SOMERSET County, NJ

Somerset County is a county located in the north-central part of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States Census, the county's population was 345,361, an increase of 21,917 (6.8%) from the 323,444 counted at the 2010 U.S Census, making it the 13th most populous of the state's 21 counties. Somerset County constitutes part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Somerville. The most populous place in the county was Franklin Township, with 62,300 residents at the time of the 2010 Census, while Hillsborough Township, with , covered the largest total area of any municipality.

In 2015, Somerset County had a per capita personal income of $86,468, the second highest in New Jersey and ranked 25th of 3,113 counties in the United States. Somerset County, as of the 2000 Census, was the seventh wealthiest county in the United States by median household income at $76,933 (third in New Jersey behind Hunterdon County at $79,888 and Morris County at $77,340), fourth in median family income at $90,655 (second in New Jersey behind Hunterdon County at $91,050) and ranked seventh by per capita income at $37,970 (highest in New Jersey). The Bureau of Economic Analysis ranked the county as having the 11th-highest per capita income of all 3,113 counties in the United States (and the highest in New Jersey) as of 2009.

In 2012, 49.8 percent of Somerset County residents were college graduates, the highest percentage in the state. Somerset County was recently ranked number 3 of 21 NJ counties as one of the healthiest counties in New Jersey, according to an annual report by County Health Rankings and Roadmaps. Somerset County was created on May 14, 1688, from portions of Middlesex County.

History

Somerset County is one of America's oldest counties, and is named after the English county of Somerset. The area was first settled in 1681, in the vicinity of Bound Brook, and the county was established by charter on May 22, 1688. Most of the early residents were Dutch. General George Washington and his troops marched through the county on several occasions and slept in many of the homes located throughout the area. Somerset County also played an important part during both World War I and World War II with weapons depots and the manufacturing of the army's woolen blankets.

For much of its history, Somerset County was primarily an agricultural county. In the late 19th century, the Somerset Hills area of Somerset County became a popular country home for wealthy industrialists. Into the 21st century, the area is still the home of wealthy businessmen.

In 1917, Somerset County, in cooperation with Rutgers University, hired its first agricultural agent to connect local farmers with expert advice. The Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Somerset County, located in Bridgewater, serves residents in the areas of agriculture and natural resources, 4-H youth development and family and community health sciences.

In the 1960s, townships that were once exclusively agricultural were quickly transformed into suburban communities. Examples include Bridgewater Township and the Watchung Hills communities of Watchung, Green Brook and Warren Township. This growth was aided by the development of the county's very strong pharmaceutical and technology presence. Warren Township used to be considered "the greenest place in New Jersey." More recently, there has been an influx of New York City commuters who use NJ Transit's Raritan Valley Line and Gladstone Branch or use Interstate 78.

Geography

According to the 2010 Census, the county had a total area of , including of land (99.0%) and of water (1.0%).

The high point is on Mine Mountain in Bernardsville, at approximately above sea level. The lowest point is just above sea level on the Raritan River at the Middlesex County line.

Adjacent counties

Somerset County borders the following counties:

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Somerville have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1984 and a record high of was recorded in August 1955. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in July. The county has a humid continental climate which is hot-summer (Dfa) except on Mine Mountain west of Bernardsville where it is warm-summer (Dfb).

Demographics

2020 Census

As of the Census of 2020, the county's had 345,361 people, 122,606 households, and 88,540 families. The population density was . There were 131,822 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup was 61.0% White, 10.0% African American, 0.2% Native American, 18.5% Asian, and 2.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.2% of the population.

Of the 122,606 households, of which 21.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.3% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.3% had a male householder with no wife present and 27.8% were non-families, and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.16.

About 21.5% of the population was under age 18, 8.4% was from age 18 to 24, 36.3% was from age 15 to 44, and 16.2% was age 65 or older. The median age was 42.2 years. The gender makeup was 49.2% male and 50.8% female. For every 100 females, there were 96.8 males.

The median household income was $111,587, and the median family income was $135,129. About 5.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.8% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

Parks and recreation

Somerset County parks are under the administration of the Somerset County Parks Commission. General parks are Natirar, Duke Island Park, Lord Stirling Park (part of the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge), Colonial Park, North Branch Park, Skillman Park, East County Park and a park in development called Raritan River Greenway. Leonard J. Buck Garden is a botanical garden of the county. In addition, the Commission manages natural parks such as the Washington Valley Park (with biking and hiking trails) and the Sourland Mountain Preserve (hiking and mountain biking trails).

The southeastern portion of Somerset County in Franklin Township also includes the Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park, which provides hiking, biking and boating.

The Parks Commission operates five public golf courses. Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, an exclusive golf club owned by Donald Trump, that he used as a Summer White House during his presidency.

The Somerset Patriots are a professional baseball team that plays at the 6,100-seat TD Bank Ballpark, located on the border of Bridgewater and Bound Brook. They played in the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball until they became the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees in 2021.

Government

Somerset County is governed by a five-member Board of County Commissioners (New Jersey), whose members are elected at-large to three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with one or two seats coming up for election each year. At an annual reorganization meeting held on the first Friday of January, the board selects a Director and Deputy Director from among its members. In 2016, commissioners were paid $21,902 and the commissioner director was paid an annual salary of $22,902.

The Commissioners employ a full-time County Administrator who manages the day-to-day operations of County government. The County Administrator is Colleen Mahr. The Clerk of the County Commissioners oversees the work of their offices. Department heads are appointed in accordance with statute and by resolution of the board. Somerset County currently has approximately 1,100 full-time and 130 part-time employees in 52 divisions (including the Library System).

, Somerset County's County Commissioners are:

Pursuant to Article VII Section II of the New Jersey State Constitution, each county in New Jersey is required to have three elected administrative officials known as "constitutional officers." These officers are the County Clerk and County Surrogate (both elected for five-year terms of office) and the County Sheriff (elected for a three-year term). Constitutional officers, elected on a countywide basis are:

The Somerset County Prosecutor is Michael H. Robertson of the Basking Ridge section of Bernards Township, who was nominated by Governor of New Jersey Chris Christie in September 2016.

Somerset County is a part of Vicinage 13 of the New Jersey Superior Court (along with Hunterdon County and Warren County), which is seated at the Somerset County Courthouse in Somerville; the Assignment Judge for Vicinage 15 is Thomas C. Miller.

Federal Representation

The 7th and 12th Congressional Districts cover the county.

State Representatives

The 21 municipalities of Somerset County are represented by six legislative districts.

Politics

As of November 2, 2020, there were a total of 258,975 registered voters in Somerset County, of whom 90.014 (34.8%) were registered as Democrats, 65,262 (25.2%) were registered as Republicans and 101,149 (39.1%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 2,550 (1.0%) voters registered to other parties. Among the county's 2010 Census population, 67.1% were registered to vote, including 75.% of those ages 18 and over.

In the 2004 presidential election, George W. Bush carried Somerset County by a 4.3% margin over John Kerry, with Kerry carrying the state by 6.7% over Bush. However, in 2008, Barack Obama became the first Democratic presidential nominee to carry the county since Lyndon Johnson in 1964, and only the second since 1936. Obama won Somerset by a 6.1% margin over John McCain, with Obama carrying the state by 15.5% over McCain. Somerset's growing Democratic trend at the presidential level has largely been spurred by the rapid growth of the overwhelmingly Democratic Franklin Township in the county's southeast corner.

In the 2009 Gubernatorial Election, Republican Chris Christie received 56% of the vote, defeating Democrat Jon Corzine, who received around 34%. In the 2012 presidential election, the county was carried by Barack Obama, winning 52.8% of the vote to Mitt Romney's 47.2%, a 5.6% gap that represented a 0.3% drop off for Obama from his 2008 margin of victory in the county.

Legal

In 1996, Nicholas L. Bissell Jr., then county prosecutor, was charged with embezzlement, tax fraud, and abuse of power. He fled to Laughlin, Nevada, near Las Vegas, and took his own life when the federal authorities attempted to arrest him.

Taxation

Based on IRS data for the 2004 tax year, Somerset County taxpayers had the ninth-highest average federal income tax liability per return in the country. Average tax liability was $16,502, representing 16.8% of Adjusted Gross Income.

Education

Somerset County is home to two colleges:

Alma White College (which operated from 1921 to 1978) was a private college located in Zarephath. Beginning in 1931 the college operated WAWZ 1380 on the AM radio dial. The station continued to 1984 after the school closed. The building is now occupied by Somerset Christian College.

Somerset Hills Learning Institute, founded in 1998 and now located in Bedminster Township, is a state-of-the-art program dedicated to educating children on the autism spectrum by utilizing the principles of applied behavior analysis.

Municipalities

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Municipalities in Somerset County (with 2010 Census data for population, housing units, and area) are listed below. Other unincorporated communities in the county are listed alongside their parent municipality (or municipalities, as the case may be). These areas include census-designated places (CDPs), which the United States Census Bureau created for enumeration purposes within a Township. Other communities, historical areas, unincorporated areas, and enclaves that exist within a municipality are also listed.

Transportation

Roads and highways

Somerset County is served by a number of different routes. , the county had a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the local municipality, by Somerset County and by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

Major county roads that pass through include County Route 512, County Route 514, County Route 518, County Route 523, County Route 525, County Route 527, County Route 529, County Route 531 and County Route 533.

The only two state routes that traverse through the county are Route 27 (only in Franklin) and Route 28.

U.S. Routes include U.S. Route 22, U.S. Route 202 and U.S. Route 206.

The two Interstates that pass through Somerset County are Interstate 78 and Interstate 287.

Interstate 95 was planned to run along the Somerset Freeway from its proposed southern end in Hopewell Township, Mercer County to Franklin Township at I-287 in the 1960s. However, this plan was cancelled in 1983.

Route 18 runs at the New Brunswick border of Somerset.

Public transportation

NJ Transit provides train service on the Gladstone Branch and the Raritan Valley Line. Public bus transportation is provided by several transit agencies.

NJ Transit provides bus service to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan, as well as service to major cities in New Jersey and within Somerset County. Ridewise provides three SCOOT shuttles as well as DASH buses and CAT buses.