Carteret, New Jersey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Carteret, New Jersey
Borough
Carteret Waterfront Park
Seal
Motto(s):  The Center of it All
Location of Carteret in Middlesex County highlighted in red (left). Inset map: Location of Middlesex County in New Jersey highlighted in orange (right).
Census Bureau map of Carteret, New Jersey.png
Carteret, New Jersey Location in Middlesex County, New Jersey Show map of Middlesex County, New Jersey Carteret, New Jersey Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey Carteret, New Jersey Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Middlesex
Incorporated	April 11, 1906 (as Roosevelt)
Renamed	November 7, 1922 (as Carteret)
Named for	George Carteret and Philip Carteret
Government
• Type	borough
• Body	Borough Council
Area
• Total	4.93 sq mi (12.77 km2)
• Land	4.39 sq mi (11.37 km2)
• Water	0.54 sq mi (1.40 km2)  11.53%
Area rank	276th of 565 in state 15th of 25 in county
Elevation	13 ft (4 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	25,326
• Estimate  (2023)	25,281
• Rank	104th of 565 in state 12th of 25 in county
• Density	5,767.7/sq mi (2,226.9/km2)
• Density rank	96th of 565 in state 8th of 25 in county
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Code	07008
Area code(s)	732/848
FIPS code	3402310750
GNIS feature ID	0885181

Carteret is a borough in northeastern Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population reached 25,326, its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 2,482 (+10.9%) from the 2010 census count of 22,844, which in turn reflected an increase of 2,135 (+10.3%) from the 20,709 counted in the 2000 census.

History

Carteret was originally created as the borough of Roosevelt on April 11, 1906, from portions of Woodbridge Township, based on the results of a referendum approved on May 22, 1906. The name was changed to Carteret as of November 7, 1922. The borough was also called Carteret during the period from December 19, 1921, to January 16, 1922. The borough was named after Sir George Carteret, one of the first proprietors of New Jersey, and his son Philip Carteret, the first royal governor of New Jersey.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 4.96 square miles (12.86 km²), including 4.39 square miles (11.37 km²) of land and 0.57 square miles (1.48 km²) of water (11.53%).

The Rahway River forms the northern boundary of Carteret, with Linden on the other side of the river in Union County. Joseph Medwick Park is a greenway of parkland along the banks of the river. The Arthur Kill is the eastern boundary with Staten Island, New York City, New York on the opposite side. Woodbridge Township borders Carteret on all land-based boundaries.

Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the borough include Canda, Chrome (in the borough's southeast), East Rahway, Lamar, Silvan Beach, South Carteret, West Carteret (the portion west of the New Jersey Turnpike) and West Chrome.

Demographics

Carteret's Sikh community, variously estimated at 1,000 to 2,500, is the largest concentration of Sikhs in the state. The Gurudwara Singh Sabha Sahib, the borough's first gurudwara, had rented a location in Carteret in 1998 before moving to a permanent location in the nearby Port Reading section of Woodbridge Township in 2005.

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 22,844 people, 7,591 households, and 5,686 families in the borough. The population density was 5,171.1 per square mile (1,996.6/km²). There were 8,148 housing units at an average density of 1,844.4 per square mile (712.1/km²). The racial makeup was 50.68% (11,577) White, 14.85% (3,393) Black or African American, 0.35% (80) Native American, 19.04% (4,349) Asian, 0.05% (12) Pacific Islander, 11.18% (2,553) from other races, and 3.85% (880) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 30.93% (7,066) of the population.

Of the 7,591 households, 37.1% had children under the age of 18; 50.1% were married couples living together; 19.1% had a female householder with no husband present and 25.1% were non-families. Of all households, 20.7% were made up of individuals and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.01 and the average family size was 3.51.

25.4% of the population were under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 25.4% from 45 to 64, and 10.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35.1 years. For every 100 females, the population had 94.3 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 91.0 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $58,614 (with a margin of error of +/− $5,733) and the median family income was $69,192 (+/− $10,119). Males had a median income of $47,405 (+/− $4,676) versus $42,971 (+/− $4,266) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $25,346 (+/− $2,095). About 11.8% of families and 13.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.8% of those under age 18 and 11.5% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Carteret Stages, a film production complex covering 1,200,000 square feet (110,000 m²) and estimated to cost $1 billion, is undergoing development at the waterfront.

Portions of the borough are part of an Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ), one of 32 zones covering 37 municipalities statewide. The borough was selected in 1994 as one of a group of 10 zones added to participate in the program and one of four of those chosen based on a competition. In addition to other benefits to encourage employment and investment within the UEZ, shoppers can take advantage of a reduced 3.3125% sales tax rate (half of the 6+5⁄8% rate charged statewide) at eligible merchants. Established in March 1995, the borough's Urban Enterprise Zone status expires in March 2026.

Carteret is the location of the primary data center for the NASDAQ OMX Group's stock exchange.

Carteret was the headquarters of the defunct electronics chain Nobody Beats the Wiz.

The Carteret Performing Arts Center opened in 2021.

Education

The Carteret School District serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. As of the 2021–22 school year, the district, comprised of five schools, had an enrollment of 3,882 students and 305.4 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.7:1. Schools in the district (with 2021–22 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Columbus School with 708 students in grades PreK–5, Nathan Hale School with 460 students in grades PreK–5, Private Nicholas Minue School with 638 students in grades PreK–5, Carteret Middle School with 914 students in grades 6–8 and Carteret High School with 1,009 students in grades 9–12.

In 2016, borough voters turned down a ballot proposal to switch from an elected school board to an appointed board.

Eighth grade students from all of Middlesex County are eligible to apply to attend the high school programs offered by the Middlesex County Vocational and Technical Schools, a county-wide vocational school district that offers full-time career and technical education at Middlesex County Academy in Edison, the Academy for Allied Health and Biomedical Sciences in Woodbridge Township and at its East Brunswick, Perth Amboy and Piscataway technical high schools, with no tuition charged to students for attendance.

Saint Joseph School serves students in Pre-K–8 as part of Saint Joseph Roman Catholic Church and is overseen by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen.

A private rabbinical college, Yeshiva Gedola of Carteret, opened in 2006.

Transportation

Roads and highways

View south along the New Jersey Turnpike (Interstate 95) in Carteret

As of May 2010^[update], the borough had a total of 59.24 miles (95.34 km) of roadways, of which 52.95 miles (85.21 km) were maintained by the municipality, 4.77 miles (7.68 km) by Middlesex County and 1.52 miles (2.45 km) by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority.

The only major road that passes through Carteret is the New Jersey Turnpike (Interstate 95). Interchange 12 of the turnpike, located in the borough, was updated as part of an $80 million project that added five additional toll lanes and new ramps to CR 602.

Public transportation

NJ Transit local bus service is provided on the 116 route to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan, New York City and Perth Amboy, and on the 48 route to Elizabeth and Perth Amboy.

There are plans to introduce ferry service between Waterfront Park and Lower Manhattan via Arthur Kill and Kill van Kull. As of 2021, funding for the construction of a landing dock and purchase of a boat was in place. As of 2023, dredging had been completed and construction of bulkhead was underway. According to Mayor Daniel J. Reiman, the ferry terminal will be finished by Spring 2025.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Carteret include:

• Jim Babjak (born 1957), Dennis Diken (born 1957) and Mike Mesaros of the pop/rock group The Smithereens are former Carteret residents who met in school there
• Joseph A. Cafasso (born 1956), former Fox News consultant on military and counterterrorism issues who left the network after allegations surfaced that he misrepresented his military record
• Jim Conti, of the ska band Streetlight Manifesto
• Thomas Deverin (1921–2010), former mayor of Carteret who served 22 years in the New Jersey General Assembly
• Keith Hughes (1968–2014), basketball player at Syracuse University and Rutgers who was selected by the Houston Rockets in the 1991 NBA draft, but never played in the NBA
• Chad Kinch (1958–1994), shooting guard who played in the NBA for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Dallas Mavericks
• Isa Leshko (born 1971), artist and author of Allowed to Grow Old: Portraits of Elderly Animals from Farm Sanctuaries
• Jim McGreevey (born 1957), former Governor of New Jersey, grew up in Carteret
• Art McMahon (born 1946), defensive back for the Boston / New England Patriots football team from 1968 to 1970 and 1972
• Joe "Ducky" Medwick (1911–1975), left fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals during the "Gashouse Gang" era of the 1930s, elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1968, by the Veterans Committee Ranked #7 on the Sports Illustrated list of The 50 Greatest New Jersey Sports Figures.
• Nicholas Minue (1905–1943), United States Army Private who received the Medal of Honor for military service in World War II. An elementary school on Post Boulevard is named in his honor
• Paul J. Pluta, Rear Admiral, United States Coast Guard (Ret.)
• Joseph Sirola (1929–2019), was an actor known as "The King of the Voice-Overs"
• Joel Weisman (1943–2009), physician who was one of the first to identify a pattern of illnesses that was ultimately diagnosed as AIDS
• Laurence S. Weiss (c. 1919–2003), business executive and politician who served in the New Jersey Senate from 1978 to 1992
• Jason Worilds (born 1988), football player selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2010 NFL draft

See also

In Spanish: Carteret para niños