Perth Amboy, New Jersey

Perth Amboy, New Jersey
City
Perth Amboy courthouse and police station
Seal
Motto:  The City by the Bay[1]
Location of Perth Amboy in Middlesex County highlighted in red (left). Inset map: Location of Middlesex County in New Jersey highlighted in orange (right).
Census Bureau map of Perth Amboy, New Jersey
Perth Amboy Location in Middlesex County Show map of Middlesex County, New Jersey Perth Amboy Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey Perth Amboy Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 40°31′13″N 74°16′17″W / 40.52016°N 74.271331°W / 40.52016; -74.271331[2][3]
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Middlesex
Earliest European Settlement	1683
Royal charter	August 4, 1718
Incorporated	December 21, 1784
Reincorporated	April 8, 1844 (included Township)
Named for	James Drummond, 4th Earl of Perth
Government [8]
• Type	Faulkner Act (mayor–council)
• Body	City Council
• Mayor	Helmin J. Caba (term ends December 31, 2024)[4][5]
• Administrator	Michael E. Greene[6]
• Municipal clerk	Victoria Ann Kupsch[7]
Area [9]
• Total	5.96 sq mi (15.44 km2)
• Land	4.66 sq mi (12.07 km2)
• Water	1.30 sq mi (3.37 km2)  21.37%
• Rank	259th of 565 in state 13th of 25 in county[2]
Elevation [10]	62 ft (19 m)
Population  (2020)[11][12]
• Total	55,436
• Estimate  (2023)[11][13][14]	55,249
• Rank	725th in country (as of 2022)[13] 31st of 565 in state 5th of 25 in county[15]
• Density	11,891.0/sq mi (4,591.1/km2)
• Rank	27th of 565 in state 1st of 25 in county[15]
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Codes	08861–08863[16][17]
Area code(s)	732 Exchanges: 293,324,376,442,697,826[18]
FIPS code	3402358200[2][19][20]
GNIS feature ID	0885349[2][21]
Website	www.perthamboynj.org

Perth Amboy is a city in northeastern Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, within the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 55,436.^[11][12] Perth Amboy is known as the "City by the Bay", referring to its location adjoining Raritan Bay.^[1][22]

The earliest residents of the area were the Lenape Native Americans, who called the point on which the city lies "Ompoge". Perth Amboy was settled in 1683 by Scottish colonists and was called "New Perth" after James Drummond, 4th Earl of Perth; the native name was eventually corrupted and the two names were merged. Perth Amboy was formed by Royal charter in 1718, and the New Jersey Legislature reaffirmed its status in 1784, after independence. The city was a capital of the Province of New Jersey from 1686 to 1776. During the mid-1800s, the Industrial Revolution and immigration grew the city, developing a variety of neighborhoods which residents from a diverse range of ethnicities lived in. The city developed into a resort town for the Raritan Bayshore near it, but the city has grown in other industries since its redevelopment starting in the 1990s. Its residents are mostly Hispanic.^[23]

Perth Amboy borders the Arthur Kill and features a historic waterfront. The Perth Amboy Ferry Slip was once an important ferry slip on the route south from New York City; it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The Raritan Yacht Club, one of the oldest yacht clubs in the United States, is located in the city. Perth Amboy is connected to the Staten Island borough of New York City via the Outerbridge Crossing.