Hunterdon County, New Jersey

Hunterdon County is a county in New Jersey, United States, roughly 55 miles west of New York City and 20 miles north of Trenton, in the Highlands and Piedmont hill country west of the Raritan Valley. It had a population of 128,947 at the 2020 census, an estimated 131,781 by 2025, and covers 437.40 square miles (1,132.9 km2) centred near 40°34′N 74°55′W.

Flemington is the county seat and one of the county’s ten boroughs; its postal code is 08822. The county holds 1 city, 1 town, 10 boroughs and 14 townships across 26 municipalities, and it runs on Eastern Time. Its FIPS code is 34019.

Towns & Villages in Hunterdon County

All 26 municipalities are incorporated; New Jersey has no unincorporated places or separate civil townships layered underneath them, so a Hunterdon “township” is a full municipality with its own government, not a county subdivision. The table below covers every place type in the county: 14 townships, 10 boroughs, one city (Lambertville) and one town (Clinton).

Three name pairs trip up mail and map searches here. Clinton Town (population 2,773, ZIP 08809) is a separate municipality from the much larger Clinton Township (13,505) that surrounds it — the town seceded from the township in 1865 and the two have run separate governments ever since. Lebanon Borough (1,665) and Lebanon Township (6,195) are likewise distinct, non-adjacent municipalities that both use “Lebanon” post office addresses. And the hamlet of Readington, a PO Box–only ZIP (08870) near the geographic centre of the township, sits inside Readington Township (16,128) but is not the township’s seat of government — Readington Township has no single downtown; its municipal building is in Whitehouse Station.

ZIP Codes

Nineteen ZIP codes carry home delivery in Hunterdon County; most townships have no post office of their own and instead share ZIPs with a named village inside their borders.

• 08822 — Flemington (also serves most of Raritan Township)
• 08889 — Whitehouse Station (Readington Township)
• 08833 — Lebanon (Lebanon Borough and parts of Lebanon and Tewksbury townships)
• 08848 — Milford (also serves parts of Holland and Alexandria townships)
• 08530 — Lambertville (also serves parts of West Amwell Township)
• 07830 — Califon (also serves parts of Lebanon and Tewksbury townships)
• 08801 — Annandale, the largest village in Clinton Township
• 08809 — Clinton (Clinton Town and adjoining parts of Clinton Township)
• 08551 — Ringoes (East Amwell Township and parts of Raritan and Delaware townships)
• 08826 — Glen Gardner
• 08867 — Pittstown (Union Township and parts of Alexandria and Franklin townships)
• 08559 — Stockton (also serves parts of Delaware and Kingwood townships)
• 08825 — Frenchtown (also serves parts of Holland and Kingwood townships)
• 08802 — Asbury (parts of Bethlehem and Franklin townships)
• 08827 — Hampton
• 08829 — High Bridge
• 08804 — Bloomsbury
• 08887 — Three Bridges (Readington Township)
• 08556 — Rosemont (Delaware Township)

A further nine ZIPs — Pottersville 07979, Oldwick 08858, Baptistown 08803, Quakertown 08868, Little York 08834, Readington 08870, Sergeantsville 08557, Whitehouse 08888 and Stanton 08885 — cover named villages inside these same townships but carry no home delivery; residents there receive mail under one of the ZIPs listed above.

Geography

The county splits into two landscapes. The northwest, in Bethlehem, Union, Lebanon and Tewksbury townships, is part of the Highlands of New Jersey, with ridges reaching about 1,060 feet near the Morris County line in Lebanon Township. The southeast, around Flemington and the Amwells, is rolling Piedmont farmland that drops to roughly 50 feet where the Delaware River meets the Mercer County line, the county’s lowest point. The Musconetcong River drains the north, the Lamington River the east, the South Branch of the Raritan River the centre, and the Delaware River forms the entire western border. Round Valley Reservoir, in Clinton Township, is New Jersey’s deepest lake and a state-record trout and smallmouth-bass water; Spruce Run Reservoir, just north of it, backs up the South Branch for boating and shoreline fishing.

Hunterdon borders Warren County to the north, Morris County to the northeast, Somerset County to the east, and Mercer County to the south. Across the Delaware River it faces Bucks County, Pennsylvania to the southwest and Northampton County, Pennsylvania to the northwest.

Demographics

The county’s population grew slightly to 128,947 at the 2020 count and was estimated at 131,781 for 2025. Raritan Township (23,447) and Readington Township (16,128) are the two largest municipalities; together they hold nearly a third of the county’s residents. Median household income was $105,186 in the county’s most recent Census Bureau ranking, well above New Jersey’s statewide median of $99,781, and put Hunterdon fourth among all U.S. counties. Population density is about 301 people per square mile of land, low for a county this close to New York City.

Economy & Local Life

Interstate 78, completed through the county in the 1980s, drew corporate offices that still anchor the local economy: Chubb Limited and QuickChek Corporation are headquartered in Readington Township, and Merck & Co. and ExxonMobil both operated large campuses here for decades. Agriculture remains visible on the Piedmont side of the county — dairy, produce and a growing cluster of vineyards around Ringoes and Flemington — while the Highlands townships stay largely wooded and low-density by local zoning choice. Flemington’s historic downtown, built around the 1828 Hunterdon County Courthouse, anchors retail and county government; Lambertville’s riverfront district, across the Delaware from New Hope, Pennsylvania, is the county’s main tourism draw. The county’s best-known annual event is the New Jersey Lottery Festival of Ballooning, held each summer at Solberg-Hunterdon Airport in Readington Township and one of the largest hot-air-balloon gatherings in North America.

History

Hunterdon County was established on March 11, 1714, and named for Robert Hunter, a colonial governor of New Jersey; the name descended from Hunterston, his family’s seat in Ayrshire, Scotland. Native land purchases in the area ran from 1688 to 1758, and Lenape communities had farmed and fished along the South Branch of the Raritan and the Delaware River long before European settlement. The county originally stretched across most of northwestern New Jersey; Morris County split off in 1739 and Warren County followed in 1824, leaving Hunterdon at roughly its present boundaries. Flemington became the county seat in 1785, and its courthouse later hosted the 1935 Lindbergh kidnapping trial, still the county’s most widely reported historical event.

Getting There

Interstate 78 crosses the county east–west through Union, Lebanon and Clinton townships. Route 202 runs southeast from Flemington toward Somerville and New York City, Route 31 runs north–south through Flemington and Clinton, and Route 12 links Flemington to Frenchtown on the Delaware River.

• New York City — 55 miles northeast
• Trenton — 20 miles south
• Philadelphia — 50 miles southwest
• Allentown, Pennsylvania — 25 miles northwest

The Raritan Valley Line, NJ Transit’s commuter rail service toward Newark and New York Penn Station, terminates at High Bridge and also stops at Annandale, Lebanon and Whitehouse Station inside the county — the closest Amtrak connection is Trenton Transit Center on the Northeast Corridor, about 20 miles south. Solberg-Hunterdon Airport in Readington Township handles general aviation; the nearest commercial airports are Trenton-Mercer, about 25 miles south, and Newark Liberty International, about 50 miles northeast.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Hunterdon County?
It is in western New Jersey, along the Delaware River, about 55 miles west of New York City and 20 miles north of Trenton.

What is the population of Hunterdon County?
128,947 at the 2020 census, estimated at 131,781 in 2025.

How big is Hunterdon County?
437.40 square miles (1,132.9 km2) total, of which 427.84 square miles is land.

What is the county seat of Hunterdon County?
Flemington, postal code 08822.

How many towns are in Hunterdon County?
26 municipalities: 14 townships, 10 boroughs, 1 city (Lambertville) and 1 town (Clinton).

What ZIP codes cover Hunterdon County?
Nineteen carry home delivery, from 08822 (Flemington) and 08889 (Whitehouse Station) to 07830 (Califon) and 08559 (Stockton); a further nine cover named villages by PO Box only.

What is Hunterdon County known for?
Round Valley and Spruce Run reservoirs, Lambertville’s riverfront district opposite New Hope, Pennsylvania, and the New Jersey Lottery Festival of Ballooning held each summer at Solberg-Hunterdon Airport.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in New Jersey.