Union County, New Jersey

Union County is a located in the  of. As of the, the population is 522,541. It is part of the. Its is. Union County ranks 92nd among the with a per capita income of $26,992. With more than 5,000 persons per square mile on average, Union County is one of the [most densely populated counties in America]. Its population density exceeds that of (which contains ),  (which contains ) and  (which contains ).

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 273 (105 ). 268 km² (103 sq mi) of it is land and 6 km² (2 sq mi) of it (2.06%) is water.

Much of Union County is relatively flat and low-lying. Only in the northwestern corner does any significant relief appear as the cross the county. It is there that highest elevations, two areas approximately 560 feet (171 m) above sea level, are found in Berkeley Heights. The lowest elevation is sea level along the eastern shore.

Adjacent Counties

 * - north
 * - east
 * - east
 * - south
 * - west
 * - west

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 522,541 people, 186,124 households, and 133,264 families residing in the county. The was 1,953/km² (5,059/sq mi). There were 192,945 housing units at an average density of 721/km² (1,868/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 65.51%, 20.78% or , 0.23% , 3.83% , 0.04% , 6.37% from , and 3.25% from two or more races. 19.71% of the population were or  of any race. 13.1% were of, 8.6% , 6.5% and 5.8%  ancestry according to.

There were 186,124 households out of which 34.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.60% were living together, 14.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.40% were non-families. 23.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.28.

In the county the population was spread out with 24.90% under the age of 18, 7.90% from 18 to 24, 31.30% from 25 to 44, 22.10% from 45 to 64, and 13.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 92.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $55,339, and the median income for a family was $65,234. Males had a median income of $44,544 versus $32,487 for females. The for the county was $26,992. About 6.30% of families and 8.40% of the population were below the, including 10.50% of those under age 18 and 8.00% of those age 65 or over.

Union County is extremely diverse. ,, , , , , , , , and Scotch Plains have a very high number of  residents as well as a large number of  and residents of Northern European descent in general. ,, Linden, , and all have large  communities. has a notably large community, and Roselle Park, Linden, Rahway, and Plainfield, and particularly Elizabeth, have fast-growing  and  populations. There are fair-sized communities in Springfield,, Elizabeth, Cranford, Westfield, and Summit, but not on the level of.

Government
Union County is governed by a nine-member. The members are elected at large to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with three seats coming up for election each year. The Freeholder Board sets policies for the operation of the County. Actual day-to-day operation of departments is supervised by an appointed County Manager, George W. Devanney.

The Freeholders perform the county's legislative and executive functions. In their legislative role, they formulate and adopt a budget and set county policies and procedures. In their executive role, they oversee county spending and functioning. Many of the administrative duties are delegated by the Board of Chosen Freeholders to the County Manager.

Each of the freeholders serves on various committees and boards as a part of their duties. These include the Economic Development Committee, the Parks and Recreation Board, the Libraries Committee, and the Policy Committee, to name a few. In addition, the Board oversees the county's Open Space Trust Fund.

As of the January 2007 reorganization, Union County's are Freeholder Chairwoman Bette Jane Kowalski, Freeholder Vice Chairman, Chester Holmes, Adrian O. Mapp, Alexander Mirabella, Rick Proctor, Deborah P. Scanlon, Daniel P. Sullivan and Nancy Ward.

Union County Freeholders meet publicly on a monthly basis. Citizens have the ability to provide feedback and comment on issues that concern them.

Transportation
The county is served by numerous transportation modes including rail, air, highways and ports.

Major highways which traverse the county include the, , , , , , and the.

Passenger rail service is provide by via the, , , the  and the. Freight service is provided by on Conrail's and.

The is part of the.

The southern portion of is located in Elizabeth, within Union County.