During the mid-1800s, the Industrial Revolution and immigration grew the city, developing a variety of neighborhoods which residents from a diverse range of ethnicities lived in.

The Lenape Native Americans called the point on which the city is built "Ompoge", meaning "level ground"[1] or "standing or upright".

[26][27][28] Perth Amboy was settled by Scottish colonists around 1683 who had been recruited to inhabit the share of the East Jersey colony owned by Robert Barclay, a Quaker who would later become the absentee governor of the province.

Architect John Edward Pryor was hired in 1761 to design and construct the building, which was completed in September 1764, years late and over budget.

[38][39] On November 20, 1789, City Hall was the site where the New Jersey General Assembly met to ratify the Bill of Rights, becoming the first state in the nation to do so.

Built in 1781 on High Street, the house was moved to Sadowski Parkway in the 1920s, and was later relocated to its current site at 63 Catalpa Avenue, just inland from the mouth of the Raritan River.

[44][45] During the colonial period and for a significant time thereafter, Perth Amboy was an important way-station for travelers between New York City and Philadelphia, as it was the site of a ferry that crossed the Arthur Kill to Tottenville, Staten Island.

[52] Immigrants from Denmark, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Italy, Russia, and Austria quickly dominated the factory jobs.

[56] In late August 1923, an estimated 6,000 persons rioted, breaking through police lines after the Ku Klux Klan attempted to organize a meeting in the city.

The chapter "More Alarms at Night" in humorist James Thurber's biography My Life and Hard Times involves Perth Amboy.

One night during his adolescence in Ohio, young Thurber is unable to go to sleep because he cannot remember the name of this New Jersey community.

Thurber also wrote the story later made into the film The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, about an "inconsequential guy from Perth Amboy, New Jersey".

Perth Amboy borders Woodbridge (adjacent by land to the north and west), Sayreville (to the southwest, across the Raritan River), South Amboy (south across the upper reaches of Raritan Bay, directly connected only by rail), and the New York City borough of Staten Island (east across the Arthur Kill).

[61][62][63] Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the city include Barber, Eagleswood and Florida Grove.

Local attractions include the Perth Amboy Ferry Slip, two small museums, an art gallery, a yacht club, and a marina.

The waterfront is also characterized by a redbrick promenade near the water and many stately Victorian homes, some on hills overlooking the bay and tree lined streets with well-manicured lawns.

A project called 'The Landings at Harborside' was to have featured 2,100 residential units along with indoor parking, 150,000 sq ft (14,000 m2) of retail space, a community center, and recreation amenities for the public as well.

[68] However, after meeting with Charles Kushner, the developer who spent two years in prison after being convicted of witness tampering, tax evasion and making illegal campaign contributions, Mayor Wilda Diaz endorsed a scaled-back design concept for the development, allowing Section 8 housing rentals instead of owner-occupied units as originally promised.

Established by the Greek immigrants who came to the United States at the turn of the 19th century, this community has stood as a beacon of the Orthodox Faith and Hellenism in Middlesex County.

It was founded by English merchants, Scots seeking religious freedom, and French Protestants, who sought to make use of Perth Amboy's harbor to its full potential.

"Section 8" housing along with more affluent homes can be found in Harbortown, an economically and ethnically diverse townhouse development in the city.

[76] This area was the Lehigh Valley Railroad marshaling yards where coal was loaded onto barges for shipment to New York City and elsewhere until the LVRR went bankrupt in 1976.

However, there is a recently built strip mall on the corner of Hall Avenue and State Street called the "Firehouse Plaza".

The southwestern section is a mainly working-class residential neighborhood with some light industry, once the site of Eagleswood Military Academy.

[102] Members of the City Council are Hailey V. Cruz (2026), Rose B. Morales (2024), Kenneth Puccio (2026), Milady Tejeda (2026) and Bienvenido "BJ" Torres (2024).

[153] The Outerbridge Crossing, which opened to traffic on June 29, 1928, is a cantilever bridge over the Arthur Kill that connects Perth Amboy with Staten Island.

[154] The bridge clears the channel by 143 ft (44 m), providing passage for some of the largest ships entering the Port of New York and New Jersey.

[155] The Victory Bridge carries Route 35 over the Raritan River, connecting Perth Amboy on the north with Sayreville to the south.

Any person operating a business engaged in the sale or purchase of new or used bicycles must file a daily report with the Chief of Police detailing the particulars of all transactions.

[184][185][186] Based on data from the 2013–2017 American Community Survey, 14.5% of adults over the age of 25 in Perth Amboy have a bachelor's degree or higher, a percentage significantly below the state average of 38.9% and the 42.7% of those in Middlesex County.