During the reign of Sultan Abu Bakar between 1886 and 1895, the city witnessed further development and modernisation from a fishing village, with the construction of administrative centres, offices, schools, civic and religious buildings, and railways connecting to Woodlands, Singapore.

Since 2006, Johor Bahru has formed the central region of Iskandar Malaysia, the nation's largest special economic zone, by investment value.

[18] When both sides agreed on Temenggong acquiring the territory, he renamed it Iskandar Puteri and began to administer it from Telok Blangah in Singapore.

[5] As the area was still an undeveloped jungle, Temenggong encouraged the migration of Chinese and Javanese to clear the land and to develop an agricultural economy in Johor.

[19][22][23] After Temenggong's death on 31 January 1862, the town was renamed "Johor Bahru" and his position was succeeded by his son, Abu Bakar, with the administration centre in Telok Blangah being moved to the area in 1889.

[24] He managed to regain Kesang territory for Johor after a civil war with the aid of British forces and he boosted the town's infrastructure and agricultural economy.

[24][25] Infrastructure such as the State Mosque and Royal Palace was built with the aid of Wong Ah Fook, who had become a close patron for the Sultan since his migration during the Temenggong reign.

[32] The Japanese then used the Sultan's residence of Bukit Serene Palace located in the town as their main temporary base for their future initial plans to conquer Singapore while waiting to reconnect the causeway.

[33][34] The Japanese chose the palace as their main base because they already knew the British would not dare to attack it as this would harm their close relationship with Johor.

[39] After the formation of the Federation of Malaysia in 1963,[40] Johor Bahru continued as the state capital and more development was carried out, with the town's expansion and the construction of more new townships and industrial estates.

[45][46] For more than ten years of building construction and rapid urbanisation in Johor Bahru, the city has experienced a series of property boom with many new higher-end high-rise apartments and commercial property, including The Astaka, which has been the tallest building in the city and outside Kuala Lumpur since 2018, and is one of the tallest twin towers in the world.

According to the Doing Business Ranking published by the World Bank, Johor Bahru had the second most efficient governance in Malaysia in terms of property registration, only after Kuala Lumpur.

[56] In August 2021, mayor Adib Azhari Daud was arrested and taken into custody for allegedly accepting bribes from contractors while overseeing development of Johor Bahru.

The Johor Bahru Southern District traffic police headquarters is a separate entity along Tebrau Road, close to the city centre.

[68] Although the climate is relatively uniform, it does show some seasonal variation due to the effects of monsoons, with noticeable changes in wind speed and direction, cloud cover and amount of rainfall.

The Chinese community is represented by several dialect groups: Hokkien, Teochew, Hakka and Hainanese with small minorities of Foochow, Henghua and Cantonese.

[91][92] Under this flagship zone, Johor Bahru has been designated by the government to develop various economic activities, such as finance, commerce and retail, and hospitality.

[93] It is also the centre of arts and culture, hospitality, urban tourism, plastic manufacturing, electrical and electronics and food processing.

Johor Bahru is the location of numerous conferences, congress and trade fairs, such as the Eastern Regional Organisation for Planning and Housing and the World Islamic Economic Forum.

There are around 3,000 logistic lorries crossing between Johor Bahru and Singapore every day for delivering goods between the two sides for trading activities.

[107] The Johor Bahru Inner Ring Road, which connects with the Sultan Iskandar customs complex, aids in controlling the traffic in and around the central business district.

[108] The Johor–Singapore Causeway links the city to Woodlands, Singapore with a six-lane road and a railway line terminating at the Southern Integrated Gateway.

[115] In 2015, a new shuttle train service operated by Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) was launched providing transport to Woodlands in Singapore.

[116] The under-construction Johor Bahru–Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS Link) connecting Singapore, is Malaysia's first LRT line outside the Klang Valley, and will start operation in 2027.

[118][119][120] Changi Airport is 36.3 kilometres (22.6 mi) southeast of the city centre, across the border in Singapore, and is linked by a frequent cross-border coach service operated by Transtar Travel.

[134] The Foon Yew High School houses many historical documents of the city history with a Chinese cultural heritage.

Figure Museum is another historical colonial building since 1886 which ever become the house for the Johor first Menteri Besar Jaafar Muhammad; it is located on the top of Smile Hill (Bukit Senyum).

Together with the Dhoby Street, both are part of a trail known as Old Buildings Road; they feature a mixture of Chinese and Indian heritages, reflected by their forms of ethnic business and architecture.

[35] Opposite this is the Johor Area Rehabilitation Organisation (JARO) Handicrafts Centre which sells items such as hand-made cane furniture, soft toys and rattan baskets made by the physically disabled.

In 2014, Johor Bahru South police district recorded one of the highest crime rates in the country with 4,151 cases, behind Petaling Jaya.