Newark, New Jersey

Newark, New Jersey
Nicknames: 
Brick City, the Gateway City, Renaissance Newark, Nork
Interactive map of Newark
Newark
Location in Essex County
Newark
Location in New Jersey
Newark
Location in the United States
Newark
Location on Earth
Coordinates: 40°44′8″N 74°10′20″W / 40.73556°N 74.17222°W / 40.73556; -74.17222
Country United States
State New Jersey
CountyEssex
FoundedReligious colony (1663)
TownshipOctober 31, 1693
CityApril 11, 1836
Named afterNewark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, England
Government
  TypeFaulkner Act (mayor–council)
  BodyMunicipal Council of Newark
  MayorRas Baraka (D)
  AdministratorEric E. Pennington
  Municipal clerkKecia Daniels
Area
  Total
25.88 sq mi (67.04 km2)
  Land24.14 sq mi (62.53 km2)
  Water1.74 sq mi (4.51 km2)  6.72%
  Rank102nd of 565 in state
1st of 22 in county
Elevation
13 ft (4 m)
Population
 (2020)
  Total
311,549
  Estimate 
(2024)
317,303
  Rank64th in country (as of 2024)
1st of 565 in state
1st of 22 in county
  Density12,903.8/sq mi (4,982.2/km2)
   Rank22nd of 565 in state
4th of 22 in county
DemonymNewarker
Time zoneUTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
  Summer (DST)UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Codes
07101-07108, 07112, 07114
Area code(s)862/973, 201, 551, 732, 848, 908
FIPS code3401351000
GNIS feature ID0885317
Websitenewarknj.gov

Newark (/ˈnjərk/ NEW-ərk, locally [nʊək]) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 311,549. The Population Estimates Program calculated a population of 317,303 for 2024, making it the 64th-most populous municipality in the nation.

Settled in 1666 by Puritans from New Haven Colony, Newark is one of the oldest cities in the United States. Its location at the mouth of the Passaic River, where it flows into Newark Bay, has made the city's waterfront an integral part of the Port of New York and New Jersey. Port Newark–Elizabeth is the primary container shipping terminal of the busiest seaport on the U.S. East Coast. Newark Liberty International Airport was the first municipal commercial airport in the United States and has become one of the busiest.

Several companies are headquartered in Newark, including Prudential, PSEG, Panasonic Corporation of North America, Audible.com, IDT Corporation, Manischewitz, and AeroFarms. Higher education institutions in the city include the Newark campus of Rutgers University, which includes law and medical schools and the Rutgers Institute of Jazz Studies; University Hospital; the New Jersey Institute of Technology; and Seton Hall University's law school. Newark is a home to numerous governmental offices, largely concentrated at Government Center and the Essex County Government Complex. Cultural venues include the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Newark Symphony Hall, the Prudential Center, The Newark Museum of Art, and the New Jersey Historical Society. Branch Brook Park is the oldest county park in the United States and is home to the nation's largest collection of cherry blossom trees, numbering over 5,000.

Newark is divided into five political wards (East, West, South, North and Central). The majority of Black residents reside in the South, Central, and West Wards of the city, while the North and East Wards are mostly populated by Latinos. Ras Baraka has served as mayor of Newark since 2014.