New Brunswick, New Jersey

New Brunswick, New Jersey

New Brunswick is a city in Middlesex County, New Jersey. It is the county seat of Middlesex, and the home of Rutgers University. The city is located on the Northeast Corridor rail line, 27 miles (43 km) southwest of Manhattan, on the southern bank of the Raritan River. At the 2010 United States Census, the population of New Brunswick was 55,181, reflecting an increase of 6,608 (+13.6%) from the 48,573 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 6,862 (+16.5%) from the 41,711 counted in the 1990 Census. Due to the concentration of medical facilities in the area, including Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and Saint Peter's University Hospital, as well as the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ)-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick is known as "the Healthcare City", The corporate offices or production facilities of several large pharmaceutical companies are within the city limits, including Johnson & Johnson and Bristol-Myers Squibb.

New Brunswick was formed by Royal charter on December 30, 1730, within other townships in Middlesex County and Somerset County and was reformed by Royal charter with the same boundaries on February 12, 1763, at which time it was divided into north and south wards. New Brunswick was incorporated as a city by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on September 1, 1784.

New Brunswick is noted for its ethnic diversity. At one time, one quarter of the Hungarian population of New Jersey resided in the city and in the 1930s one out of three city residents were Hungarian. Today, much of that Hungarian community continues to thrive as well as a growing Hispanic community that has developed around French Street near Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.