North Arlington is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 16,457, an increase of 1,065 (+6.9%) from the 2010 census count of 15,392, which in turn reflected an increase of 211 (+1.4%) from the 15,181 counted in the 2000 census.Table 7. Population for the Counties and Municipalities in New Jersey: 1990, 2000 and 2010, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, February 2011. Accessed May 1, 2023.
As the site of Holy Cross Cemetery, which has interred almost 290,000 individuals since its establishment in 1915, and with another Jewish cemetery including several thousand more burials, North Arlington has almost 20 times more dead people than living, with more burials than the living population of Newark, the state's largest city. Holy Cross has an average of 2,600 interments each year, of which about 65% are burials, with the remainder split between entombment in mausoleums or crypts and burial of cremated remains. Expansion of the mausoleum will bring its capacity to nearly 36,000 interments, with the cemetery's total capacity of about 750,000 expected to last past the year 2090. The cemetery covers and was assessed at $185 million, though its non-profit status means that the municipality generates no tax revenue from a property that covers almost an eighth of the borough's land area.Levin, Jay. "North Arlington's sprawling cemetery a somber source of civic pride", The Record, August 18, 2013. Accessed August 19, 2013. "For every living soul in North Arlington, there are 20 who have ceased to be.... Some 289,600 people are interred in Holy Cross, which sprawls over 208 manicured acres, one-eighth of the borough's area. Several blocks away are several thousand graves in a small Jewish cemetery. That makes North Arlington, population 15,500, the resting place of close to 300,000 people — greater than the population of Newark and equivalent to that of Cincinnati."Holy Cross Cemetery & Mausoleum, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark. Accessed August 19, 2013.
North Arlington was ranked eighth by Money magazine on its list of "Best Places to Live 2017", which cited the borough's healthy economy, affordable homes and a high quality of life.Staff. "Best Places to Live 2017 - No. 8: North Arlington, New Jersey", Money. Accessed September 24, 2017.
History
North Arlington was originally part of an area called "New Barbadoes Neck".From the Hackensacks to the Dutch, Lyndhurst Historical Society. Accessed December 15, 2011. "Since Major Kingsland was stationed on Barbados and the shape of the territory he purchased here was a neck of land between two rivers, he named his acquisition 'New Barbadoes Neck.' In June 1671, Nathaniel Kingsland sold the southern third of New Barbadoes Neck (Harrison, East Newark, Kearny and North Arlington) to William Sanford for 200 pounds."
Copper was mined at the Schuyler Copper Mine in present-day North Arlington during the 18th and 19th centuries.Schuyler Copper Mine, accessed December 29, 2006. It was one of the first true copper mines in North America.
In 1755, the first steam engine in North America was assembled in North Arlington.NA History, Borough of North Arlington. Accessed September 10, 2015. "In the 1750s, it was the site of the first working steam engine in America, used to pump water from the copper mine located there." The Newcomen steam engine was imported from England by John Schuyler to pump water out of his copper mine. He hired engineer Josiah Hornblower to assemble the machinery.Manuscript Group 1508, Stoudinger-Alofsen-Fulton Drawings, New Jersey Historical Society. Accessed December 29, 2006.
North Arlington was formed by a referendum passed on March 9, 1896, and incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 11, 1896, from area taken from Union Township.Snyder, John P. The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 82. Accessed May 30, 2024. It was called North Arlington because it was north of the Arlington section of Kearny, which had been named from the Arlington Station on the Erie Railroad.History, Town of Kearny. Accessed October 3, 2019.
North Arlington, together with Lyndhurst and Rutherford, was the site of the EnCap project, an effort to remediate landfills on the site and construct homes and golf courses on top of the cleaned up site. On May 27, 2008, the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission terminated its agreement with EnCap Golf Holdings, the company that had the contract to redevelop the site, after the company had missed targets to clean up the landfills as part of the project.Belson, Ken. "Meadowlands Commission Cuts Ties With Developer", The New York Times, May 8, 2008. Accessed May 25, 2008.
On November 18, 2015, North Arlington approved plans for FedEx to build a freight distribution facility on a former steel dumping ground on Porete Avenue. FedEx pledged to build a new access road to Porete Avenue from Belleville Turnpike, complete with a signalized traffic light, as part of construction. The company planned to hire 225 people to work at the facility. FedEx planned to complete the building by early 2017.Na, Myles. "FedEx to build distribution center in North Arlington", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, November 18, 2015, updated January 17, 2019. Accessed October 3, 2019. "The borough has approved plans for FedEx to build a 139,000-square-foot freight distribution facility on a former steel dumping ground on Porete Avenue."
Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 2.53 square miles (6.55 km2), including 2.48 square miles (6.43 km2) of land and 0.05 square miles (0.12 km2) of water (1.78%).
North Arlington is the southernmost municipality in Bergen County, New Jersey. The borough borders the municipalities of Lyndhurst in Bergen County; Belleville in Essex County; and Kearny in Hudson County.Areas touching North Arlington, MapIt. Accessed March 1, 2020.Bergen County Map of Municipalities, Bergen County, New Jersey. Accessed February 28, 2020.New Jersey Municipal Boundaries, New Jersey Department of Transportation. Accessed November 15, 2019.
Route 7 (Belleville Turnpike) occupies much of the border of between Bergen County to the north and Hudson County to the south, with North Arlington on one side and Kearny on the other. The bordering neighborhood in Kearny is called Arlington, from which the name North Arlington is derived. Cemeteries lie along both sides of the route, with North Arlington Jewish Cemetery in Bergen and Arlington Memorial Park in Hudson.
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition +North Arlington borough, New Jersey – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 2000Pop 2010Pop 2020% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)12,43810,5679,24581.93%68.65%56.18%Black or African American alone (NH)581482570.38%0.96%1.56%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)101970.07%0.12%0.04%Asian alone (NH)8411,2011,1735.54%7.80%7.13%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)2220.01%0.01%0.01%Other race alone (NH)22911660.14%0.59%1.01%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)2051534981.35%0.99%3.03%Hispanic or Latino (any race)1,6053,2115,10910.57%20.86%31.04%Total15,18115,39216,457 100.00%100.00%100.00%
2020 census As of the 2020 census, North Arlington had a population of 16,457. The median age was 41.5 years. 18.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 17.9% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 93.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 91.7 males age 18 and over.
100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 6,525 households in North Arlington, of which 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 49.0% were married-couple households, 16.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 28.2% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 27.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 6,749 housing units, of which 3.3% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 3.1%.
2010 census
The 2010 United States census counted 15,392 people, 6,295 households, and 4,117 families in the borough. The population density was . There were 6,573 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup was 82.59% (12,712) White, 1.43% (220) Black or African American, 0.23% (36) Native American, 7.87% (1,211) Asian, 0.01% (2) Pacific Islander, 6.03% (928) from other races, and 1.84% (283) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 20.86% (3,211) of the population.
Of the 6,295 households, 25.4% had children under the age of 18; 49.4% were married couples living together; 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present and 34.6% were non-families. Of all households, 29.4% were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.05.
17.6% of the population were under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 28.8% from 45 to 64, and 16.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.5 years. For every 100 females, the population had 91.9 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 88.2 males.
The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $71,232 (with a margin of error of +/− $6,829) and the median family income was $87,854 (+/− $9,834). Males had a median income of $56,437 (+/− $4,127) versus $47,794 (+/− $4,233) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $34,265 (+/− $2,555). About 4.6% of families and 5.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.7% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.DP03: Selected Economic Characteristics from the 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates for North Arlington borough, Bergen County, New Jersey , United States Census Bureau. Accessed June 28, 2012.
Same-sex couples headed 39 households in 2010, an increase from the 28 counted in 2000.Lipman, Harvy; and Sheingold, Dave. "North Jersey sees 30% growth in same-sex couples", The Record, August 14, 2011, backed up by the Internet Archive as of February 3, 2013. Accessed October 12, 2014.
2000 census As of the 2000 United States census there were 15,181 people, 6,392 households, and 4,129 families residing in the borough. The population density was . There were 6,529 housing units at an average density of . The ethnic makeup of the borough was 89.61% White, 0.46% African American, 0.14% Native American, 5.61% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 2.29% from other races, and 1.87% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.57% of the population.Census 2000 Profiles of Demographic / Social / Economic / Housing Characteristics for North Arlington borough , United States Census Bureau. Accessed December 15, 2011.DP-1: Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000 - Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data for North Arlington borough, Bergen County, New Jersey , United States Census Bureau. Accessed May 30, 2024.
There were 6,392 households, out of which 24.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.7% were married couples living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.4% were non-families. 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 3.00.