Hudson County is a county in the U.S. state of New Jersey, its smallest and most densely populated. Lying in the northeast of the state and on the west bank of the Hudson River, the county is part of the state's Gateway Region and the New York metropolitan area. Its county seat is Jersey City, the county's largest city in terms of both population and area, as well as the second-largest city in the state. Established in 1840, it is named for Henry Hudson, the sea captain who explored the area in 1609. Given its proximity and various mass transit connections to Manhattan, Hudson County is sometimes referred to as New York City's sixth borough. The county is part of the North Jersey region of the state.

As of the 2020 United States census, the county was the state's fourth-most-populous and fastest-growing county in the previous decade,Table 1. New Jersey Counties and Most Populous Cities and Townships: 2020 and 2010 Censuses, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Accessed December 1, 2022. with a population of 724,854, its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 90,588 (+14.3%) from the 2010 census count of 634,266, which in turn reflected an increase of 25,291 (+4.2%) from the 2000 census population of 608,975. The United States Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program estimated a 2025 population of 735,033, an increase of 10,179 (+1.4%) from the 2020 decennial census.

Home to in 2020 and covering of land, Hudson County is New Jersey's geographically smallest and most densely populated county. Hudson County shares extensive mass transit connections with Manhattan, located across the Hudson River, as well as with most of Northern and Central New Jersey.

Geography and climate Climate The average temperature of Hudson County is , which is approximately the same as the state average of , and lower than the national average of .

The county is located on the East Coast of the United States, approximately halfway between the Equator and the North Pole, which results in climate that is influenced by wet, dry, hot, and cold airstreams, and highly variable daily weather. Of New Jersey's five distinct climate regions, Hudson County is located in the Central region, which runs from New York Harbor and the Lower Hudson River to the great bend of the Delaware River near the state capital of Trenton. The high number of urban areas in this region are characterized by a high volume of industry and vehicular traffic that produce large amounts of pollutants. These substances, along with the large amounts of asphalt, brick, and concrete that compose buildings in the area, retain more atmospheric heat, which make it a regularly warmer "heat island" than surrounding suburban and rural areas. The northern border of the Central Zone is often the boundary between freezing and non-freezing precipitation in the winter, and between comfortable and uncomfortable sleeping conditions in the summer.

Hudson County experiences precipitation an average of 116 days a year, during which it receives an annual average of 48 inches of rain, compared to the national average of 38, and 26 inches of snow, compared to the national average of 28. The summer high temperature in July is about 86 degrees, and its winter low in January is 25. On average, there are 219 sunny days per year in the county, compared with the national average of 205.

Average temperatures in the county seat of Jersey City have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in February 1934 and a record high of was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in July.

Landforms and borders

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of the 2020 Census, the county had a total area of , of which was land (74.1%) and was water (25.9%). Based on land area, it is the smallest of New Jersey's 21 counties, less than half the size of the next smallest (Union County) and the eighth-smallest of all counties in the United States.2010 Census: State and County Quick Facts, United States Census Bureau

Hudson is located in the heart of New York metropolitan area in northeastern New Jersey. It is bordered by the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay to the east; Kill Van Kull to the south; Newark Bay and the Hackensack River or the Passaic River to the west; its only land border is shared with Bergen County to the north.

The topography is marked by the New Jersey Palisades in the north with cliffs overlooking the Hudson River to the east and less severe cuesta, or slope, to the west. They gradually level off to the southern peninsula, which is coastal and flat. The western region, around the Hackensack and Passaic is part of the New Jersey Meadowlands. Much of the land along the county's extensive shoreline and littoral zone was created by land reclamation.

The highest point, at 260 feet (79 m) above sea level, is in West New York;New Jersey County High Points, Peakbagger.com. Accessed October 4, 2013. the lowest point is at sea level. North Bergen is the city with the second most hills per square mile in the United States behind San Francisco.

Ellis Island and Liberty Island, opposite Liberty State Park, lie entirely within Hudson County's waters, which extend to the New York state line. Liberty Island is part of New York. Largely created through land reclamation, Ellis Island covers a land area of , with the natural island and contiguous areas comprising a exclave of New York. Shooters Island, in the Kill van Kull, is also shared with New York. Robbins Reef Light sits atop a reef which runs parallel the Bayonne and Jersey City waterfront.

Much of the county lies between the Hackensack and Hudson Rivers on a geographically long narrow peninsula, (sometimes called Bergen Neck), which is a contiguous urban area where it is often difficult to know when one's crossed a civic boundary. These boundaries and the topography-including many hills and inlets-create very distinct neighborhoods. Kennedy Boulevard runs the entire length of the peninsula. Numerous cuts for rail and vehicular traffic cross Bergen Hill.

Given its proximity to Manhattan, it is sometimes referred to as New York City's sixth borough.Holusha, John. "Commercial Property / The Jersey Riverfront; On the Hudson's West Bank, Optimistic Developers", The New York Times, October 11, 1998. Accessed February 25, 2026. "'That simply is out of the question in midtown,' he said, adding that some formerly fringe areas in Midtown South that had previously been available were filled up as well. Given that the buildings on the New Jersey waterfront are new and equipped with the latest technology and just a few stops on the PATH trains from Manhattan, they become an attractive alternative. 'It's the sixth borough', he said."Garbarine, Rachelle. "Commercial Property/North Bergen, N.J.; Work Begins on a 350,000-Sq.-Ft. Retail Center", The New York Times, April 19, 1998. Accessed February 25, 2026. "THE site should have been a retailer's dream: Seventeen acres atop a rocky slope in the Hudson County community of North Bergen, N.J., visible to drivers along the Route 3-Route 495 corridor on the way to or from the Lincoln Tunnel, just over a mile away.... He said his company, which is making its first foray into New Jersey, viewed the area 'as the sixth borough' of New York City."Strunsky, Steve. "Cities; Bright Lights, Big Retail", The New York Times, December 9, 2001. Accessed February 25, 2026. "Macy's has arrived on this former industrial shoreline. And with it, at least in retail terms, so has Jersey City.... While hardly Saks Fifth Avenue or even Neiman Marcus, Macy's is certainly the most upscale department store in this city, whose status as virtually a sixth borough of New York has become increasingly obvious as jobs jump across the Hudson, rents rise like skyscrapers and trendier residents look around for places to lighten their wallets."Belson, Ken. "In Stamford, a Plan to Rebuild an Area and Build an Advantage", The New York Times, May 21, 2007. Accessed February 25, 2026. "Jersey City, with twice as many residents as Stamford, already has 17 million square feet of office space and another 6 million square feet under construction. Four thousand luxury apartments are also being built there, and its nexus of financial firms — Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Merrill Lynch among them — is a big reason that Jersey City is called 'Wall Street West' or 'the Sixth Borough.'"

History Etymology Hudson County is named after the explorer Henry Hudson, who charted much of the region in 1609.

The Lenape and New Netherland

At the time of European contact in the 17th century, Hudson County was the territory of the Lenape (or Lenni-Lenape), namely the bands (or family groups) known as the Hackensack, the Tappan, the Raritan, and the Manhattan. They were a seasonally migrational people who practiced small-scale agriculture (companion planting) augmented by hunting and gathering which likely, given the topography of the area, included much (shell) fishing and trapping. These groups had early and frequent trading contact with Europeans. Their Algonquian language can still be inferred in many local place names such as Communipaw, Harsimus, Hackensack, Hoboken, Weehawken, Secaucus, and Pamrapo.

Henry Hudson, for whom the county and river on which it sits are named, established a claim for the area in 1609 when anchoring his ship the Halve Maen (Half Moon) at Harsimus Cove and Weehawken Cove. The west bank of the North River (as it was called) and the cliffs, hills, and marshlands abutting and beyond it, were settled by Europeans (Dutch, Flemish, Walloon, Huguenot) from the Lowlands around the same time as New Amsterdam. In 1630, Michiel Pauw received a land patent, or patroonship and purchased the land between the Hudson and Hackensack Rivers, giving it the Latinized form of his name, Pavonia. He failed to settle the area and was forced to return his holdings to the Dutch West India Company. Homesteads were established at Communipaw (1633), Harsimus (1634), Paulus Hook (1638), and Hoebuck (1643). Relations were tenuous with the Lenape, and eventually led to Kieft's War, which began as a slaughter by the Dutch at Communipaw and is considered to be one of the first genocides of Native Americans by Europeans. A series of raids and reprisals across the province lasted two years and ended in an uneasy truce. Other homesteads were established at Constable Hook (1646), Awiehaken (1647), and other lands at Achter Col on Bergen Neck. In 1658, Director-General Peter Stuyvesant of New Netherland negotiated a deal with the Lenape to re-purchase the area named Bergen, "by the great rock above Wiehacken," including the whole peninsula from Sikakes south to Bergen Point/Constable Hook. In 1661, a charter was granted the new village/garrison at the site of present-day Bergen Square, establishing what is considered to be the oldest self-governing municipality in New Jersey. The British gained control of the area in 1664, and the Dutch finally ceded formal control of the province to the English in 1674.

The British and early America