New Jersey is a state situated in both the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern areas of the United States. Found at the geographic center of the heavily urbanized Northeast megalopolis, it is surrounded to the northwest, north, and northeast by New york city State; on its eastern, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Sea; on its west by the Delaware River and Pennsylvania; and on its southwest by Delaware Bay and Delaware. At 7,354 square miles (19,050 km2), New Jacket is the fifth-smallest state in land area. According to a 2024 U. S. Demographics Bureau estimate, it is the 11th-most populated state, with over 9. 5 million residents, its highest possible approximated matter ever before. The state capital is Trenton, and the state's most populated city is Newark. New Jacket is the only U. S. state in which every region is deemed metropolitan by the U. S. Demographics Bureau. It is one of the most densely inhabited U. S. state. New Jersey was first populated by Paleo-Indians as early as 13,000 BC. The Lenape were the leading Indigenous group when Europeans got here in the early 17th century, and they were subdivided into dialectal teams such as the Munsee, in the north, and the Unami and the Unalachtigo, somewhere else. Dutch and Swedish homesteaders started the first European negotiations in the state, with the British later confiscating control of the region and developing the Province of New Jacket, named after the Network Island of Jersey. The colony's fertile lands and family member spiritual resistance attracted a large and varied population. New Jacket was among the Thirteen Nests that supported the American Transformation, holding a number of crucial battles and armed forces commands in the American War of independence earning the title, "Crossroads of the American Change." New Jacket continued to be in the Union throughout the American Civil Battle and offered troops, sources, and armed forces leaders in support of the Union Military. After the battle, the state became a significant manufacturing center and a leading destination for immigrants, aiding drive the Industrial Revolution in the U. S. New Jacket was the website of numerous industrial, technological, and business developments. Numerous noticeable Americans associated with New Jacket have actually confirmed significant nationally and globally, consisting of in academia, advocacy, business, enjoyment, federal government, army, non-profit management, and other fields. New Jacket's main area in the Northeast megalopolis assisted sustain its fast growth and suburbanization in the 2nd half of the 20th century. Considering that the start of the 21st century, the state's economic climate has ended up being extremely branched out, with significant markets, including New Jersey's duty as the world's largest pharmaceutical market hub—-- along with biotechnology, information technology, finance, electronic media, filmmaking, and tourist, and it has become an Atlantic seaboard epicenter for logistics and distribution. New Jacket is a major destination for immigrants and is home to one of the world's most multicultural populations. Echoing historic patterns, the state has progressively re-urbanized, with growth in cities surpassing suburbs considering that 2008. New Jersey is just one of one of the most upscale, enlightened, varied, healthy, and highly developed states in the U. S., ranking high among states in several lifestyle metrics. New Jersey had a median family earnings of $99,781 as of 2023, the second-highest of any type of U. S. state behind Massachusetts.Virtually one-tenth of all homes in the state, or over 323,000, are millionaires, the highest possible depiction of millionaires among all states. New Jacket's public school system regularly rates at or among the top of all U. S. states. As of 2024, a quarter of the state populace is international born, the 2nd most after The golden state. In 2025, New Jersey was placed as having the healthiest state populace overall. The state ranks near the top on both the American Human Development Index and the standard Human Growth Index. As A Result, New Jersey is generally rated as one of the very best U. S. states, along with one of one of the most costly states for homeowners to stay in. According to meteorology study by the U. S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, New Jersey has been the fastest-warming state by ordinary air temperature over a 100-year period start in the very early 20th century, which has been attributed to warming of the North Atlantic Ocean.