Central Jersey

[8] In 2022, legislation was proposed in the New Jersey Legislature to establish distinct geographic areas for tourism in the state.

Bill A4711 was sponsored by Assemblymembers Roy Freiman, Sadaf Jaffer, and Anthony Verrelli in the New Jersey General Assembly.

[9] This included an official designation of the region of Central Jersey, which the legislation defines more broadly as the seven counties of Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Somerset, and Union.

Murphy signed legislation officially designating Central Jersey including, at a minimum, the counties of Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, and Somerset.

The Delaware Valley is another area that is associated with some parts of Central Jersey, specifically Mercer County.

The Raritan Valley includes the communities of Branchburg, Bridgewater, Somerville, Raritan, Hillsborough, Franklin Township, Green Brook, North Plainfield, Bound Brook, and South Bound Brook, all in Somerset County; Dunellen, Middlesex, Piscataway, South Plainfield, Highland Park, New Brunswick, East Brunswick, Edison, and Metuchen, all in the northern and central portions of Middlesex County; and Plainfield in southwestern Union County.

[24] The Raritan Bayshore includes the communities of Sayreville, Woodbridge, Perth Amboy, South Amboy, and Old Bridge, all in northeastern Middlesex County; Aberdeen, Matawan, Keyport, Union Beach, Hazlet, Keansburg, Holmdel, Middletown, Atlantic Highlands, and Highlands, all in northern Monmouth County.

[25][26] The telephone area codes 732 and 848 includes Middlesex, Monmouth, Somerset, Union, and northern Ocean counties.

[30] New Jersey's position between the major cities of New York and Philadelphia led Benjamin Franklin to call the state "a barrel tapped at both ends".

Raritan Landing, across from New Brunswick in today's Piscataway, became an important inland port and commercial hub for the region.

Starting in the 2000s, manufacturing began to leave Central Jersey, and many facilities had closed and moved overseas.

[37][38][39][40] The Bell Labs Holmdel Complex has been the site of many innovations in telecommunications and is experiencing a renaissance as a business incubator for high-tech startup companies.

[41] Today Verizon Wireless, AT&T Communications, Vonage, Avaya, and Bell Labs are located in the region.

Princeton University's Frist Campus Center[a] is used for the aerial views of Princeton‑Plainsboro Teaching Hospital seen in the television series House.

Thomas Edison State College in Trenton provides extensive on-line and adult education.

Popular tourist attractions in Central New Jersey include Six Flags Great Adventure, Gateway National Recreation Area, Monmouth Park Racetrack, Freehold Raceway, and the many boardwalks along the northern Jersey Shore, in Monmouth County and northern Ocean County.

In an early era, the Stone Pony and Asbury Park Convention Hall were important venues on the rock scene.

East Jersey Olde Towne Village, the Road Up Raritan Historic District as well as those in Trenton, Lawrence, and Princeton recall the colonial era.

[61] Apart from Mercer County, which comes under the auspices of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, all counties in the region are part of the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, a government partner which approves transportation projects for the state.

NJT's Northeast Corridor Line and the North Jersey Coast were once part of the PRR, as was Amtrak which serves the commuter hub at Metropark, New Brunswick, and the Trenton Transit Center.

Central New Jersey, particularly Edison and surrounding Middlesex County, is prominently known for its significant concentration of Asian Indians.

[72] In Middlesex County, election ballots are printed in English, Spanish, Gujarati, Hindi, and Punjabi.

[73] Indian pharmaceutical and technology companies are coming to Central New Jersey to gain a foothold in the United States.

[75] In March 2023, Bengaluru-based technology services and consulting company Wipro opened its American international headquarters in East Brunswick, Middlesex, County.

Beth Medrash Govoha (Hebrew: בית מדרש גבוה), in Lakewood Township, Ocean County, is the world's largest yeshiva outside the State of Israel.

The counties of Central Jersey highlighted in green: Middlesex , Monmouth , Mercer , Somerset , and Hunterdon ; Union and Ocean counties are sometimes also included within the region's geographic parameters.
The Delaware and Raritan Canal in Lambertville , connects the Delaware and Raritan rivers in Central Jersey.
The since discarded regions of West New Jersey (in yellow) and East New Jersey (in green) that existed from 1674 to 1702 during the colonial era of New Jersey; the map also indicates location of the Keith Line (in red) and the Coxe and Barclay Line (in orange).
The Bell Labs water tower in Holmdel was designed to resemble a transistor. Telecommunications remains an important industry in Central Jersey.
Freehold Raceway Mall in Freehold Township , with a gross leasable area of 1,671,000 sq ft (155,200 m 2 ), [ 42 ] is the third largest shopping mall in the state.
Nassau Hall , the oldest building at Princeton University in Princeton , was the largest academic building in the American colonies when it was built in 1756 and briefly served as the U.S. Capitol in 1783. [ 47 ] [ 48 ]
New Brunswick , home to Rutgers University in Central Jersey
Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson is the second-largest theme park in the world after Disney's Animal Kingdom in Central Florida . [ 50 ] It is home to many famous rollercoasters, most notably being the Kingda Ka which, as of 2023, is the tallest roller coaster in the world. [ 51 ]
Interstate 195 , which travels from the state capital of Trenton to the Jersey Shore , is sometimes referred to as the Central Jersey Expressway .