Mahwah is the northernmost and largest municipality by geographic area (26.19 square miles (67.8 km2)) in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

[27] The Lenape and ancestral Indigenous peoples were the original inhabitants of Mahwah (the meeting place) and surrounding area.

[33][34] At the time of its completion, it was the largest motor vehicle assembly plant in the United States.

The Ford plant, along with other businesses such as American Brake Shoe and Foundry Company, helped contribute to the economic development of the township and its reputation for low home property taxes.

[35] The Mahwah town sports teams remain named Thunderbirds in honor of the Ford plant.

[36] Mahwah, and the closure of the Ford plant, is mentioned in the opening line of the 1982 Bruce Springsteen song "Johnny 99".

[37][38] In July 2017, while holding the position of Bergen County prosecutor prior to becoming New Jersey Attorney General, Gurbir Grewal ordered the Mahwah police department not to enforce a ban on non-New Jersey residents using parks in Mahwah, stating his concern that a ban could lead to anti-Semitic religious profiling against the growing population of Orthodox Jews in Mahwah and those visiting from neighboring Rockland County, New York.

[39] On December 14, 2017, following the advice of legal counsel, the Mahwah council repealed the still-unenforced ban on out-of-state park users, and abandoned an attempt to amend the sign ordinance to bar "other matter" (the lechis) from being affixed to utility poles to form an Orthodox Jewish eruv.

Interstate 287 passes through Mahwah, but the only point of access is at the New Jersey–New York border, where 287 meets Route 17.

[42][44][45][46] Unincorporated communities, localities, and place names located partially or completely within the township include the residential areas of Ackermans Mills, Bear Swamp, Bogerts Ranch Estates, Cragmere, Cragmere Park, Darlington, Fardale, Halifax, Havemeyers Reservoir, Masonicus, Mountainside Farm, Pulis Mills, Ramapo Farm and Wanamakers Mills, along with the mixed residential and commercial area of West Mahwah.

[83] The governing body is comprised of the Mayor and the seven-member Township Council, with all members elected at-large to staggered four-year terms of office on a non-partisan basis as part of the November general election in even-numbered years.

[85] As of 2023[update], the Mayor of Mahwah is Jim Wysocki, who was elected to succeed John Roth, and whose term of office ends December 31, 2028.

[3][88][89][90][91] Then-Mayor Bill Laforet faced a recall election in November 2018, after a resident group submitted in June a list of 5,000 petition signatures that they had collected calling for the action, in excess of the 25% needed to place the measure in front of voters.

[96] Ervin was re-elected in the November 2018 election to fill a full four-year term, expiring in 2022.

In August 1997, due to personal debt, then-Mayor David J. Dwork shot and killed himself in the town's mayoral offices.

Dwork was succeeded by Richard J. Martel, then a township council member, who served for 14 years until his own death, of natural causes, on March 7, 2011.

[77][101][102] For the 119th United States Congress, New Jersey's 5th congressional district is represented by Josh Gottheimer (D, Wyckoff).

As of 2025[update], the county executive is James J. Tedesco III (D, Paramus), whose four-year term of office ends December 31, 2026.

[107] Bergen County's Commissioners are: Thomas J. Sullivan Jr. (D, Montvale, 2025),[108] Chair Germaine M. Ortiz (D, Emerson, 2025),[109] Joan Voss (D, Fort Lee, 2026),[110] Vice Chair Mary J. Amoroso (D, Mahwah, 2025),[111] Rafael Marte (D, Bergenfield, 2026),[112] Steven A. Tanelli (D, North Arlington, 2027)[113] and Tracy Silna Zur (D, Franklin Lakes, 2027).

[114][115][116][117][118][119][120][121] Bergen County's constitutional officials are: Clerk John S. Hogan (D, Northvale, 2026),[122][123] Sheriff Anthony Cureton (D, Englewood, 2027)[124][125] and Surrogate Michael R. Dressler (D, Cresskill, 2026).

[129] Among the township's 2010 Census population, 58.6% (vs. 57.1% in Bergen County) were registered to vote, including 73.1% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 73.7% countywide).

[146] Some of the territory in the protected region is classified as being in the highlands preservation area, and thus subject to additional rules.

[160][161] Young World Day School serves students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade using Montessori and traditional educational methods.

Interstate 287 heads north from Franklin Lakes, continuing for 5.3 miles (8.5 km) to the New York State border.

[166] U.S. Route 202 heads north for 5.7 miles (9.2 km), running from Oakland to the New York State border.

[167] Route 17 extends 2.5 miles (4.0 km) from Ramsey until it forms a concurrency where it merges with Interstate 287.

[175][176] The State of Jersey named the Ramapough Mountain Indians, based in Mahwah, as a state-recognized tribe in 1980.