Newark ( NEW-?rk, locally [n???k]) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 311,549, an increase of 34,409 (+12.4%) from the 2010 census count of 277,140, which in turn reflected an increase of 3,594 (+1.3%) from the 273,546 counted in the 2000 census. The Population Estimates Program calculated a population of 305,344 for 2022, making it the 66th-most populous municipality in the nation. Newark is a principal city of the Greater New York metropolitan area.Settled in 1666 by Puritans from New Haven Colony, Newark is one of the oldest cities in the United States. Its location at the mouth of the Passaic River, where it flows into Newark Bay, has made the city's waterfront an integral part of the Port of New York and New Jersey. Port Newark–Elizabeth is the primary container shipping terminal of the busiest seaport on the U.S. East Coast.
