Jersey City vs Newark, who will be the biggest city in 2016?

In his state of the city address Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop said without a doubt that by 2016 Jersey City would be bigger (ie more residents) than Newark. Fulop said with no hesitation that Jersey City was set to become the biggest city in New Jersey.

But is it?

Sure, Jersey City has a better reputation among those who live in the tri-state and perhaps nationally as Newark enjoys, well, less than a stellar reputation. Granted that reputation came back a bit while Cory Booker was mayor and had plenty of good acts and great stories to tell and the population grew every so slightly but Jersey City has a shine Newark doesn't.

Many experts polled on Fulop's claim weren't so sure this changing of the biggest city guard would happen by 2016, some saying not until 2035

*The data indicate that despite Jersey City’s higher growth rate, Newark will continue to stay ahead of its neighbor for some time.

*"The household sizes in Jersey City tend to be smaller," Diogo said.
*"A lot of apartment complexes are going up. They’re attracting a lot more singles and couples. Newark has a lot more families. We haven’t forecast a change in that."
*Newark also has a lot more room — roughly 24 square miles to Jersey City’s 14.7.
*According to North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority forecasts, by 2020 Newark will have about 303,000 residents to Jersey City’s 280,000.

However, Jersey City as the studies say, has a more affluent and better educated citizenship, something newcomers to the area might require:

Only 12.5 percent of Newark residents have a college or advanced degree compared with 41.5 percent in Jersey City. Roughly 52 percent of Jersey City residents speak a language other than English at home, compared with 45 percent in Newark. The median household income in Jersey City is $58,000. In Newark, it’s $34,000.

Lots more stats and reasons why Newark will continue to lead New Jersey in population at least for another decade can be found by clicking here.