New Jersey : Demographics

New Jersey is one of the most ethnically heterogeneous states with almost 17.5% of the population being of foreign origin. Italy, Cuba, India, and Germany are the main countries of origin. As of 2001, New Jersey had the 3rd-highest percentage of foreign-born residents among the 50 states, surpassed only by California and New York.

Blacks first came to New Jersey as slaves in the 1600s.  Today black people constitute the state's largest (13.6%) ethnic minority, 1,141,821 as of 2000. The estimated Hispanic and Latino population in 2000 was 1,117,191 (up from 868,000 in 1996), or 13.3% of the total. The Puerto Rican population, increased from 55,361 in 1960 to 366,788 in 2000. They lived mostly in Newark, Jersey City, Elizabeth, Paterson, and Passaic. The estimated number of Asians living in New Jersey in 2000 was 480,276, the 5th-largest total among the 50 states. The largest group of Asians reported was from India (169,180 in 2000, up from 54,039 in 1990).
The state's total Native American population, including Eskimos and Aleuts, numbered 19,492 in 2000.