Union City, New Jersey

Union City, New Jersey
City of Union City
Aerial shot of the city facing north, taken from its southern border at Washington Park
Nickname(s): 
"Embroidery Capital of the United States"
"Havana on the Hudson"
"Little Havana on the Hudson"
Interactive map of Union City
Union City
Location in Hudson County
Union City
Location in New Jersey
Union City
Location in the United States
Coordinates: 40°46′03″N 74°01′56″W / 40.767425°N 74.032279°W / 40.767425; -74.032279
Country United States
State New Jersey
County Hudson
IncorporatedJune 1, 1925
Government
  TypeWalsh Act
  BodyBoard of Commissioners
  MayorBrian P. Stack (term ends May 18, 2026)
  Municipal clerkHilda I. Rosario (acting)
Area
  Total
1.29 sq mi (3.33 km2)
  Land1.29 sq mi (3.33 km2)
  Water0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)  0.00%
  Rank472nd of 565 in state
10th of 12 in county
Elevation
190 ft (60 m)
Population
 (2020)
  Total
68,589
  Estimate 
(2023)
64,462
  Rank590th in country (as of 2022)
18th of 565 in state
3rd of 12 in county
  Density53,293.7/sq mi (20,576.8/km2)
   Rank2nd of 565 in state
2nd of 12 in county
Time zoneUTC−05:00 (EST)
  Summer (DST)UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Code
07087
Area code(s)201
FIPS code3401774630
GNIS feature ID0885424
Websitewww.ucnj.com

Union City is a city in the northern part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city was the state's 18th-most-populous municipality, with a population of 68,589, an increase of 2,134 (+3.2%) from the 2010 census count of 66,455, which in turn had reflected a decline of 633 (−0.9%) from the 67,088 counted in the 2000 census. As of the 2010 Census, among cities with a population of more than 50,000, it was the most densely populated city in the United States,[a] with a density of 54,138 per square mile of land. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 65,366 in 2022, ranking the city the 590th-most-populous in the country.

Union City was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on June 1, 1925, with the merger of Union Hill and West Hoboken Township.

Two major waves of immigration, first of German speakers and then of Spanish speakers, greatly influenced the development and character of Union City. Its two nicknames, "Embroidery Capital of the United States" and "Havana on the Hudson", reflect important aspects of that history. Thousands visit Union City each year to see the nation's longest-running passion play.

Union City is where Mallomars were first sold and the site of the first lunch wagon, built by Jerry and Daniel O'Mahoney and John Hanf, which helped spark New Jersey's golden age of diner manufacturing, for which the state is colloquially referred to by author Richard J.S. Gutman as the "diner capital of the world".