Hudson Waterfront

40°42′58″N 74°01′52″W / 40.716°N 74.031°W / 40.716; -74.031

The Hudson Waterfront is an urban area of northeastern New Jersey along the lower reaches of the Hudson River, the Upper New York Bay and the Kill van Kull. Though the term can specifically mean the shoreline, it is often used to mean the contiguous urban area between the Bayonne Bridge and the George Washington Bridge that is approximately 19 miles (31 km) long. Historically, the region has been known as Bergen Neck, the lower peninsula, and Bergen Hill, lower Hudson Palisades. It has sometimes been called the Gold Coast.

The municipalities comprising the Hudson Waterfront are Bayonne, Jersey City, Hoboken, Union City, Weehawken, West New York, Guttenberg and North Bergen in Hudson County and Fairview, Cliffside Park, Edgewater and Fort Lee in Bergen County. To the east lies the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn, to the south Staten Island, to the west Newark Bay and the New Jersey Meadowlands and to the north Northern Valley and the Palisades Interstate Park. The Hudson River Waterfront Walkway, which includes sections of the East Coast Greenway, travels along the Hudson River. The Hackensack River Greenway runs along the western side of the peninsula.

During the Dutch colonial era, the area was under the jurisdiction of New Amsterdam and known as Bergen. Jersey City and Hoboken, in Hudson County, are sometimes referred to as the sixth borough of New York City, given their proximity and connections by PATH trains to the city. Fort Lee, in Bergen County, opposite Upper Manhattan and connected by the George Washington Bridge, has also been called New York City's sixth borough.

With a combined population of approximately 733,875 (based on 2020 estimates), the Hudson Waterfront, if incorporated into a single city, would be the nineteenth most populous in the country while having one of the smallest land areas, at just 35.7 square miles (92 km²). Its communities have some of the highest residential densities in the United States. Of municipalities in the United States over 50,000 people, Union City is the most densely populated. Guttenberg, although one of the smallest municipalities, stretching from 68th Street to 71st Street at 128 acres (0.52 km²), is the most densely populated "town" in the country. Many others are on the list of most densely populated places in the United States.

The region is very ethnically diverse. Jersey City is the "most diverse" city in the United States. Five municipalities are on the list of the 100 cities (with a population over 5,000) with the highest percentages of foreign-born residents: West New York (65.2%), Union City (58.7%), Guttenberg (48.7%), Fairview (48.4%), and Fort Lee (44.7%). Palisades Park, a borough adjacent to Fort Lee, is also on the list, with 57.0%. North Hudson has the second-largest Cuban American population in the United States after Miami. West New York, North Bergen, Union City, Guttenberg and Weehawken have Cuban American populations between 8.75% (Weehawken) and 19.64% (West New York). Another large immigrant group is the Korean-American community near the GWB Plaza – it represents over half of the state's entire Korean population. Nearby Palisades Park boasts the highest percentage (36.38%) and total number (6,065) of Koreans among all municipalities in the state, while Fort Lee has the second-highest total number (5,978) and third-highest percentage (17.18%); Edgewater also has a significant Korean population. The commercial districts of Palisades Park, Fort Lee, Cliffside Park, Edgewater, and Fairview collectively compose a Koreatown. Many in this community attend religious services at St. Michael's in Union City. India Square in the Journal Square district is home to many from the country from which it takes its name. A large Filipino community is located nearby at Five Corners. The first Coptic Orthodox Church in the United States, St. Mark, is one of the many congregations in Jersey City and Bayonne serving the growing Egyptian community.

In many communities in the Hudson Waterfront, English is not the first language spoken at home.

Rail service includes New Jersey Transit's Hoboken Division: Main Line to Suffern (and in partnership with MTA/Metro-North, express service to Port Jervis), Bergen County Line, and Pascack Valley Line, all via Secaucus Junction (where transfer is possible to Northeast Corridor Line); Montclair-Boonton Line and Morris and Essex Lines (both via Newark Broad Street Station); North Jersey Coast Line (limited service as Waterfront Connection via Newark Penn Station to Long Branch and Bay Head); Raritan Valley Line (limited service via Newark Penn Station). All of these services stop at Hoboken Terminal.