Located in the heart of the Northeast megalopolis, new jersey is home to millions of people with connections ranging from those who have longstanding family ties to the state to newcomers seeking to live and work here. Whether you’re a resident of the “Garden State,” an alumni of one of its renowned colleges and universities, or simply passing through on your way to another destination, New Jersey has something for everyone to discover.
The state’s rich cultural history began long before European colonists arrived, with Paleo-Indian hunting and gathering, Lenape (Delaware, Monmouth, Morris, and Somerset tribes), and other Indigenous groups occupying the area for thousands of years. In the seventeenth century, Dutch and English colonists settled along the Hudson, Raritan, and Passaic rivers. The fertile land and relative religious tolerance attracted a diverse colonist population, including enslaved peoples who were imported to work in agriculture.
As the colony grew, the economy also diversified, with textiles and shipping emerging as important industries. The construction of roads and canals linked the state with other parts of the country, boosting its economy and making New Jersey an early center of transportation. In the nineteenth century, the state’s many iron and steel companies, which produced a variety of products for both domestic and international markets, fueled the Industrial Revolution across the nation.
The state continues to be an economic powerhouse with a robust and innovative high-tech sector, a leading financial hub, and its famous beaches that attract visitors year-round. New jersey’s many parks provide recreational opportunities and preserve natural, historic, and cultural resources, from the Delaware Water Gap carved out of the Kittatinny Mountains to the Newark Liberty International Airport.
New Jersey is a center of higher education, with Princeton University, Rutgers University, and other major schools calling the state home. It’s also known for its music, with singer Whitney Houston and musicians Bruce Springsteen and Frank Sinatra all born in the state.
The nickname “The Garden State” reflects the state’s abundance of lush farmland and gardens, which contribute to its reputation for being green and vibrant. New Jersey has a wide diversity of landscapes, from the sandy beaches along the Atlantic Ocean to the rolling hills of the Piedmont region in the north and west. Those hills give rise to the New Jersey Pine Barrens, a region of pine forests and bogs that’s a biodiversity hotspot. The state is also famous for its sand and granite, which it mines for commercial use, and for its seafood, especially clams harvested off the shore. The state is dotted with a number of iconic attractions, from the site where George Washington crossed the Delaware River during the American Revolution to Thomas Edison National Historical Park, which preserves the inventor’s laboratory in Menlo Park. Other notable sites include the Newark Liberty International Airport and the headquarters of several Fortune 500 companies. Countless other New Jersey businesses have helped make the state a hub of industry and innovation.