Newark is a large coastal city (ie. on the ocean or tidally-influenced rivers) located in the state of New Jersey. With a population of 273,546 people and 96 constituent neighborhoods, Newark is the largest community in New Jersey.

Unlike some cities where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Newark is neither predominently one or the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Newark is a city of sales and office workers, service providers, and professionals. There are especially a lot of people living in Newark who work in office and administrative support jobs (19.22%), sales jobs (8.29%), and building maintenance and grounds keeping (5.77%).

One of the nice things about Newark is that is it nautical, meaning that parts of the city are somewhat historic and on the ocean, or touch tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and tidal rivers. Because of this, visitors and locals will often go to these areas to take in the scenery or to enjoy waterfront activities.

One downside of living in Newark, however, is that residents on average have to contend with a long commute, spending on average 31.73 minutes every day commuting to work. It is, however, a pedestrian-friendly city. Many of its neighborhoods are dense enough and have amenities close enough together that people find it feasible to get around on foot. In addition, local public transit is widely used. For those who would prefer to avoid driving entirely and leave their car at home, it may be an option to use the transit instead.

Newark has a lot of people who ride the bus to and from work. In fact, for its size, Newark has quite a high level of public transit users. Newark's need for inexpensive transportation options for its citizens is quite high.

Newark Information and Demographics

The citizens of Newark have a very low rate of college education: just 8.98% of people over 25 have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree, compared to a national average of 14.96% for all cities.

The per capita income in Newark in 2000 was $13,009, which is low income relative to New Jersey and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $52,036 for a family of four.

Newark is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Newark home come from a variety of different races and ancestries. The most prevalent race in Newark is African-American, followed by White. Newark also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 29.41% of the city's residents. Important ancestries of people in Newark include Portuguese, Italian, and Brazilian.

Newark also has a high percentage of its population that was born in another country: 24.15%.

The most common language spoken in Newark is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Portuguese.