These are the 5 most urban counties in New Jersey

I'll tell you right away that this list took me by surprise. Mostly because you'd assume all the northern counties in New Jersey are the most populated.

Well, that's not entirely the case.

NewJersey-demographics,com has the numbers for the population of every county in New Jersey. The data is based on the 2022 Population Estimates Program and 2021 American Community Survey.

So what exactly are the 5 most urban counties in New Jersey?

Let's dig in and find out.

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#5 Ocean County

Ocean County comes in at number five with a population of 655,735. It's the fastest-growing county in New Jersey. This one took me as a surprise, but it does have large towns such as Jackson, Toms River, Lakewood and Brick.

I expected almost every county on this list to be in northern New Jersey, but surprisingly, Ocean County makes the list.

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#4 Hudson County

Number four is Hudson County with a population of 703,366. This was the one county I thought would be higher on the list.

Although it's the smallest county in New Jersey by area, having both Hoboken and Jersey City made me believe it would be right around number one. Apparently having two big cities wasn't enough to bump it up the list.

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#3 Essex County

849,477 is the population number for Essex County, number three on this list. North Jersey strikes once again.

Bigger towns/cities like Newark, Montclair, East Orange and West Orange help bolster this number. North Jersey will be a mainstay on this list for the next two.

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#2 Middlesex County

Big towns like Piscataway, Edison, North Brunswick, East Brunswick and a whole lot more bolster this county's number of 861,418.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that the North Jersey counties with lots of hustle and bustle take their place on this list.

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#1 Bergen County

Number one on the list is Bergen County with a population of 952,997. Almost 100,000 more than the next closest county.

It's no doubt a populated area of New Jersey, with towns like Fort Lee, Hackensack, Ridgewood and more. It's no surprise a North Jersey county tops the list.

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Data for 2023 from January through May, compiled by New Jersey Realtors, shows that homes hit the market and sell in two months or less, on average.

Median prices for single-family homes have reached $500,000 and above in nine counties.

Most counties have seen houses go for more than the list price this year, while the rest have been very close to asking — on average.

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The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5's Kyle Clark. Any opinions expressed are his own.

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