[22] Located within the core of the Raritan Valley region, Woodbridge Township hosts the junction of the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway, the two busiest highways in the state, and also serves as the headquarters for the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, which operates both highways.

[31] According to historian Joshua Coffin, the community's early settlers included: Captain John Pike, the ancestor of General Zebulon Montgomery Pike, who was killed at the battle of Queenstown in 1813; Thomas Bloomfield, the ancestor of Joseph Bloomfield, some years governor of New Jersey, for whom the township of Bloomfield is named; John Bishop, senior and junior; Jonathan Haynes; Henry Jaques; George March; Stephen Kent; Abraham Toppan, junior; Elisha Ilsley; Hugh March; John Bloomfield; Samuel Moore; Nathaniel Webster; John Ilsley; and others.

[37][40] Woodbridge was the site of one of America's deadliest rail accidents on February 6, 1951, when a crowded commuter train derailed with 85 deaths.

The victims are memorialized by a pair of historical markers, installed by New Jersey Transit in 2002 and by Woodbridge Township in 2013.

[41][42][43] In October 1982, Woodbridge made national news when, for the first time in the United States, local authorities enacted a now-repealed measure under which people were banned from using the then-popular Sony Walkman cassette players in public, while riding a bike, crossing the street, or driving a car.

The township has a borderline humid subtropical climate (Cfa) similar to most of metropolitan New Jersey.

[57][58] Other unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include:[59] Boynton Beach, Demarest Hill Top, Edgars, Fairfield, Hazelton, Hopelawn, Keasbey, Lynn Woodoaks, Menlo Park Terrace,[citation needed], Ostrander, Saint Stephens, Sand Hills, Shore View, Union, and Woodbridge Oaks.

[82][83] Additionally, the township is one of a handful in New Jersey that have authorized the sale of medical cannabis through local dispensaries.

Described as "the most preferred tourist attraction in Woodbridge," it has a wooded area, picnic tables, tree-lined stone pathways, basketball courts and "stunning views of the brook.

It covers 40 acres (16 ha), and has been described as "loaded with channels, backwaters, oxbows and suitable for canoes.

[93] Woodbridge Community Center has a gym, miniature golf course, batting cages, a pool, community rooms, a playground, and also has "The Arenas", which have a roller skating rink with arcade and an ice skating rink.

[6][99] As of 2024[update], the Mayor of Woodbridge Township is Democrat John McCormac, whose term of office ends December 31, 2023.

[102][103][104][105][106] In January 2022, the Township Council selected Sharon McAuliffe from a list of three candidates submitted by the Democratic municipal committee to fill the First Ward seat expiring in December 2025 that had been held by Nancy Bader-Drumm for a decade until her death earlier that month.

[107][105] In August 2015, the Township Council selected Cory Spillar from a list of three candidates nominated by the Democratic municipal committee to fill the Third Ward seat that had been held by Council President Michele Charmello until her resignation the previous month to take a position in Pittsburgh.

[110][111][112] For the 119th United States Congress, New Jersey's 6th congressional district is represented by Frank Pallone (D, Long Branch).

[115] For the 2024-2025 session, the 19th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Joe F. Vitale (D, Woodbridge Township) and in the General Assembly by Craig Coughlin (D, Woodbridge Township) and Yvonne Lopez (D, Perth Amboy).

[117] 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),[118] Deputy Director Shanti Narra (D, North Brunswick, 2027),[119] Claribel A.

[150] The Woodbridge Township School District serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade.

The district's three standard high schools offer more than 150 courses, including Advanced Placement, college preparatory, business, vocational and cooperative work/study programs.

[162] The Garden State Parkway extends 7+1⁄2 miles (12.1 km) through the Township, including exits 127 to 132.

[163] In addition, the New Jersey Turnpike (Interstate 95) passes through Woodbridge Township for about 5+1⁄4 miles (8.4 km), and is accessible at Exit 11 (which features a 24-lane toll gate).

The land is relatively impervious, and flooding is exacerbated by steep slopes and urban cover.

Flooding in the South Branch Rahway River and Pumpkin Patch Brook hazard zones is predominantly fluvial.

Prolonged coastal storms (nor'easters), which combine tidal and fluvial flooding, along with flow constrictions, cause an increase in the duration of flooding of the Woodbridge River and its tributaries, Heards Brook and Wedgewood Brook, which may last for days before water levels subside.

I In October 2012, New Jersey was devastated by Hurricane Sandy[178] and Woodbridge suffered significant flood damage.

[179] When Sandy arrived in the area, it was "characterized as a tsunami-like water wall," destroying adjoining homes.

[180] After Sandy, using money from the New Jersey Buyout Program,[181] Woodbridge began buying out and demolishing many residential properties in the flood hazard areas.

[184] Woodbridge's actions and plans have been called a "slow motion evacuation from climate change."

As people move out of flood hazard areas, they will be replaced by a "floodplain forest of native trees, shrubs and grass," to help absorb water from rising sea levels.

[185][186] Despite predictions that flooding will worsen in coming decades as a result of rising sea levels, some property owners have been unwilling to sell, in large part because government programs incentivize these homeowners not to move because the financial risk is mitigated by "emergency" relief in the event of a flood.