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Newark, New Jersey
| Newark, New Jersey | |
 | |
| General information | |
Mayor of Newark
Ras Baraka | |
| Last mayoral election: | 2022 |
| Next mayoral election: | 2026 |
| Last city council election: | 2022 |
| Next city council election: | 2025 |
| City council seats: | 9 |
| City website | |
| Composition data | |
| Population: | 311,549 |
| Race: | White 12.1% African American 49.4% Asian 1.6% Native American 0.7% Pacific Islander 0.1% Multiple 12.1% |
| Ethnicity: | Hispanic or Latino origin 36.4% |
| Median household income: | $48,416 |
| High school graduation rate: | 77.2% |
| College graduation rate: | 17.4% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 census and 2023 ACS data. Percentages are rounded to the nearest 0.1%. | |
| Related Newark offices | |
| New Jersey Congressional Delegation New Jersey State Legislature New Jersey state executive offices | |
Newark is a city in Essex County, New Jersey. The city's population was 311,549 as of 2020, according to the United States Census Bureau.
Click on the links below to learn more about the city's...
- Mayor
- City council
- Other elected officials
- Elections
- Census information
- Budget
- Contact information
- Ballot measures
- County government
City government
- See also: Mayor-council government
The city of Newark utilizes a strong mayor and city council system. In this form of municipal government, the city council serves as the city's primary legislative body and the mayor serves as the city's chief executive.[1][2]
Mayor
The mayor is the city's chief executive. The responsibilities of the mayor include proposing a budget, signing legislation into law, drafting legislation, and appointing most city employees. The mayor also represents the city on the state, national, and international levels.[1] The current Mayor of Newark is Ras Baraka (nonpartisan). Baraka assumed office in 2014.
City council
The Newark City Council is the city's primary legislative body. It is responsible for approving and adopting the city budget, levying taxes, and making or amending city laws, policies, and ordinances.[2]
The city council is made up of nine members. Five members are elected by the city's five wards, while four are elected at large.[2]
The widget below automatically displays information about city council meetings. The topic list contains a sampling of keywords that Voterheads, a local government monitoring service, found in each meeting agenda. Click the meeting link to see more info and the full agenda:
Other elected officials
Ballotpedia does not cover any additional city officials in Newark, New Jersey.
Mayoral partisanship
Newark has a Democratic mayor. As of September 2025, 66 mayors in the largest 100 cities by population are affiliated with the Democratic Party, 23 are affiliated with the Republican Party, one is affiliated with the Libertarian Party, three are independents, five identify as nonpartisan or unaffiliated, and two mayors' affiliations are unknown. Click here for a list of the 100 largest cities' mayors and their partisan affiliations.
Mayoral elections are officially nonpartisan in most of the nation's largest cities. However, many officeholders are affiliated with political parties. Ballotpedia uses one or more of the following sources to identify each officeholder's partisan affiliation: (1) direct communication from the officeholder, (2) current or previous candidacy for partisan office, or (3) identification of partisan affiliation by multiple media outlets.
Elections
2025
The city of Newark, New Jersey, is holding a special election for city council on November 4, 2025. A runoff election is scheduled for December 2, 2025. The filing deadline for this election was August 21, 2025.
2022
The city of Newark, New Jersey, held general elections for mayor and city council on May 10, 2022. A runoff election was scheduled for June 14, 2022. The filing deadline for this election was March 7, 2022.
2018
The city of Newark, New Jersey, held general elections for mayor and city council on May 8, 2018. A runoff election was held on June 12, 2018. The deadline for candidates to file to run in this election was March 5, 2018.
2014
The city of Newark, New Jersey, held elections for mayor and city council on May 13, 2014.[3] A runoff took place on June 10 in the West and Central Wards. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in the election was March 10, 2014. All nine of the city council seats were up for election -- four at-large seats and one seat from each of the five wards.
Councilman Ras J. Baraka won election as mayor. Council incumbents Anibal Ramos, Jr., John S. James, Augusto Amador, Carlos M. Gonzalez, and Mildred C. Crump won re-election, while Joseph A. McCallum, Jr., Gayle Chaneyfield Jenkins, Mayor Luis Quintana, and Edward Osborne won election to the council. Darrin S. Sharif was defeated in his re-election bid.
Census information
The table below shows demographic information about the city.
| Demographic Data for Newark | |
|---|---|
| Newark | |
| Population | 311,549 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 24 |
| Race and ethnicity** | |
| White | 16.5% |
| Black/African American | 46.7% |
| Asian | 1.9% |
| Native American | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.2% |
| Other (single race) | 20.4% |
| Multiple | 13.8% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 37.2% |
| Education | |
| High school graduation rate | 77.2% |
| College graduation rate | 17.4% |
| Income | |
| Median household income | $48,416 |
| Persons below poverty level | 24.7% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2018-2023). | |
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | |
Budget
The city's budget process operates on a fiscal year cycle from January 1 to December 31. The mayor is responsible for proposing the budget. The city council must then approve or amend the budget. The city council also holds hearings to allow for public input in the budget process.
Revenue and expenditure by year
The total revenue and expenditure figures were pulled from the all funds revenue and expenditures tables in the city's adopted budgets from each calendar year.[4][5]
| City of Newark historical revenue and expenditures | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Calendar year | Budget type | Total revenue | Total expenditure |
| 2024 | Adopted | $1,111,973,945 | $968,151,493 |
| 2023 | Adopted | $848,279,590 | $848,279,590 |
| 2022 | Adopted | $792,931,922 | $792,931,922 |
| 2020 | Adopted | $732,142,973 | $732,142,973 |
| 2019 | Adopted | $715,155,312 | $715,155,312 |
| 2018 | Adopted | $681,062,870 | $681,062,870 |
| 2017 | Adopted | $679,035,609 | $679,035,609 |
Newark, New Jersey salaries and pensions over $95,000
Below is a map of the nationwide salaries and pensions in this city over $95,000. To search a different ZIP code, enter it in the search bar within the map.
Contact information
Mayor's office
City Hall
920 Broad Street
Newark, NJ 07102
Phone: 973-733-6400
City Clerk's office
City Hall, Room 306
920 Broad Street
Newark, NJ 07102
Phone: 973-733-6574
Click here for city council contact information.
Ballot measures
- See also: Essex County, New Jersey ballot measures
The city of Newark is in Essex County. A list of ballot measures in Essex County is available here.
Noteworthy events
2020: Events and activity following the death of George Floyd
During the weekend of May 29-31, 2020, demonstrations and protests took place in cities nationwide, including Newark, following the death of George Floyd. Events in Newark, New Jersey, began on Saturday, May 30, 2020, at the city's historic courthouse.[6] No curfews were issued. The national guard was not deployed.
2015: Study on city's nondiscrimination laws
In July 2015, the Movement Advancement Project described Newark, New Jersey, as a city or county that prohibited discrimination in employment on the basis of gender identity via ordinances that apply to public and private employers. At that time, a total of 71 of America's largest 100 cities prohibited private employers from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation, while 69 of those cities also prohibited discrimination based on gender identity. This did not include those jurisdictions that prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity for government employees.[7]
Nondiscrimination laws can cover a variety of areas, including public employment, private employment, housing, and public accommodations. Such laws may be enacted at the state, county, or city level.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 City of Newark, "Article 1 Mayor: § 2:2-1 Mayor as Chief Executive Officer.," accessed August 23, 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 City of Newark, "Chapter 3:1 Organization of City Government," accessed August 23, 2021
- ↑ Essex County Clerk, "2014 Important Election Dates," accessed May 13, 2014
- ↑ City of Newark, "Budget," accessed October 31, 2023
- ↑ City of Newark, "Budget," accessed October 29, 2024
- ↑ NJ.com, "George Floyd police brutality protest starts peacefully in Newark, with chants of ‘I can’t breathe’," May 30, 2020
- ↑ Movement Advancement Project, "Local Employment Non-Discrimination Ordinances," accessed July 7, 2015
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