CUMBERLAND County, NJ

Cumberland County is a coastal county located on the Delaware Bay in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States Census, the county's population was 154,152, making it the 16th-largest of the state's 21 counties. Its county seat is Bridgeton. Cumberland County is named for Prince William, Duke of Cumberland. The county was formally created from portions of Salem County as of January 19, 1748.

This county is part of the Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Delaware Valley Combined Statistical Area.

History

African Americans settled in Cumberland County in the first half of the 18th century.

Geography

According to the 2010 Census, the county had a total area of , including of land (71.4%) and of water (28.6%).

Cumberland is a low-lying, generally featureless coastal county, with many salt marshes near the Delaware Bay. The highest elevation is at one of 12 areas in Upper Deerfield Township that stand approximately above sea level; the lowest elevation is sea level.

Adjacent counties

¹across Delaware Bay; no land border

Demographics

2020 Census

As of the 2020 United States census, the county's had 154,152 people, 51,360 households, and 34,309 families. The population density was . There were 57,119 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup was 45.4% White, 18.0% African American, 0.9% Native American, 1.2% Asian, and 2.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 34.4% of the population.

Of the 51,360 households, of which 26.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.9% were married couples living together, 18.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 9.3% had a male householder with no wife present and 33.2% were non-families, and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.30.

About 23.8% of the population was under age 18, 7.5% was from age 18 to 24, 39.3% was from age 15 to 44, and 15.7% was age 65 or older. The median age was 38.1 years. The gender makeup was 51.7% male and 48.3% female. For every 100 females, there were 107.1 males.

The median household income was $54,587, and the median family income was $65,022. About 13.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.1% of those under age 18 and 10.4% of those age 65 or over.

2010 Census

Economy

Based on data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Cumberland County had a gross domestic product (GDP) of $6.1 billion in 2018, which was ranked 17th in the state and represented an increase of 1.6% from the previous year.

Government

County

thumb|left|The Cumberland County Courthouse in

Cumberland County is governed by a Board of County Commissioners consisting of seven members who are elected at large by the citizens of Cumberland County in partisan elections and serve staggered three-year terms in office, with either two or three seats coming up for election each year in a three-year cycle. Each Commissioner is assigned responsibility for one of the county's departments. In 2016, freeholders were paid $15,000 and the freeholder director was paid an annual salary of $16,000.

, members of the Cumberland County Board of County Commissioners (with party affiliation, residence and term-end year listed in parentheses) are:

Pursuant to Article VII Section II of the New Jersey State Constitution, each county in New Jersey has 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). Cape May's Constitutional offers are:

The Cumberland County Prosecutor is Jennifer Webb-McRae of Vineland. First nominated by Governor of New Jersey Jon Corzine in January 2010, Webb-McRae was nominated for a second five-year term by Chris Christie in November 2016 and sworn into office after confirmation in January 2017.

Cumberland County is a part of Vicinage 15 of the New Jersey Superior Court (along with Gloucester County and Salem County), seated in Woodbury in Gloucester County; the Assignment Judge for the vicinage is Benjamin C. Telsey. The Cumberland County Courthouse is in Bridgeton.

Federal Representation

The 2nd Congressional District includes all of Cumberland County.

State Representation

The New Jersey Department of Corrections operates three correctional facilities in the county. They are Bayside State Prison, South Woods State Prison, and Southern State Correctional Facility. In 2007, while the state was preparing to close Riverfront State Prison in Camden, it considered establishing a fourth state prison in Cumberland County.

Politics

Cumberland County tends to lean towards the Democratic party.

As of August 1, 2020, there were a total of 91,725 registered voters in Cumberland County, of whom 32,667 (35.6%) were registered as Democrats, 20,249 (22.1%) were registered as Republicans and 36,923 (40.3%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 1,886 (2.1%) voters registered to other parties.

In the 2004 U.S. presidential election, John Kerry carried the county by a 6.6% margin over George W. Bush.

Municipalities

thumb|right|350px|Index map of Cumberland County Municipalities (click to see index key)

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Municipalities in Cumberland County (with most 2010 Census data for population, housing units and area) are:

Transportation

Airports

The following public-use airports are located in Cumberland County:

Roads and highways

, the county had a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the local municipality, by Cumberland County and by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

Cumberland is served only by state and county routes. Major county routes that pass through include County Route 540, County Route 548 (only in Maurice River Township), County Route 550, County Route 552, County Route 553 and County Route 555.

State routes include Route 47, Route 49, Route 55, Route 56, Route 77 and Route 347.

Route 55 is the only limited access road in the county which provides access to I-76, Interstate 295, and the Philadelphia area to the north.

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Bridgeton have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of was recorded in July 1966. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in March. Cumberland has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa).

Parks and recreation

The sole YMCA in the county is the Cumberland Cape Atlantic YMCA in Vineland.

Wineries