Camden County, New Jersey

Camden County, New Jersey

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Camden County, New Jersey

Camden County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2000 Census, the population was 508,932. Its county seat is Camden. It was formed on March 13, 1844, from portions of Gloucester County.^[1]

This county is part of the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area area.

Geography

Adjacent counties
National protected area

Demographics
Government

Politics

Municipalities

Historical municipalities

Education
References
External links

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 228 square miles (589 km²), of which, 222 square miles (576 km²) of it is land and 5 square miles (14 km²) of it (2.32%) is water.

Located in a coastal/alluvial plain area, the county is uniformly flat and low-lying. The highest points are a survey benchmark near the Burlington County line at 219 feet (66.7 m) above sea level, and another nearby area at least . The low point is sea level, along the Delaware River.

Adjacent counties

Burlington County, New Jersey - northeast
Atlantic County, New Jersey - southeast
Gloucester County, New Jersey - southwest
Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania - northwest

National protected area

Great Egg Harbor Scenic and Recreational River (part)

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, 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. 17.9% were of Italian, 15.4% Irish, 10.5% German and 5.3% 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 most of its boroughs are working class, Camden County has many contrasts in its demographics. All 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-class enclaves.

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.^[2] As of 2008, Camden County's Freeholders are:^[3]

Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli, Jr. (Collingswood, term ends December 31, 2008)
Freeholder Deputy Director Edward McDonnell (Pennsauken Township, 2010)
Riletta L. Cream (Camden, 2008)
Rodney A. Greco (Gloucester Township, 2009)
Jeffrey L. Nash (Cherry Hill Township, 2009)
Joseph Ripa (Voorhees Township, 2009)
Carmen Rodriguez (Merchantville, 2010)

In addition, the voters also elect a sheriff (Charles H. Billingham), a county clerk (James Beach), and a surrogate (Patricia Egan Jones).^[3] The Camden County Prosecutor is 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.

Politics

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.^[4]

Municipalities

Index map of Camden County Municipalities (click to see index key)

Historical municipalities

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 Township and was founded in 1967.

Rutgers University-Camden is located in the downtown/waterfront district of Camden.

School of Osteopathic Medicine (UMDNJ) is located in Stratford.