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Monmouth County, New Jersey
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Monmouth County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey, within the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2000 Census, the population was 615,301, which had grown to 642,030 as of the Bureau's 2007 estimate. [ Its county seat is Freehold Borough. The most populous municipality is Middletown Township with 66,327 residents at the time of the 2000 Census. It is the northernmost county on the Jersey Shore. ]
Monmouth County ranks 42nd among the highest-income counties in the United States. It also is ranked 53rd in the United States by personal per-capita income. History Monmouth County was established in 1675. Its name may come from the Rhode Island Monmouth Society[, GetNJ.com. Accessed December 15, 2007.] or from a suggestion from Colonel Lewis Morris. He suggested it be named after Monmouthshire in Wales, Great Britain. Other suggestions include that it was named for James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth (1649–1685), who had many allies among the East Jersey leadership. In 1714, the first county government was established.
At the June 28, 1778 Battle of Monmouth, near Freehold, General George Washington's soldiers battled the British under Sir Henry Clinton, in the longest land battle of the American Revolutionary War. It was at Monmouth that the tactics and training from Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben developed at Valley Forge during the winter encampment were first implemented on a large scale.GeographyAccording to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 665 square miles (1,723 km²), of which, 472 square miles (1,222 km²) of it is land and 193 square miles (500 km²) of it (29.04%) is water.
Much of Monmouth County remains flat and low-lying even far inland. However, there are some low hills in and around Holmdel Township, and one of them, Crawford Hill, the former site of a radar facility, is the county's highest point at least 380 feet (116 m) above sea level. The top portion of the hill is owned by Alcatel-Lucent and houses a research laboratory of Bell Laboratories.
The northeastern portion of the county, in the Locust neighborhood of Middletown Township and the boroughs of Highlands and Atlantic Highlands, are also very hilly. The lowest point is sea level.
Along with adjacent Ocean County, Monmouth County is a mecca of boating and fishing. Its waterways include several rivers and bays that flow into New York Harbor and the Atlantic Ocean. The Manasquan Inlet is located in the county, which connects the Atlantic Ocean with the estuary of the Manasquan River, a bay-like body of saltwater that serves as the starting point of the Intracoastal Waterway.Adjacent counties
DemographicsAs of the census of 2000, there were 615,301 people, 224,236 households, and 160,328 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,304 people per square mile (503/km²). There were 240,884 housing units at an average density of 510 per square mile (197/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 84.39% White, 8.06% Black or African American, 0.14% Native American, 3.97% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.74% from other races, and 1.68% from two or more races. 6.20% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Based on the first ancestries reported by Monmouth County residents in the 2000 Census, 23% of residents were of Italian ancestry, 18% Irish, 9% German and 5% Polish ancestry.
There were 224,236 households out of which 35.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.20% were married couples living together, 10.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.50% were non-families. 23.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.24.
In the county the population was spread out with 26.10% under the age of 18, 6.90% from 18 to 24, 30.40% from 25 to 44, 24.10% from 45 to 64, and 12.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 94.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.90 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $64,271, and the median income for a family was $76,823. Males had a median income of $55,030 versus $35,415 for females. The per capita income for the county was $31,149. About 4.50% of families and 6.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.50% of those under age 18 and 7.00% of those age 65 or over.
Monmouth County is home to a large Irish-American population, with 141,515 residents (23% of the county's population) listed themselves as being of Irish ancestry in the 2000 Census. Government Monmouth County is governed by a county clerk, Maureen Claire French, and a five-member Board of Chosen Freeholders, who are elected at-large for three year terms. Each January, the freeholders select one of their members to serve as the director of the board for the year to preside over the meetings and activities of the board. Monmouth County's Freeholders have both administrative and policy making powers.
The Freeholders oversee the five mandatory functions of county government delegated to it by the state. Each freeholder is assigned responsibility for one of the five functional areas: Administration and Special Services; Public Works and Engineering; Human Services, Health and Transportation; Finance and Administration of Justice. In total, the Board is responsible for supervising more than 70 county departments.
Monmouth County's Freeholders are:
Politics Monmouth County has trended in favor of the Republican party. The Republican Party had held all 5 Freeholder seats until 2006, but after the 2006 and 2008 elections, Democrats control the Board by a 3-2 Margin. In the 2004 U.S. Presidential election, George W. Bush carried the county by a 10% margin over John Kerry, with Kerry carrying the state by 6.7% over Bush. In 2008, John McCain carried Monmouth by a unexpectedly close margin of only 3.7% margin over Barack Obama, with Obama winning New Jersey by 15.5% over McCain. In the state's U.S. Senatorial election that same year, Dick Zimmer also won here, by a 6.2% margin over incumbent Frank Lautenberg, with Lautenberg winning reelection by 14.1% over Zimmer. Notable Residents (former and present) - Count Basie - American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader and composer
- Clint Black - American country music singer-songwriter and actor
- Melanie - American singer and songwriter ("Brand New Key", "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)", "What Have They Done To My Song Ma")
- Kal Penn - American actor and politician
- Robert Pinsky - Poet Laureate of the United States from 1997-2000
Municipalities  Index map of Monmouth County Municipalities (click to see index key) Fire DepartmentsWith the exception of the City of Asbury Park, the remainder of the municipalities in the county have volunteer fire departments with the largest in Middletown with 11 stations. However, in terms of HazMat emergencies, very few towns have special units to respond to these and so the HAZMAT unit from Fort Monmouth responds to most HazMat cases. Due to the closing of Fort Monmouth, the remaining Hazmat Teams in Howell, Neptune, Middletown, and the County based response team will get an overhaul.EducationBrookdale Community College is the two-year community college for Monmouth County, one of a network of 19 county colleges statewide. The school is in Lincroft and was founded in 1967. Monmouth University is a four-year private university located in West Long Branch.
Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey has a partnership with Brookdale Community College which offers Bachelor degree completion programs at Brookdale's Freehold campus. For more information on this program please visit http://www.wmhec.rutgers.edu.
In addition to multiple public high schools, there are many parochial schools in Monmouth County such as Red Bank Catholic High School, Christian Brothers Academy, St. John Vianney High School, and Mater Dei High School; as well as one secular private school, Ranney School.
The county has an extensive vocational high school program, known as the Monmouth County Vocational School District including 5 magnet schools:
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