Jewish New Jersey: Lakewood, Teaneck and the Fastest Growth in America

New Jersey holds roughly 609,000 Jews, fourth among American states. It also holds the fastest-growing Jewish community in the country, and the story of that growth begins with fourteen students.

Lakewood

In 1942 Rabbi Aharon Kotler agreed to lead a new yeshiva in America on one condition: that it be located away from New York City. Beth Medrash Govoha opened in Lakewood with fourteen students. It was the first kollel in the United States.

Today BMG enrols roughly 4,000 undergraduates and 5,600 in graduate programmes. It is the largest yeshiva outside Israel and the second largest in the world after the Mir in Jerusalem.

The town grew around it. Lakewood Township reached 141,985 residents in 2024, overtaking Elizabeth to become New Jersey's fourth most populous municipality. The birth rate has pulled the median age sharply downward. In 2022 Georgian Court University, a Catholic institution, sold BMG forty-two acres for student housing.

Lakewood has become a destination in its own right: kosher restaurants, Judaica shops, specialty retail. As it has filled up, younger families have moved to Toms River and Jackson, but the centre has held.

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Teaneck

Bergen County, inside the New York metropolitan area. Of roughly 41,000 residents, about 15,000 are Jewish, most of them Modern Orthodox. Cedar Lane and Queen Anne Road carry the shops.

One detail worth knowing: in 1965 Teaneck became the first town in America to desegregate its public schools voluntarily, without a court order.

Deal

On the Monmouth County shore, a Syrian Jewish community with roots in Syria, Egypt, Iran and Iraq. It began as a summer community in Bradley Beach. Members started moving to Deal in the 1960s, and by 1973 the community counted more than a hundred homeowners.

What Makes New Jersey Different

Most American Jewish communities are shrinking or holding steady. New Jersey's is growing, and growing fast, because the growth is demographic rather than migratory: Lakewood's expansion comes from births, not from arrivals.

That produces a community with an unusual age structure. Where Florida's Jewish population skews old, Lakewood's skews young enough to move the median age of an entire township.

For the youngest end of that curve: our Jewish kids clothing and gifts runs from baby bodysuits to youth hoodies.

Common Questions

How many Jews live in New Jersey?

Roughly 609,000, fourth after New York, California and Florida.

What is Beth Medrash Govoha?

The yeshiva in Lakewood, commonly called the Lakewood Yeshiva. Founded 1942 with fourteen students, it now has around 9,600 and is the largest outside Israel.

Why is Lakewood growing so fast?

Births rather than migration. The township passed 141,000 residents in 2024 and became New Jersey's fourth largest municipality.

What is the Syrian community in Deal?

A community with roots in Syria, Egypt, Iran and Iraq that began as a summer colony in Bradley Beach and settled permanently in Deal from the 1960s.

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