County facts · Land area · October 22, 2026
Largest Counties in New Jersey by Area and Population
The largest New Jersey counties by land area and by 2023 population, plus the smallest, county seats and a link to each official parcel map.
Looking for the largest counties in New Jersey? New Jersey has 21 counties covering about 7,355 square miles of land, based on the Census Bureau's 2020 Gazetteer. The largest by land area is Burlington County, at about 799 square miles, roughly 17 times the size of the smallest, Hudson County (46 sq mi). Measured by people instead, the largest is Bergen County, with about 957,736 residents in the Census Bureau's July 1, 2023 estimate.
The tables below rank the counties both ways. Each row links to the county's Platbookmapper page and straight to its official parcel viewer.
New Jersey counties at a glance
- Counties: 21
- Land area: about 7,355 sq mi, plus about 1,364 sq mi of water inside county lines
- Residents, 2023 estimates: about 9,290,841, or about 1,263 people per square mile of land
- Median county land area: about 322 sq mi
- With a verified public parcel viewer in our directory: 21 of 21 (4 of them through a statewide viewer)
The 10 largest New Jersey counties by land area
| # | County | Seat | Land (sq mi) | 2023 pop. | People per sq mi | Parcel viewer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burlington County | Mount Holly | 799 | 469,167 | 587 | ArcGIS Experience Builder |
| 2 | Ocean County | Toms River | 628 | 659,197 | 1,049 | ArcGIS Experience Builder |
| 3 | Atlantic County | Mays Landing | 556 | 275,213 | 495 | NJ Parcels and MOD-IV Composite layer in ArcGIS Map Viewer (imagery basemap) |
| 4 | Sussex County | Newton | 519 | 146,132 | 282 | county web map |
| 5 | Cumberland County | Bridgeton | 483 | 152,326 | 315 | ArcGIS Web AppBuilder |
| 6 | Monmouth County | Freehold | 468 | 642,799 | 1,373 | ArcGIS Experience Builder |
| 7 | Morris County | Morristown | 461 | 514,423 | 1,116 | county web map |
| 8 | Hunterdon County | Flemington | 428 | 130,183 | 304 | ArcGIS Experience Builder |
| 9 | Warren County | Belvidere | 357 | 111,252 | 312 | ArcGIS Experience Builder |
| 10 | Salem County | Salem | 332 | 65,338 | 197 | NJ Parcels and MOD-IV Composite layer in ArcGIS Map Viewer (imagery basemap) |
Together these 10 cover about 68% of New Jersey's land area and hold about 34% of its residents.
The 10 most populous New Jersey counties
| # | County | Seat | 2023 pop. | Land (sq mi) | Parcel viewer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bergen County | Hackensack | 957,736 | 233 | county web map |
| 2 | Middlesex County | New Brunswick | 863,623 | 309 | NJ Parcels and MOD-IV Composite layer in ArcGIS Map Viewer (imagery basemap) |
| 3 | Essex County | Newark | 851,117 | 126 | ArcGIS Map Viewer |
| 4 | Hudson County | Jersey City | 705,472 | 46 | county web map |
| 5 | Ocean County | Toms River | 659,197 | 628 | ArcGIS Experience Builder |
| 6 | Monmouth County | Freehold | 642,799 | 468 | ArcGIS Experience Builder |
| 7 | Union County | Elizabeth | 572,726 | 103 | county web map |
| 8 | Camden County | Camden | 527,196 | 221 | county web map |
| 9 | Morris County | Morristown | 514,423 | 461 | county web map |
| 10 | Passaic County | Paterson | 513,395 | 186 | NJ Parcels and MOD-IV Composite layer in ArcGIS Map Viewer (imagery basemap) |
These 10 hold about 73% of New Jersey's residents in the 2023 estimates.
The 5 smallest New Jersey counties by land area
| County | Seat | Land (sq mi) | 2023 pop. | Parcel viewer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hudson County | Jersey City | 46 | 705,472 | county web map |
| Union County | Elizabeth | 103 | 572,726 | county web map |
| Essex County | Newark | 126 | 851,117 | ArcGIS Map Viewer |
| Passaic County | Paterson | 186 | 513,395 | NJ Parcels and MOD-IV Composite layer in ArcGIS Map Viewer (imagery basemap) |
| Camden County | Camden | 221 | 527,196 | county web map |
Most and least crowded
- Most people per square mile: Hudson County, about 15,272 (then Essex County, 6,750, and Union County, 5,573)
- Fewest people per square mile: Salem County, about 197 (then Sussex County, 282, and Hunterdon County, 304)
Counties with the most water
The Census Bureau reports water separately from land. It counts lakes, reservoirs, rivers and, along a coast or a Great Lake, the water inside the boundary.
- Cape May County: about 369 sq mi of water, 59% of its total area
- Ocean County: about 287 sq mi of water, 31% of its total area
- Cumberland County: about 194 sq mi of water, 29% of its total area
Using these numbers in a land search
- Land area is not parcel count. A large rural county can hold fewer parcels than a small suburban one, so size alone says little about how busy its parcel map is.
- Search, don't scroll. In a big county, type an address, owner name or parcel number into the viewer's search box, where it has one, instead of panning across the map.
- Records follow the county line. Deeds, plats and tax bills are kept by the county where the parcel sits, so a tract that crosses a county line usually has a parcel number on each side.
- Rounded figures. Land and water areas are rounded to whole square miles (one decimal for very small places). People per square mile is the 2023 estimate divided by land area.
Related guides
- New Jersey county GIS websites by viewer
- New Jersey–New York border counties
- New Jersey–Pennsylvania border counties
- Largest county in each state
- Largest counties in the US by land area
More: All New Jersey counties on Platbookmapper
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau Gazetteer files, 2020 county land and water area.
- U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, county totals, Vintage 2023 (July 1, 2023 estimates)
- Platbookmapper county GIS directory (live data file behind our county pages, pulled October 22, 2026) for each official parcel viewer.
- County seats: Wikidata (county seat property), cross-checked against Census place names.