Art, the largest of its kind in the state, and contains over 300,000 works of art or artifacts. The Victorian Era Ballantine Mansion is also a popular destination for history buffs looking for Victorian vibes.

Speaking of history, Newark has an excellent Medieval Times restaurant, essentially a gigantic dinner show, complete with jousts and other exhibits of knightly chivalry and acts of renown from the Dark Ages. If you’re a parent, LEGOLAND is a premier destination. You’ve probably stepped on enough of them in your time. You may as well visit the LEGOLAND Discovery Center while in town.

The Paramus Indoor Skydiving Experience will send you on your way to becoming a certified skydiver while having a little fun. Newark has more to see and do than most out-of-state folks imagine, including the DreamWorks Indoor Water Park, the Nickelodeon Universe Indoor Theme Park, helicopter rides, black light indoor mini golf, and the underwater tunnel at Sea Life.

What Will Be The Largest City In New Jersey in 2050?

In all likelihood, Newark will remain the largest city in New Jersey, even nearly thirty years down the road. The city has too many ties to New York City, and current population trends reflect population reductions in competing cities. Of course, the status quo may change a decade from now, but it doesn’t seem likely with current information and trends.

The geographic and demographic dynamics of Newark, versus everywhere else, don’t reflect the possibility of Newark losing its “largest city” status anytime soon. Jersey City, the closest competing city in population, is losing more people at a higher rate than Newark. The third-closest city, Paterson, barely has half the population of Newark and doesn’t look to challenge it anytime soon.

Top 5 Largest Cities In New Jersey: A Comparison

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