To fully understand New Jersey in the 2020s and beyond, it is crucial to understand its ever-changing population. This book examines the twenty-first century demographic trends that are reshaping the state now and will continue to do so in the future. But trend analysis requires a deep historical context. Present-day New Jersey is the result of a long demographic and economic journey that has taken place over centuries, constantly influenced by national and global forces. This book provides a detailed examination of this journey. The result is present-day New Jersey.
The authors also highlight key trends that will continue to transform the state: domestic migration out of the state and immigration into it; increasing diversity; slower overall population growth; contracting fertility; the household revolution and changing living arrangements; generational disruptions; and suburbanization versus re-urbanization. All of these factors help place in context the result of the 2020 decennial U.S. Census.
While the book focuses on New Jersey, the Garden State is a template of demographic, economic, social, and other forces characterizing the United States in the twenty-first century.
Preface and Acknowledgments
1 Overview and Summary: A State of Unrelenting Change
2 New Jersey Population from the Colonial Period to the Early Republic
3 The Long-Term Decennial Growth Picture
4 The People of New Jersey: Long-Term Diversity in Racial, Ethnic, and National Origin
5 Population, Geography, and the “Big Six” Cities
6 Components of Population Change
7 The Generational Framework
8 The Baby Boom Generation’s Enduring Legacy
9 Generations X, Y, Z, and Alpha
10 Generations and Age-Structure Transformations
11 The Great Household Revolution
12 Demographics and Income
13 Recent Dynamics and the Future
Appendix A: Population by County in New Jersey in the Colonial Era (1726, 1738, 1745, 1772, and 1784) and as a State (1790–2018)
Appendix B: The Business Cycle and Demographics
Appendix C: Historic Black Population, “Great Migration,” and “Reverse Great Migration” Nationwide and in New Jersey
Appendix D: The Demographics of New Jersey Residential Housing
Appendix E: New Jersey Population Density and Urban and Metropolitan Residence
Notes
References
Index
JAMES W. HUGHES is a University Professor and Distinguished Professor, and Dean Emeritus of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University, in New Brunswick, New Jersey. His books include the coauthored New Jersey’s Postsuburban Economy and the coedited America’s Demographic Tapestry: Baseline for the New Millennium (both Rutgers University Press).
DAVID LISTOKIN is a Distinguished Professor and director of the Center for Urban Policy Research at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University, in New Brunswick, New Jersey. His many books include Landmarks Preservation and the Property Tax, the coauthored Development Impact Assessment, and the coedited Cities under Stress.
