County outline
Where Morris County is located
Area breakdown
Land accounts for 95.7% of Morris County’s measured area and water for 4.3%. Its combined area converts to 1,247.2 square kilometers or approximately 308,178 acres.
Green: land · blue: water
| Measurement | Square miles | Square kilometers | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land | 461.027 | 1,194.054 | 295,057.3 |
| Water | 20.501 | 53.097 | 13,120.6 |
| Total | 481.528 | 1,247.152 | 308,177.9 |
How Morris County compares
By original Census land area, Morris County ranks #7 of 21 in New Jersey and #2227 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
Its land area is 1.432 times the New Jersey county-equivalent median of 322 square miles. It accounts for 6.3% of the combined county land area in the state.
See the complete New Jersey ranking · What counts as a county equivalent?
Population and density of Morris County
The Census Bureau estimates that 524,251 people lived in Morris County on July 1, 2025. That ranks #144 of 3,222 county equivalents nationally and #10 of 21 in New Jersey. Since the April 1, 2020 estimates base of 509,293, the population has grown by 14,958 (+2.9%), compared with +2.8% for New Jersey as a whole.
With 461 square miles of land, that is 1,137 people per square mile (439 per km²), placing Morris County #160 nationally for density and #11 in New Jersey. The median county equivalent has 47 people per square mile; the New Jersey median is 1,137. Put another way, there are about 0.563 acres of land per resident.
| July 1 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimate | 508,211 | 510,240 | 511,860 | 516,902 | 521,355 | 524,251 |
| Change | — | +2,029 | +1,620 | +5,042 | +4,453 | +2,896 |
U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 population estimates. Estimates are revised each year and are not decennial census counts. Density divides the whole population by the whole county’s land area, so it describes an average, not how settlement is distributed within the county. Population sources and methods.
Cities and towns in Morris County
Morris County is divided into 39 municipalities and townships. In New Jersey, county subdivisions are local governments, and together they cover all of the county’s land and residents.
The most populous is Parsippany-Troy Hills township, with 56,633 residents (10.8% of the county). The largest by land is Washington township, at 44.6 mi², or 9.7% of the county’s land. The county seat, Morristown town, has 20,750 residents. Among those with at least 1,000 residents in 2020, Netcong borough grew fastest since then (+16.3%).
| County subdivision | Population 2025 | Since 2020 | Land mi² | Share of county land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parsippany-Troy Hills township | 56,633 | +0.9% | 23.6 | 5.1% |
| Mount Olive township | 29,503 | +2.1% | 29.6 | 6.4% |
| Rockaway township | 27,728 | +9.3% | 41.7 | 9.1% |
| Randolph township | 26,878 | +1.6% | 20.9 | 4.5% |
| Montville township | 24,469 | +9% | 18.6 | 4% |
| Morris township | 23,730 | +3.2% | 15.7 | 3.4% |
| Roxbury township | 23,427 | +2.1% | 20.8 | 4.5% |
| Morristown townCounty seat | 20,750 | +2.8% | 2.909 | 0.6% |
| Jefferson township | 20,703 | +0.8% | 39 | 8.5% |
| Dover town | 18,919 | +2.5% | 2.676 | 0.6% |
| Washington township | 18,309 | +0.7% | 44.6 | 9.7% |
| Denville township | 17,424 | +1.7% | 12 | 2.6% |
| Madison borough | 16,607 | −2.1% | 4.312 | 0.9% |
| Pequannock township | 15,750 | +1.1% | 6.773 | 1.5% |
| Hanover township | 15,105 | +2.9% | 10.5 | 2.3% |
Show the other 24 subdivisions
| Name | Population 2025 | Since 2020 | Land mi² |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florham Park borough | 14,456 | +15.1% | 7.314 |
| East Hanover township | 11,457 | +3.2% | 7.875 |
| Chatham township | 11,282 | +2.7% | 9.077 |
| Lincoln Park borough | 10,950 | +0.4% | 6.398 |
| Kinnelon borough | 10,138 | +1.5% | 18 |
| Chatham borough | 10,027 | +8.9% | 2.343 |
| Boonton town | 8,920 | +1.1% | 2.342 |
| Long Hill township | 8,684 | +0.7% | 11.8 |
| Butler borough | 8,184 | +2% | 2.034 |
| Chester township | 7,795 | +1% | 29.1 |
| Wharton borough | 7,618 | +5.3% | 2.079 |
| Rockaway borough | 6,631 | +0.8% | 2.076 |
| Morris Plains borough | 6,586 | +7.2% | 2.554 |
| Mendham township | 6,075 | +0.7% | 17.8 |
| Mount Arlington borough | 5,985 | +1.2% | 2.142 |
| Mendham borough | 4,985 | +0.5% | 5.93 |
| Mountain Lakes borough | 4,649 | +3.9% | 2.644 |
| Boonton township | 4,432 | +0.8% | 8.129 |
| Mine Hill township | 4,160 | +3.9% | 2.936 |
| Riverdale borough | 4,144 | +0.8% | 2.026 |
| Harding township | 3,949 | +1.7% | 20.1 |
| Netcong borough | 3,924 | +16.3% | 0.832 |
| Chester borough | 1,689 | +1.1% | 1.593 |
| Victory Gardens borough | 1,596 | +0.8% | 0.145 |
Population: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 subcounty estimates, counting only the part of each subdivision inside Morris County. Land: 2026 Census Gazetteer. How communities are listed.
Metropolitan area
Morris County is a central county of the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ Metropolitan Statistical Area, in the Newark, NJ metropolitan division. Its 22 county equivalents have 20,112,448 residents on 6,139.7 square miles of land; Morris County accounts for 7.5% of the land and 2.6% of the residents. By combined land it ranks #34 of 393 metropolitan areas, and #1 by population. It belongs to the New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area.
| County equivalent | Population 2025 | Land mi² |
|---|---|---|
| Kings CountyNew York | 2,653,963 | 69.4 |
| Queens CountyNew York | 2,358,182 | 108.7 |
| New York CountyNew York | 1,664,862 | 22.7 |
| Suffolk CountyNew York | 1,546,090 | 910.9 |
| Bronx CountyNew York | 1,406,332 | 42.2 |
| Nassau CountyNew York | 1,398,939 | 284.5 |
| Westchester CountyNew York | 1,015,743 | 430.8 |
| Bergen County | 977,026 | 232.8 |
| Essex County | 896,379 | 126.1 |
| Middlesex County | 883,335 | 309.3 |
| Hudson County | 735,033 | 46.2 |
| Ocean County | 673,746 | 628.3 |
| Monmouth County | 651,035 | 468.2 |
| Union County | 601,863 | 102.8 |
| Passaic County | 531,624 | 186.1 |
| Morris County | 524,251 | 461 |
| Richmond CountyNew York | 501,290 | 57.5 |
| Rockland CountyNew York | 357,397 | 173.7 |
| Somerset County | 356,486 | 301.9 |
| Sussex County | 148,063 | 518.5 |
| Hunterdon County | 131,781 | 427.8 |
| Putnam CountyNew York | 99,028 | 230.3 |
ZIP codes
58 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Morris County; 50 of them have most of their land inside the county, and the others mainly cover neighboring areas.
07005070340703507045070460705407058070820740507435074380744007444074570746007801078030782807830078340783607840078420784707849078500785207853078560785707865078660786907870078760787807885079200792607927079280793007931079320793307934079350793607940079450794607950079600796107970079760798007981
ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are the Census Bureau’s approximations of USPS ZIP Code service areas, from the 2020 Census relationship files. Lighter codes have less than half of their land in this county. Post-office-box and single-address ZIP Codes have no tabulation area.
Counties bordering Morris County
Morris County shares a land border with 7 county equivalents. It has more land than 6 of them. The largest neighbor is Sussex County (518.5 mi²) and the smallest is Union County (102.8 mi²). Together with its neighbors, Morris County forms a block of 2,480.8 mi² of land, of which it holds 18.6%.
| Bordering county equivalent | Land mi² | Size vs. Morris | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sussex County | 518.5 | 1.1× larger | Compare |
| Hunterdon County | 427.8 | 1.1× smaller | Compare |
| Warren County | 356.5 | 1.3× smaller | Compare |
| Somerset County | 301.9 | 1.5× smaller | Compare |
| Passaic County | 186.1 | 2.5× smaller | Compare |
| Essex County | 126.1 | 3.7× smaller | Compare |
| Union County | 102.8 | 4.5× smaller | Compare |
How big is Morris County compared with U.S. states?
Morris County has less land than any of the 50 states. Rhode Island, the smallest state by land area, has 1,033.9 mi², about 2.2 times as much. New Jersey’s county land could hold about 16 areas the size of Morris County.
Another way to picture it: the same land area would fill a square about 21.5 miles (34.6 km) on each side. Real county shapes are rarely square, so this is a scale reference rather than a width or driving distance.
State figures are the sums of each state’s county-equivalent land measurements in the same Census release, so states and counties are compared on the same basis. Published state totals can differ slightly because of rounding. Compare all states · Counties bigger than entire states.
What stands out about Morris County?
Morris County has more land than 995 of the other 3,221 county equivalents in the dataset.
A median is the middle county-equivalent measurement, not the average of the largest and smallest. All three bars use the same linear scale. Very small areas may appear as a thin sliver; the labels retain their values.
Does including water change its rank?
Using land plus water places Morris County at #2,240 nationally by total area, 13 places farther from the top than its land rank. Other county equivalents gain more area when their water measurements are included.
Its water share is 4.3%, compared with a national county-equivalent median of 1.2% — 3.1 percentage points higher. This describes the statistical geography’s land/water mix, not flood exposure or developable land.
Closest positions in the national land ranking
These entries sit immediately beside Morris County in the national ranking. They can be in different states and are not necessarily geographic neighbors.
| Land rank | County equivalent | Land mi² | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| #2226 | Lamoille County, Vermont | 461.3 | Compare |
| #2227 | Morris County, New Jersey | 461 | This county |
| #2228 | Stewart County, Tennessee | 459.8 | Compare |
Calculated from the same Census release as the area table. Total-area order uses original ALAND + AWATER; water shares and chart labels use published square miles. Calculation details.
Representative coordinates
The Census internal point is 40.858896, -74.547292. It represents a location inside the geography; it is not necessarily the centroid or the address of a courthouse.
Source and precision
U.S. Census Bureau, 2026 Gazetteer Files, Counties. Original ALAND: 1,194,054,342 m²; AWATER: 53,097,705 m². Rankings use ALAND; exact ties use ascending GEOID. Tables preserve Census-published square miles to three decimals, with conversions based on those values.
Common questions
How big is Morris County?
Morris County, New Jersey has 461 square miles (1,194.1 km²) of land and 20.5 square miles of water, for a total area of 481.5 square miles. It ranks #2227 of 3,222 U.S. county equivalents by land area.
Is Morris County the largest county in New Jersey?
No. Morris County ranks #7 of 21 in New Jersey by land area. The largest is Burlington County, with 799.3 square miles of land.
What counties border Morris County?
Morris County shares a land border with Somerset County, Sussex County, Passaic County, Essex County, Warren County, Hunterdon County, and Union County.
What is the population of Morris County?
The Census Bureau estimates Morris County had 524,251 residents on July 1, 2025, ranking #144 of 3,222 county equivalents. That is 1,137 people per square mile of land.
What is the county seat of Morris County?
The county seat of Morris County is Morristown.
What cities and towns are in Morris County?
Morris County has 39 county subdivisions (cities, towns and townships). The most populous five are Parsippany-Troy Hills township, Mount Olive township, Rockaway township, Randolph township, and Montville township.
Is Morris County part of a metropolitan area?
Yes. It is a central county of the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has 22 county equivalents and 20,112,448 residents.
How many ZIP codes are in Morris County?
58 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Morris County, and 50 of them have most of their land inside the county. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas approximate USPS ZIP Code areas.
How does Morris County compare with U.S. states?
It has less land than every state. Rhode Island, the smallest, has 2.2 times as much land.
How many acres of land are in Morris County?
The land measurement converts to approximately 295,057 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 308,178 acres. One square mile equals 640 acres.
Why might another source show a different area?
Check whether it reports land or total area, its Census vintage, and its rounding. Our guide explains how to reconcile county area figures.
Can this establish a property boundary?
No. Statistical measurements and generalized maps do not establish property lines. Consult the relevant local surveying or land-records authority.