| Raritan, New Jersey | |
|---|---|
| — Borough — | |
| Motto: "A friendly town of friendly people" | |
| Map of Raritan in Somerset County. Inset: Location of Somerset County highlighted in the State of New Jersey. | |
| Census Bureau map of Raritan, New Jersey | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New Jersey |
| County | Somerset |
| Incorporated | June 12, 1948 |
| Government[1] | |
| • Type | Borough (New Jersey) |
| • Mayor | Jo-Ann Liptak (term ends 2011)[2] |
| • Administrator | Daniel Jaxel[3] |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.0 sq mi (5.3 km2) |
| • Land | 2.0 sq mi (5.3 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
| Elevation[4] | 95 ft (29 m) |
| Population (2010 Census)[5] | |
| • Total | 6,881 |
| • Density | 3,440.5/sq mi (1,298.3/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP codes | 08869, 08896 |
| Area code(s) | 908 |
| FIPS code | 34-61980[6][7] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0885365[8] |
| Website | http://www.raritanboro.org |
Raritan is a Borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the borough population was 6,881.[5]
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Raritan is located at (40.571302, -74.637405).[9]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 2.0 square miles (5.2 km2), all of it land. Raritan is in Raritan Valley (a line of cities in central NJ). Raritan is in the western division of Raritan Valley along with Branchburg and Bridgewater.
Raritan Town was originally established as a subdivision within Bridgewater Township by act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 3, 1868. After a series of bitter lawsuits between Raritan and Bridgewater in the 1930s and 1940s, the Legislature allowed Raritan to become an independent Borough by an Act on May 12, 1948, based on the results of a referendum passed on June 12, 1948. The new borough incorporated the old town and an additional portion of Bridgewater Township.[10]
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1930 | 4,751 |
|
|
| 1940 | 4,839 | 1.9% | |
| 1950 | 5,131 | 6.0% | |
| 1960 | 6,137 | 19.6% | |
| 1970 | 6,691 | 9.0% | |
| 1980 | 6,128 | −8.4% | |
| 1990 | 5,798 | −5.4% | |
| 2000 | 6,338 | 9.3% | |
| 2010 | 6,881 | 8.6% | |
| Population 1930 - 1990.[11] | |||
As of the census[6] of 2000, there were 6,338 people, 2,556 households, and 1,671 families residing in the borough. The population density was 3,113.8 people per square mile (1,199.6/km2). There were 2,644 housing units at an average density of 1,299.0 per square mile (500.4/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 87.74% White, 0.93% African American, 0.08% Native American, 8.17% Asian, 0.16% Pacific Islander, 1.64% from other races, and 1.28% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.41% of the population.
There were 2,556 households out of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.0% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.6% were non-families. 29.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.08.
In the borough the population was spread out with 22.3% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 35.0% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 92.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.1 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $51,122, and the median income for a family was $59,962. Males had a median income of $46,071 versus $35,704 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $26,420. About 5.5% of families and 6.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.0% of those under age 18 and 12.8% of those age 65 or over.
Raritan is governed under the Borough form of New Jersey municipal government. The government consists of a Mayor and a Borough Council comprising six council members, with all positions elected at large. A Mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office. The Borough Council consists of six members elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year.[1]
As of 2011[update], the Mayor of the Borough of Raritan is Jo-Ann Liptak (term expires December 31, 2011). Members of the Raritan Borough Council are Anthony Soriano, Jr. (2013), Victor J. Laggini, Jr. (2011), Denise Carra (2011), Gregory Lobell (2012), Stefanie Gara (2012) and Paul Giraldi (2013).[12]
Rocco Miele was Raritan's first mayor, serving from its founding in 1948 to 1953.[13]
Raritan is in the 11th Congressional district. New Jersey's Eleventh Congressional District is represented by Rodney Frelinghuysen (R, Harding Township). New Jersey is represented in the United States Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).
Raritan is in the 16th Legislative District of the New Jersey Legislature, which is represented in the New Jersey Senate by Christopher "Kip" Bateman (R, Neshanic Station) and in the New Jersey General Assembly by Peter J. Biondi (R, Hillsborough Township) and Denise Coyle (R, Basking Ridge).[14]
Somerset County is governed by a five-member Board of Chosen Freeholders, whose members are elected at-large to three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with one or two seats coming up for election each year.[15] As of 2011, Somerset County's Freeholders are Freeholder Director Robert Zaborowski (Franklin Township, term ends December 31, 2011)[16], Freeholder Deputy Director Patricia L. Walsh (Green Brook Township, 2013)[17], Jack Ciattarelli (Hillsborough Township, 2012)[18], Peter S. Palmer (Bernardsville, 2011)[19] and Patrick Scaglione (Bridgewater Township, 2012).[20][21]
Students from Raritan attend the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District, together with students from Bridgewater Township. Approximately 1,000 students of the 8,800 students in the district are from Raritan. All of the school facilities are in Bridgewater, except for John F. Kennedy School, which is in Raritan. Schools in the district (with 2008-09 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[22]) are six K-4 elementary schools — Adamsville School (540 students), Bradley Gardens School (353), Crim School (466), Hamilton School (462), John F. Kennedy School (494), Milltown School (549) and Van Holten School (475) — both Eisenhower Intermediate School (859) and Hillside Intermediate School (604) for grades 5&6, Bridgewater-Raritan Middle School (1,480) for grades 7&8 and Bridgewater-Raritan High School (2,845) for grades 9-12.
During the 1999-2000 school year, Bridgewater-Raritan High School was recognized with the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education,[23] the highest award an American school can receive from the federal government.[24][25]
The Raritan train station offers New Jersey Transit service on the Raritan Valley Line. The station is north of the town center on Thompson Street. The station building is south of the tracks in the main parking lot and was built in the early 1890s. There are also three other small lots for this station. Raritan is the last station to the west that is serviced by all Raritan Valley Line trains.
Notable current and former residents of Raritan include:
Notable births in Raritan:
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