Hey, paisan! The most Italian-American towns in New Jersey
Happy Columbus Day!
Christopher Columbus is often seen as a pioneering explorer of the New World, but the national holiday was created in 1934 as part of an effort to celebrate Italian-American heritage. (Although, hate to break it to you, but Columbus really wasn't "Italian.")
A lot has changed. Today, Columbus is falling out of favor as someone who should be celebrated. In New York City (whose mayor is Italian-American), police have had to stand guard at the famous statue in Columbus Circle to ward off vandals dead set on plastering the Columbus monument in red paint.
What hasn't changed is that the Garden State remains home to many Italian-Americans.
New Jersey has more than 1.45 million residents of Italian ancestry, according to U.S. Census data.
If you live in Toms River or Fairfied in Essex County, chances are you might be or know an Italian-American.
Toms River has the most Italian-Americans of any town in the state — more than 29,000, or nearly a third of the population. And Fairfield's 3,900 Italian-Americans make up more than half of the township.
Below is a list of the 22 municipalities with more than 10,000 residents of Italian ancestry. Below that is a list of the 10 towns with the highest percentage of Italian-Americans, as well as a map showing where people of Italian descent live in New Jersey.
The figures are 2015 estimates by the American Community Survey.
Greatest total of Italian-Americans
Toms River
Population: 91,239 / Italian-Americans: 29,778
Brick
Population: 75,072 / Italian-Americans: 23,782
Middletown
Population: 66,522 / Italian-Americans: 22,145
Hamilton - Mercer
Population: 88,464 / Italian-Americans: 20,559
Jackson
Population: 54,856 / Italian-Americans: 17,202
Washington Twp - Gloucester
Population: 48,559 / Italian-Americans: 17,138
Gloucester Twp
Population: 64,634 / Italian-Americans: 17,004
Howell
Population: 51,075 / Italian-Americans: 14,960
Wayne
Population: 54,717 / Italian-Americans: 14,810
Old Bridge
Population: 65,375 / Italian-Americans: 14,203
Woodbridge
Population: 99,585 / Italian-Americans: 13,503
Jersey City
Population: 247,597 / Italian-Americans: 12,840
Berkeley
Population: 41,255 / Italian-Americans: 12,802
Vineland
Population: 60,724 / Italian-Americans: 12,404
Manalapan
Population: 38,872 / Italian-Americans: 12,390
Hoboken
Population: 50,005 / Italian-Americans: 12,214
Manchester
Population: 43,070 / Italian-Americans: 11,414
Evesham Twp
Population: 45,538 / Italian-Americans: 10,801
Freehold
Population: 36,184 / Italian-Americans: 10,453
Bayonne
Population: 63,024 / Italian-Americans: 10,183
Nutley
Population: 28,370 / Italian-Americans: 10,159
Monroe Twp – Gloucester
Population: 36,129 / Italian-Americans: 10,013
Greatest percentage of Italian-Americans
Fairfield Twp - Essex
Population: 7466 / Italian-Americans: 3942 — 52.8%
Wood-Ridge
Population: 7626 / Italian-Americans: 3520 — 46.2%
Ocean Gate
Population: 2011 / Italian-Americans: 880 — 43.8%
Lavallette
Population: 1875 / Italian-Americans: 821 — 43.8%
Hammonton
Population: 14791 / Italian-Americans: 6425 — 43.4%
Newfield
Population: 1553 / Italian-Americans: 655 — 42.2%
Cedar Grove
Population: 12411 / Italian-Americans: 5040 — 40.6%
East Hanover
Population: 11157 / Italian-Americans: 4526 — 40.6%
Emerson
Population: 7401 / Italian-Americans: 2828 — 38.2%
Italians in New Jersey
Click on a town to see population information. Darker red means a greater percentage of the population is of Italian descent. The numbers are 2015 estimates from the U.S. Census' American Community Survey.