[22][23] Monroe Township also comprises the largest land area of any municipality in Middlesex County, at approximately 42 square miles (110 km2).

[25][26][27][28] Despite significant senior citizen population growth, the median age in Monroe has changed from 52.5 in 1990, increasing to 58.9 in 2000, before decreasing to 53.2 in 2010, as more growth recently has resulted from single-family detached homes than from senior citizen developments.

Based upon analysis of data from the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports for 2022 and 2023, Monroe Township was ranked as the safest small city in the United States.

After parts of the township grew into the more densely populated neighborhoods of Helmetta, Jamesburg, and Spotswood in the late 19th century, they seceded.

It was opened in 1867 as a home for troubled youth; however, by the mid-20th century, its purpose was to incarcerate juvenile delinquents.

[36] The township became more suburban between 1960 and 1968, when the New Jersey Turnpike opened up Exit 8A in the western part of Monroe, in conjunction with the effort to develop the Leisure World age-restricted community of Rossmoor.

Since then, at least five more communities for senior citizens have joined Rossmoor: Concordia, Clearbrook, Greenbriar at Whittingham, The Ponds, Encore, Stonebridge, and the Regency at Monroe, with more under development.

[37] At the same time, and over the next few decades, suburban communities for people of all ages spread into the northern parts of Monroe Township, prompting the expansion of several schools and the construction of new ones.

The 86-acre (35 ha) site had been run as a landfill for municipal waste since 1955, first by the township and later by an independent operator.

[38] On March 22, 2006, ten residents of Monroe Township, from The Ponds retirement community, were killed in a tour bus accident in the Andes mountains in northern Chile.

There is an ongoing expansion of the Monroe Township High School that is relocating it onto portions of Thompson Park.

The controversy that led to the study involved a Lenape settlement, Bethel Indian Town, which protesters contended existed on the site, whereas supporters of the move of the high school claimed that Bethel Indian Town was a half-mile away.

Ground breaking began immediately, only to be halted in June 2008 when additional remains were found.

This proposal would include the construction of new luxury houses, a new grocery store, a baseball park, a performing arts center, a bus stop, new restaurants, and new businesses.

Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Applegarth, Gravel Hill (also spelled as Gravelhill), Half Acre (home to the retirement communities of Concordia and Whittingham), Hoffman, Jamesburg Gardens, Lower Jamesburg, Matchaponix, Middlesex Downs, Mounts Mills, Old Church, Outcalt, Pineview Estates, Prospect Plains (home to the retirement communities of Rossmoor and Clearbrook), Spotswood Manor, Texas, and Wyckoffs Mills.

[63] Monroe has simultaneously emerged as a growing hub for congregations of Jewish Americans, hosting since 2010 the largest public menorah in New Jersey to celebrate Chanukah.

[6][93] As of 2024[update], the Mayor of Monroe Township is Democrat Stephen Dalina, who is serving a term of office ending December 31, 2027.

[3][95][96][97] In January 2021, the Township Council selected councilmember Stephen Dalina from a list of three candidates nominated to fill the seat as mayor expiring in December 2023 that became vacant following the death of Gerald Tamburro the previous month.

[98] In February 2021, Terence Van Dzura was selected from the three candidates nominated to fill the at-large seat expiring in December 2023 that had been held by Dalina until he took office as mayor.

[97] In March 2017, the Township Council selected Miriam Cohen from a list of three candidates nominated by the Democratic municipal committee to fill the seat expiring in December 2019 that was vacated the previous month by Leslie Koppel when she took office on the Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders.

[101] In January 2016, the Township Council appointed Blaise Dipierro to fill the Second Ward seat expiring in December 2017 that had been held by Gerald W. Tamburro until he stepped down to take office as mayor; Dipierro will serve on an interim basis until the November 2016 general election, when voters will choose a candidate to serve the balance of the term of office.

[103] In 2018, the state approved funding to close the two Civil War-era youth prisons in New Jersey.

[106][107][108] For the 119th United States Congress, New Jersey's 12th congressional district is represented by Bonnie Watson Coleman (D, Ewing Township).

[113] As of 2025[update], Middlesex County's Commissioners (with party affiliation, term-end year, and residence listed in parentheses) are: Director Ronald G. Rios (D, Carteret, 2027),[114] Deputy Director Shanti Narra (D, North Brunswick, 2027),[115] Claribel A.

[157] The establishment of the Freehold & Jamesburg Agricultural Railroad caused this region to become a transportation hub.

A 2.8-mile long (4.5 km) portion of the former railroad's right-of-way was later approved to be sold by the New Jersey Board of Public Utility Commissioners (PUC) to Jersey Central Power & Light Company in 1966, with occasional freight service still being utilized through the Freehold Industrial Track.

[159][160][161][162] The nearest train stations to the Monroe area are located at Metuchen, New Brunswick, and Princeton Junction, all along on the Northeast Corridor Line.

[163] Coach USA Suburban Transit and Academy Bus Lines provide weekday commuter service to PABT[164] and to Wall Street.

Located in neighboring Freehold Township, the 287-bed hospital is a partner of Atlantic Health System and is affiliated with Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

[170] The next closest hospitals to the township are Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center in nearby Plainsboro Township, the Old Bridge Division of Raritan Bay Medical Center in nearby Old Bridge Township, and Saint Peter's University Hospital and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in nearby New Brunswick.