“A Generational Opportunity for Change.”: CAWP’s 2024 New Jersey County Report Card

Women made significant progress in mayoral offices in New Jersey, according to the 2024 New Jersey County Report Card from the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP), a unit of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University. Women gained 17 mayoralties since CAWP’s 2023 County Report Card. This is the largest gain in the number of mayors’ offices held by women since CAWP began tracking this data and follows two years of declines in the number of women mayors in New Jersey. Women also gained 26 seats on town and city councils, although the overall proportion of council seats held by women remained the same at 31%. The number of women holding county commission seats declined by two since 2023.

In our overall rankings of counties for women’s representation – determined by a combined average of the share of mayoralties, town council seats, and county commissionerships held by women – Mercer is again the top county in the state, while Cape May is in the bottom spot for the second year in a row. In terms of the proportion of offices held by women, the share of county commissionerships held by women declined for the first time since 2010, while the proportion of women mayors made the largest percentage-point increase since we began collecting this data in 2003.

“We’ve seen some important gains for women in local office this year, and this comes at a unique time for New Jersey to keep this momentum going,” said CAWP Associate Director Jean Sinzdak. “Changes to the ‘ballot party line’ system – which has long stymied political newcomers, outsiders, and underrepresented groups – have the potential to upend the politics of New Jersey and help democratize political power in the state. This is a generational opportunity for change, and we’ll be watching to see what impact this has on women’s representation moving forward.”

 Here are additional key findings for women’s representation in New Jersey:

• Overall Rankings: The top three counties for women’s representation in New Jersey are Mercer, Union, and Somerset. The bottom three are Cumberland, Passaic, and Cape May.
• County Commissioners: The number one county for women’s representation as county commissioners is Somerset, where women hold 60% of county commission seats. Bergen, Mercer, and Middlesex counties are tied for second place, with women holding 57% of seats. The bottom county is Salem, where zero women hold county commission seats. The second lowest is Passaic (14%), while Cape May, Hunterdon, Monmouth, and Sussex are all tied for the third-lowest rank, with women holding 20% of commissionerships.
• Mayoralties: The top three counties for women’s representation in mayoral offices are Union (33%), Hunterdon (31%), and Atlantic (30%). The bottom three are Hudson (8%), Ocean (6%), and Passaic (6%).
• Councils: The top two counties for women’s representation on councils are Mercer (50%) and Camden (37%), and Bergen, Essex, and Somerset are all tied for the third spot with 36% of council seats held by women. The lowest-ranked county for women’s share of council seats is Cumberland (16%), and Cape May is in the second-lowest spot (24%). Atlantic, Ocean, Sussex, and Warren counties are tied for the third-from-bottom spot with 25% of council seats held by women.

Full tables for the overall county ranking and the rankings for mayoralties, county commissions, and town councils – with rank change from 2023 – follow below. Additional information about women in New Jersey politics, including previous county report cards, milestones, and women officeholders currently and over time, can be found on CAWP’s New Jersey Facts page; for comparisons, see our 2023 New Jersey County Report Card here.