The township had the ninth-highest property tax rate in New Jersey, with an equalized rate of 4.890% in 2020, compared to 2.824% in the county as a whole and a statewide average of 2.279%.[15]

At the time of European colonization the area was the territory of Hackensack tribe of the Lenape Native Americans,[17] who maintained a settlement, Espatingh, on the west side of the hills[18][19][20] and where a Dutch trading post was established after the Peach Tree War.[21] In 1658, Peter Stuyvesant, then Director-General of New Netherland, repurchased from them the area now encompassed by the municipalities of Hudson County east of the Hackensack River. In 1660 he granted permission to establish the semi-autonomous colony of Bergen, with the main village located at today’s Bergen Square, considered to be the first chartered municipality in what would become the state of New Jersey.[22] At the time, the area of North Bergen was heavily forested, traversed by paths used by the indigenous and colonizing population and became known as Bergen Woods, a name recalled in today’s neighborhood of Bergenwood.

Gloucester Township was formed on June 1, 1695, while the area was still part of Gloucester County. It was incorporated as one of New Jersey’s first 104 townships by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1798. It became part of the newly created Camden County upon its formation on March 13, 1844. Portions of the township have been taken over the years to form Union Township (November 15, 1831; dissolved on February 25, 1868, with remaining land chartered as Gloucester City), Winslow Township (March 8, 1845) and Clementon Township (February 24, 1903; dissolved on May 16, 1941, into Laurel Springs).[21] Geographically, the township is part of the South Jersey region.

What is now Old Bridge Township was originally incorporated as Madison Township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 2, 1869, from portions of South Amboy Township (now City of South Amboy).[28] In a referendum held on November 5, 1975, voters approved changing the township’s name to Old Bridge Township by a margin of 7,150 votes to 4,888.[29][30] The township’s name was changed to avoid confusion with the borough of Madison in Morris County.[29][24] After the township was established, the area was made up primarily of farms and the population grew slowly. In 1880, the population was 1,662 and in 1950 it had reached 7,365. Over the next decade, a building boom started and farms gave way to developments, and the population grew to 22,772 by 1960. The 1980 census cited 51,406 people. The township saw major changes with the extension of Route 18 to the shore.

Middletown is a bedroom community of New York City, located alongside of the Raritan Bay within the Raritan Valley region in the New York metropolitan area. Due to its affluence, low crime, access to cultural activities, public school system, proximity to the Jersey Shore and Raritan Bayshore, and central commuting location, Middletown was ranked in 2006, 2008, 2010, and 2014 in the Top 100 in CNNMoney.com’s Best Places to Live.[30][31][32][33] Time magazine listed Middletown on its list of “Best Places to Live 2014”.[34]

Traditionally a farming community, it has become a fast-growing suburb with massive development in the later 20th and 21st centuries as a diverse blend of races, religions, and cultures. In 2008, Franklin Township ranked #5 on Money magazine’s list of America’s Top 100 Best Places to Live.[25]

Union City was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on June 1, 1925, with the merger of Union Hill and West Hoboken Township.[25] The city’s name references the merger of those two municipalities.[26]

East Orange had its origins in Connecticut’s New Haven Colony. In 1666, a group of 30 of New Haven’s families traveled by water to found “a town on the Passayak” River. They arrived on territory now encompassing Newark, the Oranges, and several other municipalities. The area was situated in the northeast portion of a land grant conveyed by King Charles II of England to his brother James, Duke of York. In 1664, James conveyed the land to two proprietors, Lord John Berkeley and Sir George Carteret. Since Carteret had been Royal Governor of the Isle of Jersey, the territory became known as “New Jersey.”

Located north of Newark on the Passaic River, it was first settled in 1678 by Dutch traders, as Acquackanonk Township. The city and river draw their name from the Lenape word “pahsayèk” which has been variously attributed to mean “valley” or “place where the land splits.”[26][27][28][29]

Bayonne was originally formed as a township on April 1, 1861, from portions of Bergen Township. Bayonne was reincorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 10, 1869,[24] replacing Bayonne Township, subject to the results of a referendum held nine days later.[25] At the time it was formed, Bayonne included the communities of Bergen Point, Constable Hook, Centreville, Pamrapo and Saltersville.[26]