Hudson County

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. The county is part of the North Jersey region of the state. Given its proximity and various mass transit connections to Manhattan, Hudson County is sometimes referred to as New York City's sixth borough.

As of the 2020 United States census, the county was the state's fourth-most-populous and fastest-growing county in the previous decade, 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.