Hispanics and Latinos in New Jersey

The U.S. state of New Jersey is home to significant and growing numbers of people of Hispanic and Latino descent, who in 2018 represented a Census-estimated 20.4% of the state's total population (nearly 1.8 million).^[1]^[2] New Jersey's Latino population comprises substantial concentrations of Dominican Americans, Puerto Rican Americans, Cuban Americans, Mexican Americans, Central Americans, Peruvian Americans, Colombian Americans, and Ecuadorian Americans.^[2] New Jersey is also home to a large Brazilian American and Portuguese-speaking population.^[3]

The state has multiple municipalities with Hispanic-majority populations.^[4] Latinos and Hispanics form one-third of the population in the largest city, Newark settling in the Forest Hill, Broadway and Mount Pleasant neighborhoods which comprise mostly of Puerto Ricans and Dominicans. The northern part of Hudson County has been nicknamed Havana on the Hudson for the large number of Cuban exiles and émigrés living there. Little Lima, in Paterson, is the largest Peruvian enclave outside of South America.

Many Latino and Hispanic people have been elected to public office in New Jersey, at both the state and local levels.

Places and populations

Municipalities of New Jersey with majority Hispanic populations as of the 2010 United States census are:^[5]^[6]^[7]

Places with over 100,000 people

Elizabeth (59.5%)
Paterson (57.6%), which includes Little Lima and La Ventiuno

Places with between 25,000 and 100,000 people

North Bergen (68.4%)
Passaic (71.0%)
Perth Amboy (78.1%)
Union City (84.7%)
West New York (78.1%)
New Brunswick (46.9%)
Franklin Township (17.53%)
North Brunswick (20.9%)

Places with between 10,000 and 25,000 people

Dover (69.4%)
Fairview (54.6%)
Guttenberg (64.8%)
Bound Brook (48.66%)

Places with fewer than 10,000 people

East Newark (61.4%)
Prospect Park (52.1%)
Victory Gardens (63.0%)

Center for Hispanic Policy, Research and Development

The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs Center for Hispanic Policy, Research and Development is designed to empower the Hispanic community of New Jersey by administering grant dollars and providing other assistance to Hispanic community-based organizations, creating training and employment opportunities for Hispanic college interns, conducting and supporting research on New Jersey's Hispanic community, and ensuring Hispanic access to services and programs.^[8]

Public officeholders

There are officeholders of Latino background throughout the state.^[9]^[10]

Statewide

Esther Salas, federal district judge for the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
Faustino J. Fernandez-Vina, Associate Justice New Jersey Supreme Court
Roberto A. Rivera-Soto, Associate Justice New Jersey Supreme Court

US Congress

Bob Menendez, United States Senator^[11]^[12]^[13]
Albio Sires, Member of the United States House of Representatives 13th congressional district

State Legislators

Marlene Caride (1963), 36th Legislative District.
Gabriela M. Mosquera, State Assemblywoman, 4th Legislative District
Nilsa Cruz-Perez, State Senator, 5th District
Maria_Rodriguez-Gregg, State Assemblywoman, 8th Legislative District
Annette Quijano, State Assemblywomen 20th Legislative District
Teresa Ruiz, State Senator, 29th Legislative District
Eliana Pintor Marin, State Assemblywomen 29th Legislative District
Vincent Prieto, State Assemblyman 32nd legislative district, Speaker of Assembly
Angelica M. Jimenez, State Assemblywomen 32nd Legislative District
Ruben J. Ramos, State Assemblyman, 33rd legislative district
Caridad Rodriguez, State Assemblywoman 33rd Legislative District^[14]
Nellie Pou, State Senator, 35th Legislative District
Location map of Hudson County, New Jersey
Kristin Corrado, State Senator, 40th Legislative District

Hudson

Eliu Rivera, Freeholder District 4^[15]
Rudy Garcia, appointed mayor of Union City

Newark

The percentage of Latinos in Newark, the most populous city in New Jersey, grew considerably between 1980 and 2010, from 18.6% to 33.8%; that of blacks has slightly decreased from 58.2% to 52.4%. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 33.83% (93,746) or one-third of the population,^[16] of which 13% of the total population was Puerto Rican.^[17] While municipal elections have seen black-Latino coalitions, voting tends to remain racially polarized.^[18]^[19]^[20]^[21]

Luis A. Quintana
Census Bureau map of Newark, New Jersey
Teresa Ruiz

Passaic

Hector Carlos Lora
Jose "Joey" Torres
Julio Tavarez, Councilmember representing 5th Ward in the City of Paterson, New Jersey^[22]
Bernice Toledo, Passaic County Surrogate Court Judge and New Jersey State Superior Court Deputy Clerk. Elected in 2011. Re-elected in 2016.