South Jersey

Encyclopedia : S : SO : SOU : South Jersey

This is about a region in the United States. For the island of Jersey, see Jersey.

South Jersey is a colloquial term, with no consensus definition, covering the southern portions of New Jersey between the lower Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean. Some people divide New Jersey into North Jersey and South Jersey; some put Central Jersey between them.

New Jersey is sandwiched between two large cities: New York City in the northeast and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the southwest; Benjamin Franklin called her a "barrel tapped at both ends". South Jersey is theoretically the area within the Philadelphia sphere of influence, whereas North Jersey is the area within New York City's influence.

South Jersey differs slightly from the historic province of West Jersey, which included western Mercer County and the valley of the Delaware River north of that, but only the southern tip of the present Ocean County. The upper Delaware is rarely called South Jersey, but Ocean County often is.

Contents

1 Geography
2 Standard of living
3 Commercial centers and resorts
4 South Jersey counties
5 Famous South Jerseyans
6 Culture

Geography

South Jersey is the area that grew and expanded with Philadelphia, as part of its metropolitan area, as opposed to with New York. Traditionally, the term was used to separate only the very most urban and industrial, northeastern of New Jersey's counties from the rural rest of the state, as West Jersey separated East Jersey historically. While West Jersey encompassed the areas that now make up approximately 14 of New Jersey's 21 counties in the center, south, and northwest of the state, "South Jersey" today comprises only 8 counties, with the other 13 now being considered "North Jersey" as they have grown and industrialized due to the outward growth of New York more so than of Philadelphia.

There is no longer any space, or even a line, between the New York and Philadelphia metropolitan areas. They meet in Central Jersey, the counties directly north of South Jersey: Somerset County, Middlesex County, Mercer County, and Monmouth County. These counties could be considered equally part of North Jersey and South Jersey because they have shared features with both regions.

Today, however, the counties of Central Jersey are almost exclusively considered to be within New York City's metropolitan influence and sprawl and consequently are almost always referred to as part of North Jersey and almost never anymore as South Jersey. As North Jersey continues to migrate south and South Jersey continues to migrate north, the two once distinct regions of the state continue to become more and more similar.

Standard of living

The more suburban areas of South Jersey are known nationwide for their high standards of living. In 2005, Money magazine named Moorestown the "best place to live" in the United States, although they stated that a number of adjacent municipalities (particularly Mount Laurel, Haddonfield, and Cherry Hill) could have just as easily been given the distinction. By contrast, nearby Camden is known as a pocket of extreme poverty and crime.

Commercial centers and resorts

South Jersey's regional commercial centers include: Cherry Hill Township, in suburban Philadelphia, and Atlantic City with its resort casinos, boardwalk, shopping, and beaches.

Other South Jersey resort communities include:

The Jersey Devil has been alleged to be located in the Pine Barrens of South Jersey.

South Jersey counties

Famous South Jerseyans

Vernon Hill, businessman.
Michelle Malkin, political commentator.
Joe Monzo, musician.
George Norcross III, political activist.
Kelly Ripa, talk show host.
Paul Volcker, former Chairman of the Federal Reserve.
Bruce Willis, actor.

Culture

South Jersey holds a culture and lifestyle very different from that of North and Central Jersey. A list of South Jersey cultural icons and commercial institutions includes, but is not limited, to:

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	State of New Jersey This box: [ view] • [ talk] • [ edit]
Capital	Trenton
Regions	Central Jersey \| Delaware Valley \| Jersey Shore \| Meadowlands \| North Jersey \| Pine Barrens \| South Jersey \| New York metro area \| Tri-State Region
Major Cities	Atlantic City \| Bayonne \| Camden \| Clifton \| Dover Township (Toms River) \| East Orange \| Elizabeth \| Hackensack \| Hoboken \| Jersey City \| Linden \| Long Branch \| New Brunswick \| Newark \| Passaic \| Paterson \| Perth Amboy \| Plainfield \| Princeton \| Union City \| Vineland \| In addition to the major cities listed, All Municipalities (by Population)
Counties	Atlantic \| Bergen \| Burlington \| Camden \| Cape May \| Cumberland \| Essex \| Gloucester \| Hudson \| Hunterdon \| Mercer \| Middlesex \| Monmouth \| Morris \| Ocean \| Passaic \| Salem \| Somerset \| Sussex \| Union \| Warren