[9] Burlington County is located east of the Delaware River and borders Philadelphia, the nation's sixth-largest city.

[11] Anglo-European records of Burlington County date to 1681, when its court was established in the Province of West Jersey.

[16] The period of industrialization saw significant improvements in transportation within Burlington County, which in turn enhanced the profitability of its agricultural sector.

Concurrently, a population surge in the coastal communities, fueled by flourishing international trade and ship repair industries, necessitated extensive road improvements throughout the county.

The nearby Atlantic Ocean moderates Burlington County's climate, and rain is common year-round.

This effect is far less pronounced on moist, cloudy, or windy nights, as these three factors greatly reduce the radiative cooling of the sandy soil.

[7] The Bureau of Economic Analysis calculated that the county's gross domestic product was $27.4 billion in 2021, which was ranked 10th in the state and was a 5.9% increase from the prior year.

[28] As of 2025[update], Burlington County's Commissioners are (terms for Director and Deputy Director end every December 31):[27][29][30][31][32] Pursuant to Article VII Section II of the New Jersey State Constitution, each county in New Jersey is required to have three elected administrative officials known as "constitutional officers."

[38] Burlington County's Constitutional Officers are: The Burlington County Prosecutor is LaChia L. Bradshaw of the Columbus section of Mansfield Township who was nominated by Governor of New Jersey Phil Murphy and sworn into office in July 2022 after confirmation by the New Jersey Senate.

[48] However, in 2014, both Garganio and O'Brien were successful in winning back seats on the Freeholder board, while Aimee Belgard lost her bid for U.S. Congress, losing the popular vote in both Ocean and Burlington counties.

[52] [53] In 2018, Democrat Joanne Schwartz defeated Republican incumbent Tim Tyler in the County Clerk election.

In the freeholder elections, Democrats Felicia Hopson and George Youngkin defeated Republican incumbents Kate Gibbs and Linda Hughes.

George Youngkin won despite having suspended his campaign due to a past domestic violence charge that was later dropped.

In the regular election for one freeholder position, Democrat Linda A. Hynes defeated Republican Incumbent Latham Tiver.

In the special election for the remaining 2 years of George Youngkin's term, incumbent Democrat Daniel J. O’Connell, who had originally been appointed to the seat, defeated Republican Lee Schneider.

In April 2022, Allison Eckel was appointed to fill the seat expiring in December 2022 that became vacant after Linda Hynes resigned to take office as a New Jersey Superior Court judge.

[57] The following month, Burlington County Republicans filed suit, claiming that Eckel should be removed from office and the seat left vacant until November 2022, because the statutory timeline for the appointment was not followed.

[59] For the 119th United States Congress, New Jersey's 1st congressional district is represented by Donald Norcross (D, Camden).

[60][61] For the 119th United States Congress, New Jersey's 3rd congressional district is currently represented Herb Conaway (D, Delran Township).

The Administrative Bureau includes Community Outreach, Recruiting, Civil Process, and Internal Affairs.

[64] Notable former sheriffs include William Norton Shinn (1825-1828), Samuel A. Dobbins (1854-1857), and Jean Stanfield (2001-2019).

The county is also home to the majority of 42,000-acre (17,000 ha) megabase, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, the entire Air Force Activity / Headquarters of JB MDL McGuire Air Force Base, and all of the main portions of the Army Support Activity, Fort Dix and most training grounds/shooting ranges lie within the county borders in New Hanover, North Hanover, Pemberton, and Springfield townships.

[66][67] While historically a swing county in federal elections until the 1990s, in state and local politics, Burlington County was a bastion of moderate suburban conservatism into the mid-2010s, however since the victory of Donald Trump in the 2016 Presidential election, Burlington County has become reliably Democratic on all levels in recent years, including in more affluent communities that have developed new residential areas, such as Medford, Mount Laurel, Moorestown, and Evesham Township that once leaned more to the Republicans (as opposed to areas along the Delaware River occupied by minority and working-class households).

Burlington County has closely matched statewide totals in recent presidential, senatorial, and gubernatorial elections, making it an important bellwether.

The U.S. Census Bureau lists Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in Burlington County as having its own school district.

Students on-post in the McGuire and Dix areas (McGuire Air Force Base and Fort Dix) may attend one of the following in their grade levels, with all siblings in a family taking the same choice: North Hanover Township (for elementary), Northern Burlington County Regional (for secondary), and Pemberton Township (for K-12).

With a larger network of nine additional member libraries, the system provides a range of services to its residents.

[85] The New Jersey Turnpike Authority has widened the Parkway to three lanes in each direction from exit 80 in South Toms River, Ocean County to exit 30 in Somers Point, Atlantic County, which included widening of bridges at several river crossings.

[93] The River Line is a diesel light-rail system operated for NJ Transit by the Southern New Jersey Rail Group on a former Pennsylvania Railroad line between the Trenton Transit Center in Trenton and the Walter Rand Transportation Center and other stations in Camden, with 11 stations in the county.

[95][96] Academy Bus Lines operates buses from Mount Holly, Mount Laurel, Westampton and Willingboro Township to New York City's Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan as well as the Wall Street area of Lower Manhattan.