Current Time in Jersey City, United States

Jersey City lies in north-eastern New Jersey, on a peninsula between the Hudson and Hackensack rivers, directly across the water from Lower Manhattan. Its waterfront looks over New York harbour towards the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, both of which lie within the city's boundaries, and its skyline of glass towers has become a familiar part of the view from New York. The climate is humid continental, with hot summers, cold winters and sea air from the harbour.

With a population approaching three hundred thousand, it is one of the two largest cities in New Jersey and among the most densely populated in the country. It is a major financial centre, sometimes called Wall Street West because so many banks and asset managers have moved operations to the Exchange Place waterfront, and it also has strong sectors in logistics, health care, technology and shipping.

Dutch colonists settled the area in the seventeenth century, and the village of Bergen, founded in 1660, was the first permanent European settlement in what became New Jersey. The site's position opposite Manhattan made it a natural transport hub, and in the nineteenth century canals, ferries and above all railways converged here, with several great terminals delivering passengers and freight to the harbour. Millions of immigrants processed at Ellis Island began their American journey by walking through the Central Railroad terminal in Jersey City. Industry, warehouses and docks dominated for a century, then declined sharply after the 1960s, and the waterfront's rebirth as a financial and residential district since the 1980s has been one of the most dramatic urban transformations in the region.

Liberty State Park occupies the old rail yards on the harbour's edge, offering wide lawns, a promenade with unmatched views of the New York skyline, the restored railway terminal, and ferries to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. The Empty Sky memorial there commemorates the state's victims of the September 11 attacks, framing the space where the twin towers once stood. The Liberty Science Center, with its planetarium and exhibitions, draws school groups from across the region, and the restored Loew's Jersey Theatre, an ornate movie palace of the 1920s, hosts films and concerts. Historic neighbourhoods such as Paulus Hook, Van Vorst Park and Hamilton Park preserve brownstone streets and leafy squares.

Jersey City is often described as one of the most diverse cities in the United States, and no single group forms a majority. India Square is a well-known centre of South Asian life, with sari shops, sweet stores and a large Navratri celebration, while Filipino, Egyptian, Latin American, Caribbean and Polish communities have their own districts, restaurants and festivals.

PATH trains reach Manhattan in minutes, light rail runs along the waterfront, ferries cross the Hudson, and tunnels and turnpikes serve drivers, with Newark airport close by. Saint Peter's University, New Jersey City University and a community college educate local students.

Jersey City matters as a gateway of American immigration, a financial hub and one of the country's most cosmopolitan cities.