ZIP Code 07203

Roselle was incorporated on December 20, 1894, at the height of the Boroughitis phenomenon sweeping through New Jersey at the time. The name is derived from the Roselle Land Improvement Company, which was created in 1866 to lay out a community around the Mulford Station on the Central Railroad of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 21,085, reflecting a decline of 189 (0.9%) from the 21,274 counted in the 2000 Census. On January 19, 1883, the world's first electric lighting system employing overhead wires began service in Rosellle. The First Presbyterian Church, located on the corner of West 5th Avenue and Chestnut Street, was the first church in the U.S. to be lit by electricity, and the second in the world after the City Temple church in London. Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the borough include Aldene and Warinanco Park. The borough had a total area of 2.65 square miles (6.86 km²) of land, including 2.64 square miles of land and 0.01 sq miles of water. Morses Creek runs through the borough and is a tributary of the Hackensack River. It is bordered by the Union County municipalities of Linden to the north, Cranford to the west and Elizabeth, along the edges of War inanco Park, to the east.

Geography

The borough is bordered by the Union County municipalities of Roselle Park to the north, Linden to the south and Cranford to the west and Elizabeth, along the edges of Warinanco Park, to the east. Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the borough include Aldene. Morses Creek runs through the borough. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 2.65 square miles (6.86 km²) of land and 0.01 square miles of water (0.49% of the borough's total area) The borough is part of the Burlington County, New Jersey, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes parts of Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester counties. The borough has a population of 1,816. It is the only borough in the state to have a post-secondary degree program. It also has a college degree program, with a bachelor's and master's degree in business administration. It has a high school degree, with an associate degree and a masters degree. It was the first borough in New Jersey to become a member of the New Jersey School of Pharmacy, with its first graduating class in 1974. It had a high-school football team, which won a state championship in the 1980s. In the 1990s, it had a football team that won a New Jersey State Championship in the Division of Forensic Sciences. It won another state title in the 2000s, when it won the National Football League Championship.

Demographics

As of the 2000 United States census there were 21,274 people, 7,520 households, and 5,226 families residing in the borough. The racial makeup of the borough was 51.32% African American, 35.58% White, 0.31% Native American, 2.71% Asian and 0.07% Pacific Islander. 8.0% of the population of Roselle (Creole: Wozel) was of Haitian ancestry. This was the third-highest such percentage in New Jersey and the 16th-highest of any municipality in the nation. The median household income was $58,041 (with a margin of error of +/ $3,948) and the median family Income was $64,038 (+/ $4,495) in the 2010 U.S. census. The per capita income for the borough in 2010 was $25,678 (-/ $1,130). About 7.5% of families and 8.2% of those age 18 and over were below the poverty line, including 4.6% of people age 65 or over. The average household size was 2.84 and the average family size was 3.44. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 85.6 males. In the borough, the median age was 37.0 years, with 25% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 26.7% from 45 to 64, and 12.0 per cent who were 65 or older.

Economy

Portions of Roselle are part of an Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ), one of 32 zones covering 37 municipalities statewide. In addition to other benefits to encourage employment and investment within the Zone, shoppers can take advantage of a reduced 3.3125% sales tax rate (half of the 6+58% rate charged statewide) at eligible merchants. Established in July 2002, the borough's Urban Enterprise zone status expires in December 2023. The UEZ is a state program designed to encourage economic growth and job creation in the state.

Arts and culture

The Roselle House Music Festival is held each July in Warinanco Park. The festival is sponsored by the borough council as well as the Union County Board of County Commissioners and commercial brand sponsors. The event is held in the park from July 4 to July 7. The music festival is free and open to the public.

Parks and recreation

Warinanco Park is a Union County park created in 1920. It covers 205 acres (83 ha) in Roselle and Elizabeth. The park was named after the Warinanco River, which runs through the area. It is one of the most popular parks in Union County, New Jersey. It was named for Warinco, a Spanish-speaking immigrant to the U.S. who settled in the area in the early 1900s. It has been named after Warinaco, a man who was killed in the Spanish-American War in the late 1800s.

Government

Roselle is governed under the Borough form of New Jersey municipal government, which is used in 218 municipalities (of the 564) statewide. The governing body is comprised of the Mayor and the Borough Council, with all positions elected on a partisan basis as part of the November general election. Union County is governed by a Board of County Commissioners, whose nine members are elected at-large to three-year terms of office a staggered basis. New Jersey is represented in the United States Senate by Democrats Cory Booker (Newark, term ends 2027) and Bob Menendez (Harrison, term end 2025) New Jersey's 20th state legislative district is represented by Reginald Atkins (D, Roselle) and Annette Quijano (D, Elizabeth) RoselLE is one of only two boroughs statewide that use wards, and is divided into five election districts, referred to as wards. The mayor makes committee and liaison assignments for council members, and most appointments are made by the mayor with the advice and consent of the council. A borough administrator oversees the day-to-day operations of the municipal government. At an annual reorganization meeting held in January, the Union County Board of Commissioners selects a Chair and Vice Chair from among its members. For the 117th U.S. Congress, the borough is in the 10th Congressional District and is part of N.J.'s 20th legislative district. Rosellle's mayor is Donald Shaw, elected to serve the unexpired term of office that expires on December 31, 2023.

Education

As of the 202021 school year, the district had an enrollment of 2,897 students and 289.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a studentteacher ratio of 10.0:1. Schools in the district (with 202021 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Kindergarten Success Academy, Harrison Elementary School, Dr. Charles C. Polk Elementary School and Washington Elementary School. Roselle Catholic High School, a parochial high school run by the Marist Brothers, serves grades 912 under the supervision of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark. St. Joseph the Carpenter School, which was founded in 1913, serves students in preschool through eighth grade. The district is part of the New Jersey Department of Education's New Jersey Core Public Schools program. The school district is a member of the National Council of Public Education, which provides funding for public schools in the United States. The superintendent of schools for the district is John Rizzo, who also serves as the superintendent of the Newark City School District. He has been in his position since 2000, and is the longest serving superintendent in the history of the district. He was elected to a second term in 2008, and was re-elected to a third term in 2012. The current superintendent is John T. O'Neill, who was elected in 2010, and served in the previous term from 2008 to 2013. The board of education is composed of seven Republicans and three Democrats.

Transportation

As of May 2010, the borough had a total of 49.96 miles (80.40 km) of roadways, of which 40.32 miles (64.89 km) were maintained by the municipality. New Jersey Route 27 is the most significant highway in Roselle. NJ Transit provides bus service to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City on the 112 and 115 routes, to Newark on the 59, 62 and 94 routes, with local service available on the 56 and 57. Conrail's freight-only Lehigh Line passes through the community along the tracks of the former Lehigh Valley Railroad. Newark Liberty International Airport is approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) from the borough. The Staten Island Railway was dormant for years before being reactivated by the Morristown & Erie Railway, but their 10-year lease ceased as of May 15, 2012. The town once shared a passenger station with Rosellle Park on the mainline of the Central Railroad of New Jersey. That line is abandoned. The borough is home to the New Jersey Museum of Art, a museum of American Art, and the Museum of Science and Industry, which is located in the nearby town of Linden. The New Jersey Turnpike, which runs from New Jersey to New York, runs through the borough and connects to the East River and the New York and Long Island Rail Road. It is the only major thoroughfare in New Jersey that does not pass through the city of Newark.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Roselle, Union County, New Jersey = 2.8. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 13. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 20. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Roselle = 3.8 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 22,695 individuals with a median age of 37.3 age the population dropped by -3.50% in Roselle, Union County, New Jersey population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 8,612.9 residents per square mile of area (3,325.5/km²). There are average 2.89 people per household in the 7,096 households with an average household income of $57,481 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 9.50% of the available work force and has dropped -3.41% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 23.68%. The number of physicians in Roselle per 100,000 population = 225.4.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Roselle = 46.2 inches and the annual snowfall = 26.1 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 125. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 206. 87 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 23.2 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 46, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Roselle, Union County, New Jersey which are owned by the occupant = 56.12%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 54 years with median home cost = $156,720 and home appreciation of -29.72%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $25.06 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $9,280 per student. There are 12.2 students for each teacher in the school, 2832 students for each Librarian and 472 students for each Counselor. 5.73% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 12.42% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 4.88% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).