The area was situated in the northeast portion of a land grant conveyed by King Charles II of England to his brother James, Duke of York.

In 1664, James conveyed the land to two proprietors, Lord John Berkeley and Sir George Carteret.

Immediately, the new city began fragmenting into smaller communities, primarily because of local disputes about the costs of establishing paid police, fire, and street departments.

East Orange was reincorporated as a city on December 9, 1899, based on the results of a referendum held two days earlier.

[25] East Orange was known, at one time, for the shade trees that lined the city's residential streets.

[citation needed] According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city had a total area of 3.93 square miles (10.17 km2), all of which was land.

[26][27][28][29] Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the city include Ampere and Brick Church.

[43][44] As part of the 2000 Census, 89.46% of East Orange's residents identified themselves as being Black or African American.

Migrants from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Haiti and other smaller Caribbean Islands have a huge presence, and East Orange has the second-highest in New Jersey (behind Lawnside, at 93.6%) of all places with 1,000 or more residents identifying Black American ancestry.

Recent efforts have been made to revitalize the commercial area, especially along Main Street and Evergreen Place.

[55] Paul Robeson Stadium, located on North Clinton Street, hosts local sports teams and typically, the city's annual Fourth of July fireworks celebration.

[56] The city owns East Orange Golf Course, located 10 miles (16 km) away in Short Hills.

[60] As of 2025[update], the Mayor of East Orange is Democrat Theodore R. "Ted" Green, whose term of office ends December 31, 2025.

[66] In December 2018, Tameika Garrett-Ward was appointed to fill the Fourth Ward seat expiring in December 2021 that became vacant when Tyshammie L. Cooper was sworn into office on the Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders; she was elected to serve the balance of the term in November 2019.

[67] The first African-American Mayor of East Orange was William S. Hart Sr., who was elected to two consecutive terms, serving in office from 1970 to 1978.

[70][71][72] For the 119th United States Congress, New Jersey's 10th congressional district is represented by LaMonica McIver (D, Newark).

[74] For the 2024-2025 session, the 34th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Britnee Timberlake (D, East Orange) and in the General Assembly by Carmen Morales (D, Belleville) and Michael Venezia (D, Bloomfield).

As of 2025[update], the County Executive is Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr. (D, Roseland), whose four-year term of office ends December 31, 2026.

[77] Essex County's Commissioners are: Robert Mercado (D, District 1 – Newark's North and East Wards, parts of Central and West Wards; Newark, 2026),[78] A'Dorian Murray-Thomas (D, District 2 – Irvington, Maplewood and parts of Newark's South and West Wards; Newark, 2026),[79] Vice President Tyshammie L. Cooper (D, District 3 - Newark: West and Central Wards; East Orange, Orange and South Orange; East Orange, 2026),[80] Leonard M. Luciano (D, District 4 – Caldwell, Cedar Grove, Essex Fells, Fairfield, Livingston, Millburn, North Caldwell, Roseland, Verona, West Caldwell and West Orange; West Caldwell, 2026),[81] President Carlos M. Pomares (D, District 5 – Belleville, Bloomfield, Glen Ridge, Montclair and Nutley; Bloomfield, 2026),[82] Brendan W. Gill (D, at large; Montclair, 2026),[83] Romaine Graham (D, at large; Irvington, 2026),[84] Wayne Richardson (D, at large; Newark, 2026),[85] Patricia Sebold (D, at-large; Livingston, 2026).

[107] The East Orange School District serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade.

[139] The East Orange Public Library at one time included three branch buildings of the original 36 Carnegie-funded libraries in New Jersey; the original building opened in 1903 with costs covered by a gift of $50,000 (equivalent to $1.7 million in 2023) from Andrew Carnegie.

[144] The Garden State Parkway is the most prominent highway passing through the city, connecting Newark in the south to Bloomfield in the north.

[146] Interstate 280 is the other major highway crossing the city, following a west-to-east route from Orange to Newark.

County Route 509 also crosses East Orange, following a south-to-north alignment through the city via Grove Street.

Local transportation around the city and into neighboring communities is provided by multiple NJ Transit public bus lines, which includes routes 5, 21, 24, 34, 41, 44, 71, 73, 79, 90, 92, 94, and 97.

[149][150] New Jersey Transit operates two commuter rail train stations in East Orange, both located along the Morris & Essex Lines.

[152] Just one mile west up Main Street is Brick Church station, the city's second rail stop and the more heavily used of the two.