Norwood, New Jersey

Norwood is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 5,641,

Norwood was formed as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 14, 1905, from portions of Harrington Township.

History

The territory that became present-day Norwood was originally settled about 1686 by a dozen or more families mostly from the Dutch Republic, who purchased the land under the Tappan Patent. About that time a grant was also given by Philip Carteret, Governor of the Province of East Jersey, during the reign of King Charles II of England. The Lenape, a Native American tribe, roamed the valley.

The name Norwood emanated from the old description of its location in the "North-Woods". It was a part of Harrington Township, which was formed in 1775 from the northernmost portions of Hackensack Township and New Barbadoes Township, stretching from the Hudson River in the east to the Saddle River in the west.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 2.79 square miles (7.24 km2), including 2.79 square miles (7.21 km2) of land and 0.01 square miles (0.02 km2) of water (0.32%).

Unincorporated communities, localities and place names within the borough include West Norwood.

As of 2026, the borough is a member of Local Leaders for Responsible Planning in order to address the borough's Mount Laurel doctrine-based housing obligations.

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"

|+Norwood borough, New Jersey – Racial and ethnic composition

!Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)

!Pop 2000

!Pop 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |Pop 2020

!% 2000

!% 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020

|White alone (NH)

|4,356

|3,766

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3,196

|75.74%

|65.94%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |56.66%

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|48

|64

|style='background: #ffffe6; |74

|0.83%

|1.12%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.31%

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4

|0.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.07%

|Asian alone (NH)

|1,092

|1,551

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,809

|18.99%

|27.16%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |32.07%

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0

|0.00%

|0.02%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%

|Other race alone (NH)

|16

|14

|style='background: #ffffe6; |8

|0.28%

|0.25%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.14%

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|67

|55

|style='background: #ffffe6; |132

|1.17%

|0.96%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.34%

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|172

|260

|style='background: #ffffe6; |418

|2.99%

|4.55%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |7.41%

|Total

|5,751

|5,711

|style='background: #ffffe6; |5,641

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Norwood had a population of 5,641. The median age was 47.0 years. 21.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 23.5% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 88.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 85.4 males age 18 and over.

100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 1,943 households in Norwood, of which 35.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 67.2% were married-couple households, 9.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 21.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 19.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

23.1% of the population were under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 18.6% from 25 to 44, 31.7% from 45 to 64, and 20.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46.1 years. For every 100 females, the population had 88.0 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 85.4 males.

2000 census

As of the 2000 United States census

As of the 2000 Census, 12.69% of Norwood's residents identified themselves as being of Korean ancestry, which was the eighth highest in the United States and sixth highest of any municipality in New Jersey, for all places with 1,000 or more residents identifying their ancestry.

There were 1,857 households, out of which 41.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.8% were married couples living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 15.8% were non-families. 13.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.97 and the average family size was 3.26. The governing body is comprised of a mayor and a borough council, with all positions elected at-large on a partisan basis as part of the November general election. A mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office. The borough council includes six members elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year in a three-year cycle. The borough form of government used by Norwood is a "weak mayor / strong council" government in which council members act as the legislative body with the mayor presiding at meetings and voting only in the event of a tie. The mayor can veto ordinances subject to an override by a two-thirds majority vote of the council. 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.

, the mayor of Norwood is Republican James P. Barsa, whose term of office ends December 31, 2027. Members of the Borough Council are Council President Bong June "BJ" Kim (R, 2026) , Joseph Ascolese (R, 2027), Thomas L. Brizzolara (D, 2027), Suzanne Debiasa (D, 2028), Anthony Foschino (R, 2028) and Annie Hausman (D, 2026).

Ermin Suljic was appointed in July 2022 to fill the seat expiring in December 2022 that had become vacant following the resignation of John Rooney.

In November 2018, the borough council selected Anthony Foschino from a list of candidates nominated by the Republican municipal committee to fill the vacant seat expiring in December 2019 that had been held by Frank Marino. In the November 2019 general election, Foschino was elected to serve the balance of the term of office.

Federal, state and county representation

Norwood is located in the 5th Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 39th state legislative district.

Politics

As of March 2011, there were a total of 3,518 registered voters in Norwood, of which 961 (27.3% vs. 31.7% countywide) were registered as Democrats, 728 (20.7% vs. 21.1%) were registered as Republicans and 1,829 (52.0% vs. 47.1%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were no voters registered to other parties. Among the borough's 2010 Census population, 61.6% (vs. 57.1% in Bergen County) were registered to vote, including 80.1% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 73.7% countywide).

In the 2016 presidential election, Democrat Hillary Clinton received 1,415 votes (50.5% vs. 54.8% countywide), ahead of Republican Donald Trump with 1,249 votes (44.6% vs. 41.6%) and other candidates with 89 votes (3.2% vs. 3.0%), among the 2,801 ballots cast by the borough's 3,824 registered voters, for a turnout of 73.2% (vs. 72.5% in Bergen County). In the 2012 presidential election, Republican Mitt Romney received 1,296 votes (49.8% vs. 43.5% countywide), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 1,275 votes (49.0% vs. 54.8%) and other candidates with 18 votes (0.7% vs. 0.9%), among the 2,604 ballots cast by the borough's 3,683 registered voters, for a turnout of 70.7% (vs. 70.4% in Bergen County). In the 2008 presidential election, Republican John McCain received 1,458 votes (50.3% vs. 44.5% countywide), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 1,389 votes (47.9% vs. 53.9%) and other candidates with 25 votes (0.9% vs. 0.8%), among the 2,897 ballots cast by the borough's 3,761 registered voters, for a turnout of 77.0% (vs. 76.8% in Bergen County). In the 2004 presidential election, Republican George W. Bush received 1,461 votes (51.9% vs. 47.2% countywide), ahead of Democrat John Kerry with 1,317 votes (46.8% vs. 51.7%) and other candidates with 25 votes (0.9% vs. 0.7%), among the 2,813 ballots cast by the borough's 3,766 registered voters, for a turnout of 74.7% (vs. 76.9% in the whole county).

In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 66.7% of the vote (966 cast), ahead of Democrat Barbara Buono with 31.7% (459 votes), and other candidates with 1.7% (24 votes), among the 1,486 ballots cast by the borough's 3,510 registered voters (37 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 42.3%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 1,031 votes (52.7% vs. 45.8% countywide), ahead of Democrat Jon Corzine with 803 votes (41.0% vs. 48.0%), Independent Chris Daggett with 92 votes (4.7% vs. 4.7%) and other candidates with 11 votes (0.6% vs. 0.5%), among the 1,957 ballots cast by the borough's 3,630 registered voters, yielding a 53.9% turnout (vs. 50.0% in the county).

Education

The Norwood Public School District serves students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade at Norwood Public School. As of the 2024–25 school year, the district, comprised of one school, had an enrollment of 611 students and 49.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.5:1.

Students in public school for ninth through twelfth grades attend Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan, together with students from Harrington Park, Northvale and Old Tappan, along with students from Rockleigh who attend the high school as part of a sending/receiving relationship. The school is one of the two schools of the Northern Valley Regional High School District, which also serves students from the neighboring communities of Closter, Demarest and Haworth at the Northern Valley Regional High School at Demarest. As of the 2024–25 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 1,086 students and 106.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.2:1. Seats on the high school district's nine-member board of education are allocated based on the population of the constituent municipalities, with one seat allocated to Norwood.

Public school students from the borough, and all of Bergen County, are eligible to attend the secondary education programs offered by the Bergen County Technical Schools, which include the Bergen County Academies in Hackensack, and the Bergen Tech campus in Teterboro or Paramus. The district offers programs on a shared-time or full-time basis, with admission based on a selective application process and tuition covered by the student's home school district.

Transportation

thumb|right|[[County Route 501 (New Jersey)|County Route 501 in Norwood]]

right|thumb|The site of the former Erie Railroad station in Norwood on September 11, 2011

Roads and highways

, the borough had a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the municipality and by Bergen County.

CR 501 runs for about and CR 505 for about through Norwood.

Public transportation

Rockland Coaches provides service on routes 20/20T to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City.

Wildlife

The forests in Norwood house many deciduous species, sheltering deer, wild turkey, turtles, foxes, rabbits, and coyotes. Suburban sprawl is beginning to interfere with the wildlife. Deer and auto collisions as well as human interaction with coyotes have been an issue.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Norwood include:

Kenny Anderson (born 1970), basketball player who began his NBA career with the New Jersey Nets
Ray Barretto (1929–2006), percussionist and bandleader
Colleen Broomall (born 1983), actress and journalist
Devin Fuller (born 1994), wide receiver who played for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League
Jordan Fuller (born 1998), American football safety for the Los Angeles Rams
Bruce Harper (born 1955), former running back for the New York Jets
Catfish Hunter (1946–1999), pitcher who played for the Kansas City / Oakland A's and New York Yankees
Walter H. Jones (1912–1982), politician who served in the New Jersey Senate and was a candidate for Governor of New Jersey
Don Mattingly (born 1961), manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers who lived in the borough while playing for the New York Yankees
Bob McGrath (1932–2022), actor, singer, musician, and children's author best known for playing original human character Bob Johnson on the long-running educational television series Sesame Street.
Frank Messina (born ), poet and author
Gene Michael (1938–2017), former player, manager and executive in Major League Baseball
Thurman Munson (1947–1979), former baseball player who played catcher for the New York Yankees
Graig Nettles (born 1944), former baseball player who played third base for the New York Yankees
Dianna Russini (born 1983), sports journalist on ESPN
Julian Sanchez (born 1979), libertarian writer and journalist
Pamela Redmond Satran (born 1953), author
Anthony P. Vainieri (1927–2026), funeral director and politician who represented the 32nd Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1984 to 1986
Abi Varghese, director and writer, best known for his Netflix released show Brown Nation

References

Sources

Municipal Incorporations of the State of New Jersey (according to Counties) prepared by the Division of Local Government, Department of the Treasury (New Jersey); December 1, 1958.
Clayton, W. Woodford; and Nelson, William. History of Bergen and Passaic Counties, New Jersey, with Biographical Sketches of Many of its Pioneers and Prominent Men., Philadelphia: Everts and Peck, 1882.
Harvey, Cornelius Burnham (ed.), Genealogical History of Hudson and Bergen Counties, New Jersey. New York: New Jersey Genealogical Publishing Co., 1900.
Van Valen, James M. History of Bergen County, New Jersey. New York: New Jersey Publishing and Engraving Co., 1900.
Westervelt, Frances A. (Frances Augusta), 1858–1942, History of Bergen County, New Jersey, 1630–1923, Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1923.

External links

Borough of Norwood official website
Norwood Public School
School Data for the Norwood Public School, National Center for Education Statistics
Northern Valley Regional High School District