Sussex is a borough in Sussex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 2,024,

The county and borough are named for the historic county of Sussex in England.

History

Sussex was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on October 14, 1891, as Deckertown, from portions of Wantage Township. The borough was renamed Sussex on March 2, 1902.

A joint commission of residents of both Sussex and Wantage had recommended that the two communities should be consolidated to form what would be called the Township of Sussex-Wantage, which would operate within the Faulkner Act under the council-manager form of government, with a mayor and a six-member township council, and that voters in both municipalities should approve a referendum to be held on November 3, 2009. The committee noted that the two municipalities share common issues, schools, library and community services and that the artificial nature of the octagonal Sussex border often made it hard to distinguish between the two. The efforts at consolidation with surrounding Wantage Township ended in November 2009 after Wantage voters rejected the merger despite support from Sussex borough residents.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Sussex borough had a total area of 0.62 square miles (1.62&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>), including 0.59 square miles (1.54&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) of land and 0.03 square miles (0.08&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) of water (5.00%). The borough is completely surrounded by Wantage Township, making it part of 21 pairs of "doughnut towns" in the state, where one municipality entirely surrounds another.

The borough is in the watershed of the Wallkill River (which flows north, and empties into the Rondout Creek, which flows into the Hudson River near Kingston, New York) and its tributary Glen Brook, which near Sussex forms a small body of water called Clove Lake, part of which is within the borough.

Climate

Due to its inland location and elevation, Sussex has a climate much cooler than most of the state, classified as humid continental (Köppen Dfa, closely bordering on Dfb), with cold, moderately snowy winters, and very warm, humid summers. It is part of USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 6. The monthly daily average temperature ranges from in January to in July.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Sussex had a population of 2,024. The median age was 42.3 years. 19.1% of residents were under the age of 18 and 16.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 93.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 90.3 males age 18 and over.

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

There were 901 households in Sussex, of which 26.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 33.6% were married-couple households, 24.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 33.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 37.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

2000 census

As of the 2000 United States census

There were 903 households, out of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.9% were married couples living together, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.2% were non-families. 35.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 3.12. The governing body is comprised of the mayor and the borough council, with all positions elected at-large on a partisan basis as part of the November general election. The 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 Sussex 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 Sussex Borough is Republican Robert Holowach, whose term of office ends on December 31, 2027. Members of the Borough Council are Council President Mario Poggi (R, 2025), Charles H. Fronheiser Jr. (R, 2024), Martin Kokoruda (R, 2026), Jake Little (R, 2024), John Ross (R, 2025) and Nicholas Southard (R, 2026).

After the borough council did not vote to select any of the three candidates nominated by the Republican municipal committee, Nicholas R. Holowach was picked by the Republican group and sworn into office in June 2021 to fill the seat expiring in December 2022 that had been held by Walter Cleary III until he resigned from office to move out of the borough. In November 2021, Holowach was elected to serve the balance of the term of office.

In January 2016, the council appointed Albert Decker from a list three candidates nominated by the Democratic municipal committee to fill the council seat vacated by Katherine Little expiring in December 2017 that became open when she took office as mayor; Decker served on an interim basis until the November 2016 general election, when voters selected a candidate to serve the one year remaining on the term of office.

In January 2015, the borough council selected Mario Poggi from three candidates nominated by the Republican municipal committee to fill the vacant seat of Bruce D. LaBar, who resigned from office earlier that month. In the November 2015 general election, Frank Dykstra was chosen to fill the balance of the seat expiring in December 2016.

Federal, state and county representation

Sussex Borough is located in the 5th Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 24th state legislative district.

Politics

As of March 2011, there were a total of 1,143 registered voters in Sussex, of which 193 (16.9% vs. 16.5% countywide) were registered as Democrats, 428 (37.4% vs. 39.3%) were registered as Republicans and 521 (45.6% vs. 44.1%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There was one voter registered to another party. Among the borough's 2010 Census population, 53.7% (vs. 65.8% in Sussex County) were registered to vote, including 69.5% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 86.5% countywide).

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In the 2012 presidential election, Republican Mitt Romney received 391 votes (57.8% vs. 59.4% countywide), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 270 votes (39.9% vs. 38.2%) and other candidates with 16 votes (2.4% vs. 2.1%), among the 677 ballots cast by the borough's 1,146 registered voters, for a turnout of 59.1% (vs. 68.3% in Sussex County). In the 2008 presidential election, Republican John McCain received 427 votes (57.1% vs. 59.2% countywide), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 299 votes (40.0% vs. 38.7%) and other candidates with 18 votes (2.4% vs. 1.5%), among the 748 ballots cast by the borough's 1,109 registered voters, for a turnout of 67.4% (vs. 76.9% in Sussex County). In the 2004 presidential election, Republican George W. Bush received 456 votes (62.0% vs. 63.9% countywide), ahead of Democrat John Kerry with 263 votes (35.7% vs. 34.4%) and other candidates with 16 votes (2.2% vs. 1.3%), among the 736 ballots cast by the borough's 1,091 registered voters, for a turnout of 67.5% (vs. 77.7% in the whole county).

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In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 70.8% of the vote (276 cast), ahead of Democrat Barbara Buono with 25.4% (99 votes), and other candidates with 3.8% (15 votes), among the 397 ballots cast by the borough's 1,148 registered voters (7 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 34.6%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 291 votes (56.8% vs. 63.3% countywide), ahead of Democrat Jon Corzine with 140 votes (27.3% vs. 25.7%), Independent Chris Daggett with 59 votes (11.5% vs. 9.1%) and other candidates with 16 votes (3.1% vs. 1.3%), among the 512 ballots cast by the borough's 1,109 registered voters, yielding a 46.2% turnout (vs. 52.3% in the county).

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Education

Students in public school for pre-kindergarten through eighth grade attend the Sussex-Wantage Regional School District, together with students from Wantage Township. As of the 2024–25 school year, the district, comprised of three schools, had an enrollment of 1,159 students and 112.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.3:1. Schools in the district (with 2024–25 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are

Clifton E. Lawrence School in Wantage, with 426 students in grades PreK–2,

Wantage Elementary School in Wantage, with 396 students in grades 3–5 and

Sussex Middle School in Sussex, with 291 students in grades 6–8. Seats on the regional district's nine-member board of education are allocated based on the population of the constituent municipalities, with one seat assigned to Sussex.

For ninth through twelfth grades, public school students from both Sussex and Wantage attend High Point Regional High School, together with students from Branchville, Frankford Township, Lafayette Township and Montague Township. As of the 2024–25 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 791 students and 67.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.7:1. 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 assigned to Sussex.

Sussex Christian School is an inter-denominational Christian private day school that was founded in 1958 by members of the Sussex Christian Reformed Church, and which serves students from Northern New Jersey and the surrounding communities in New York and Pennsylvania.

Transportation

thumb|right|[[New Jersey Route 23|Route 23 northbound in Sussex]]

Roads and highways

, the borough had a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the municipality, by Sussex County and by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

Sussex is located at the intersection of Route 23 and Route 284.

Public transportation

Local bus service is provided by the Skylands Connect bus, which provides service to Hamburg, Sparta and Newton.

Sussex Airport is located southwest of Sussex.

Notable people

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

  • Grant Decker (1814–1890), first mayor of Flint, Michigan
  • Paul W. Downs (born 1982), actor, writer, and director best known for his portrayal of Trey Pucker on the Comedy Central series Broad City
  • D. C. Fontana (1939–2019), television script writer and story editor, best known for her work on the original Star Trek franchise and several western television series
  • Bill Glynn (1925–2013), Major League Baseball first baseman who played four seasons of professional baseball for the Cleveland Indians and the Philadelphia Phillies
  • William Alexander Linn (1846–1917), journalist and historian
  • Homer Mensch (1914–2005), classical bassist

References

  • Official Sussex website
  • Sussex Borough property, hazard, and crime stats at PogoData