Camden County, New Jersey

Camden County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its county seat is Camden. As of 2014, Camden County's Census-estimated population was 511,038, a decrease of 0.5% from the 2010 United States Census, when its population was enumerated at 513,657, in turn having increased by 4,725 (up 0.9%, the third-lowest growth rate in the state) from the 508,932 counted in the 2000 Census and retaining its position as the state's eighth-most populous county. The most populous place was Camden, with 77,344 residents at the time of the 2010 Census, while Winslow Township covered 58.19 square miles (150.7 km²), the largest total area of any municipality.

It was formed on March 13, 1844, from portions of Gloucester County. The county was named for Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden, a British judge, civil libertarian, and defender of the American cause.

The county is part of the Camden, NJ Metropolitan Division of the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD / Delaware Valley Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the 2010 Census, the county had a total area of 227.293 square miles (588.69 km²), of which 221.263 square miles (573.07 km²) of it (or 97.3%) was land and 6.030 square miles (15.62 km²) of it (or 2.7%) was water.

Located in a coastal / alluvial plain, the county is uniformly flat and low-lying. The highest points are a survey benchmark near the Burlington County line at 219 feet (67 m) above sea level. The low point is sea level, along the Delaware River.

Adjacent counties

• Burlington County, New Jersey â€" northeast
• Atlantic County, New Jersey â€" southeast
• Gloucester County, New Jersey â€" southwest
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania â€" northwest

National protected area

• Great Egg Harbor Scenic and Recreational River (part)

Demographics

Census 2010

At the 2010 United States Census, there were 513,657 people, 190,980 households, and 129,866 families residing in the county. The population density was 2,321.5 per square mile (896.3/km²). There were 204,943 housing units at an average density of 926.2 per square mile (357.6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 65.29% (335,389) White, 19.55% (100,441) Black or African American, 0.31% (1,608) Native American, 5.11% (26,257) Asian, 0.03% (165) Pacific Islander, 7.08% (36,354) from other races, and 2.62% (13,443) from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 14.24% (73,124) of the population.

There were 190,980 households, of which 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.3% were married couples living together, 16.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32% were non-families. 26.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.22.

In the county, 24.4% of the population were under the age of 18, 9% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 27.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.9 years. For every 100 females there were 93.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.7 males.

Census 2000

As of the 2000 United States Census there were 508,932 people, 185,744 households, and 129,835 families residing in the county. The population density was 2,289 people per square mile (884/km²). There were 199,679 housing units at an average density of 898 per square mile (347/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 70.88% White American, 18.09% Black or African American, 0.26% Native American, 3.72% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 5.09% from other races, and 1.93% from two or more races. 9.66% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Among those residents listing their ancestry, 20.6% of residents were of Irish, 18.2% Italian, 15.7% German and 8.1% English ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 185,744 households out of which 34.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.8% were married couples living together, 15.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.1% were non-families. 25.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.23.

In the county the population was spread out with 26.8% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 30.5% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 93.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.1 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $48,097, and the median income for a family was $57,429. Males had a median income of $41,609 versus $30,470 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,354. About 8.1% of families and 10.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.5% of those under age 18 and 8.1% of those age 65 or over.

While many of its municipalities are working class, Camden County has many contrasts in its demographics. Most of Camden and parts of Lindenwold are considered highly impoverished, while Cherry Hill Township, Voorhees Township, Haddon Heights and Haddonfield have a number of upper-income enclaves.

Transportation

Roads

Camden County hosts numerous county, state, U.S. and Interstates. The county had a total of 2,045.06 miles (3,291.21 km) of roadways, of which 1,535.22 miles (2,470.70 km) are maintained by the municipality, 377.65 miles (607.77 km) by Camden County and 104.41 miles (168.03 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation and 27.78 miles (44.71 km) by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority or the South Jersey Transportation Authority.

Major county roads that pass through include County Road 534, County Road 536, County Road 537, County Road 543, County Road 544, County Road 551 and County Road 561.

State routes that pass through are Route 38, Route 41, Route 42 (the North-South Freeway), Route 47 (only in Brooklawn), Route 70, Route 73, Route 90 (the Betsy Ross Bridge), Route 143 (only in Winslow), Route 154 (only in Cherry Hill) and Route 168.

U.S. Routes that traverse are U.S. Route 30 and U.S. Route 130.

The interstates that pass through are Interstate 76 (part of the North-South Freeway and the Walt Whitman Bridge), Interstate 295 and Interstate 676 (part of the North-South Freeway and the Ben Franklin Bridge (which is multiplexed with US 30)).

Other limited access roads that pass through are the Atlantic City Expressway and the New Jersey Turnpike. There are five ACE interchanges that are within the county borders: Exits 44 (at NJ 42), 41 (at Berlin-Cross Keys Road / CR 689), 38 (at Williamstown-New Freedom Road / CR 536 Spur), 33 (connecting to NJ 73) and 31 (at NJ 73). The only turnpike interchange that is in the county is Exit 3 at the border of Runnemede and Bellmawr.

Railroads

New Jersey Transit has stations along the Atlantic City Line in Pennsauken, Cherry Hill, Lindenwold and Atco in Waterford Township, connecting Philadelphia to Atlantic City along the former Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines main line.

The River Line is a diesel light-rail system operated for New Jersey Transit by the Southern New Jersey Rail Group on a former Pennsylvania Railroad line from Trenton. All stations in the county are in the City of Camden, including the Walter Rand Transportation Center, except for the Pennsauken Transit Center in Pennsauken Township.

The PATCO Speedline, owned by the Delaware River Port Authority, runs a rapid transit line across the Ben Franklin Bridge from Philadelphia through Camden to the PRSL main right-of-way between Haddonfield and its eastern terminus in Lindenwold. Suburban station stops include Woodcrest, Westmont and Collingswood.

Government

The county is governed by a Board of Chosen Freeholders consisting of seven members elected at-large for three-year terms on a staggered basis by the residents of the county. As of 2013, Camden County's Freeholders are:

• Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli, Jr. (Collingswood, Elected 2003. Term ends December 31, 2014)
• Freeholder Deputy Director Edward T. McDonnell (Pennsauken Township, elected 1995. Terms ends 2013)
• Michelle Gentek (Gloucester Township, elected 2012. Term ends 2015)
• Ian K. Leonard (Camden, elected 2009. Term ends 2015)
• Scot McCray (Camden, elected 2011. Term ends 2014)
• Jeffrey L. Nash (Cherry Hill, elected 2010. Term ends 2015)
• Carmen Rodriguez (Merchantville, elected 2008. Term ends 2013)

Camden County's constitutional officers, all elected directly by voters, are County clerk Joseph Ripa, Sheriff Charles H. Billingham, and Surrogate Patricia Egan Jones. The Camden County Prosecutor Warren W. Faulk was appointed by the Governor of New Jersey with the advice and consent of the New Jersey Senate (the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature).

As with most counties in the state, the court system consists of municipal courts for each township, borough and city, as well as a New Jersey Superior Court for the county. The latter handles the more serious criminal and civil cases, while the municipal courts handle traffic and other minor items.

Law enforcement at the county level, in addition to a sheriff, includes the Camden County Police Department and the Camden County Prosecutor's Office. The Camden Police Department and the Camden County Park Police were absorbed into the newly formed Camden County Police Department in 2013.

Two federal Congressional Districts cover the county, including portions of the 1st and 2nd Districts. New Jersey's First Congressional District is represented by Donald Norcross (D, Camden). New Jersey's Second Congressional District is represented by Frank LoBiondo (R, Ventnor City).

The county is part of the 4th, 5th, 6th and 8th Districts in the New Jersey Legislature.

Politics

Camden County has long been a Democratic stronghold. The county usually votes overwhelmingly Democratic in national, state, and local elections. Almost all of the county is in the 1st congressional district, which has a Cook Partisan Voting Index score of D+14. In the 2004 U.S. Presidential election, John Kerry carried the county by a 25.5% margin over George W. Bush, with Kerry carrying the state by 6.7% over Bush. Barack Obama carried the county by 34.8% over John McCain in the 2008 U.S. Presidential election. Obama won New Jersey by 14.7%. There are 158,165 unaffiliated voters, 139,147 Democrats, and 43,669 Republicans registered in the county.

Municipalities

• Audubon Borough
• Audubon Park Borough
• Barrington Borough
• Bellmawr Borough
• Berlin Borough
• Berlin Township
  • West Berlin
• Brooklawn Borough
• Camden City
• Cherry Hill Township
  • Ashland
  • Barclay
  • Cherry Hill Mall
  • Ellisburg
  • Golden Triangle
  • Greentree
  • Kingston Estates
  • Springdale
• Chesilhurst Borough
• Clementon Borough
• Collingswood Borough
• Gibbsboro Borough
• Gloucester City
• Gloucester Township
  • Blackwood
  • Blenheim
  • Chews Landing
  • Erial
  • Glendora
• Haddon Heights Borough
• Haddon Township
• Haddonfield Borough
• Hi-Nella Borough
• Laurel Springs Borough
• Lawnside Borough
• Lindenwold Borough
• Magnolia Borough
• Merchantville Borough
• Mount Ephraim Borough
• Oaklyn Borough
• Pennsauken Township
• Pine Hill Borough
• Pine Valley Borough
• Runnemede Borough
• Somerdale Borough
• Stratford Borough
• Tavistock Borough
• Voorhees Township
  • Echelon
  • Glendale
  • Kirkwood
• Waterford Township
  • Atco
• Winslow Township
  • Blue Anchor
  • Sicklerville
• Woodlynne Borough

Historical municipalities

• Centre Township
• Clementon Township
• Delaware Township
• Newton Township
• Stockton Township
• Union Township

Education

Camden County College is a two-year public community college serving students from Camden County. the school has campuses in Blackwood, Camden and Cherry Hill and was founded in 1967.

Rutgers University-Camden is located in the downtown/waterfront district of Camden, and dates back to 1926 with the founding of the South Jersey Law School.

The Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine is located in Stratford and dates to 1976. It is the state's only osteopathic medical school and was South Jersey's first four-year college of medicine.

The Cooper Medical School of Rowan University is located in the downtown/university district of Camden.

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Camden have ranged from a low of 26 °F (âˆ'3 °C) in January to a high of 87 °F (31 °C) in July, although a record low of âˆ'11 °F (âˆ'24 °C) was recorded in February 1934 and a record high of 106 °F (41 °C) was recorded in August 1918. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 2.75 inches (70 mm) in February to 4.35 inches (110 mm) in July.

Wineries

• Amalthea Cellars
• Sharrott Winery

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Camden County, New Jersey

References

Further reading

• History of Camden County in the Great War, 1917-1918 Camden, NJ: Publicity and Historical Committee, 1919.

External links

• Official website
• Camden County Historic Photos, Part I (Audubon, New Jersey to Camden, New Jersey)
• Camden County Historic Photos, Part II (Cherry Hill, New Jersey to Haddon Township, New Jersey)
• Camden County Historic Photos, Part III (Haddonfield, New Jersey to Pennsauken, New Jersey)
• Camden County Historic Photos, Part IV (Pine Hill, New Jersey to Woodlynne, New Jersey)
• Camden County Historical Society

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