Somerset County, New Jersey

Somerset County is a located in the  of. As of 2000, the population was 297,490. It is part of the. Its is. Somerset County has the of any U.S. county, based on per capita income.

Somerset County was created on, , from portions of.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 790 (305 ). 789 km² (305 sq mi) of it is land and 1 km² (0 sq mi) of it (0.12%) is water.

Like neighboring, Somerset is divided into northern and southern halves by the. However, unlike its eastern neighbor that results in distinctly different topography: the northern half is quite hilly, characteristic of, while south of the river is mostly flat, similar to.

The high point is on Mine Mountain in Bernardsville, at approximately 860 feet (262 m) above sea level; the lowest point is just above sea level on the Raritan at the Middlesex County line.

Adjacent Counties

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

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 297,490 people, 108,984 households, and 78,359 families residing in the county. The was 377/km² (976/sq mi). There were 112,023 housing units at an average density of 142/km² (368/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 79.34%, 7.53% or , 0.13% , 8.38% , 0.04% , 2.74% from , and 1.83% from two or more races. 8.68% of the population were or  of any race. 17.6% were of, 11.4% , 9.3% and 7.5%  ancestry according to.

There were 108,984 households out of which 36.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.60% were living together, 8.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.10% were non-families. 22.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.19.

In the county the population was spread out with 25.50% under the age of 18, 5.90% from 18 to 24, 33.80% from 25 to 44, 23.50% from 45 to 64, and 11.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 95.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $76,933 and the median income for a family was $90,605. Males had a median income of $60,602 versus $41,824 for females. The for the county was $37,970. The poverty rate is 1.7%, the lowest of any county in the United States with 250,000 or more people. Out of the total population, 3.80% of those under the age of 18 and 4.90% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

History
Somerset County is one of America's oldest counties. The area was first settled in 1681, in the vicinity of, and the county was established by charter on ,. Most of the early residents were Dutch. and his troops marched through the county on several occasions and slept in many of the homes located throughout the area. Parts of the run through the county. Somerset County also played an important part during both and  with weapons depots and the manufacturing of the army's woolen blankets.

Government
Somerset County is governed and managed by a. The board consists of five members; one or two are elected each year from the County at large to serve three-year terms.

Freeholders elect from among themselves a Director who conducts their meetings. Each Freeholder in Somerset County chairs a standing committee: Human Services, Finance and Administrative Services, Public Works I and Public Works II. The Freeholder Director and County Administrator are ex-officio members of each committee.

The Freeholders employ a full-time County Administrator who manages the day-to-day operations of County government. The current County Administrator is Richard E. Williams. The Clerk of the Board of Freeholders oversees the work of their offices. Department heads are appointed in accordance with statute and by resolution of the board. Somerset County currently has approximately 1,331 full-time employees and 278 part-timers in about 40 divisions.

As of 2007, Somerset County's Freeholders are:
 * Robert Zaborowski - Freeholder Director (term ends, )
 * Denise Coyle - Freeholder Deputy Director (2007)
 * Jack Ciattarelli (2009)
 * Rick Fontana (2009)
 * Peter S. Palmer (2008)

Coyle will not seek re-election in 2007, instead running for the state Assembly seat being vacated by (a former freeholder), who is seeking to move up to the state Senate. Bateman and Coyle have the backing of the Republican leadership and their constituencies are heavily Republican.

Other elected officials in Somerset County are Sheriff Frank J. Provenzano, Sr., County Clerk Brett A. Radi and Surrogate Frank Bruno.

All current elected officials in Somerset County are Republicans.

Taxation
based on data for the 2004 tax year, Somerset County had the ninth highest average federal income tax liability per return in the country Average tax liability was $16,502, representing 16.8% of.

Education
Somerset County is home to two s:


 * , (public)
 * ,, in (private)

, which closed in 1978, was a private college located in Zarephath, located in the building now occupied by Somerset Christian College.

Somerset is also home to Somerset Hills Learning Institute, a state-of-the-art program dedicated to educating children on the autism spectrum by utilizing the principles of ABA.

Recreation
Somerset County boasts a number of beautiful county parks, including but not limited to:  (part of the ),  (with a lovely rose garden),  (with biking and hiking trails), the  (hiking and mountain biking trails), and the newest park in development called Raritan River Greenway (which is being developed along the  in ). For more information, visit the Somerset County Park Commission website.

Somerset County also hosts the State Park, which provides hiking, biking and boating opportunities. The portion of the park in Somerset County runs along the side of an abandoned canal from Somerset in to the  line in Princeton at, also in Franklin Township (Kingston).

Municipalities
The following is a list of the municipalities in Somerset County. Other, s in the county are listed below their parent municipality (or municipalities, as the case may be). Most of these areas are s that have been created by the for enumeration purposes within a. Other communities, historical areas, unincorporated areas, and enclaves that exist within a municipality are marked as non-CDP next to the name.
 * non-CDP
 * non-CDP
 * non-CDP
 * non-CDP (Somerset County portion)
 * non-CDP
 * non-CDP
 * non-CDP
 * non-CDP
 * non-CDP
 * non-CDP
 * non-CDP
 * non-CDP
 * non-CDP
 * non-CDP
 * non-CDP
 * non-CDP (Somerset County portion)
 * non-CDP
 * non-CDP
 * non-CDP
 * non-CDP
 * non-CDP
 * non-CDP
 * non-CDP
 * non-CDP
 * non-CDP
 * non-CDP
 * non-CDP
 * non-CDP
 * non-CDP
 * non-CDP