In the colonial era, many districts were defined by the borders of towns or counties, or groups of towns and counties. The legislature was formed by assigning a certain number of representatives to each of these districts. So, for example, New York State’s 1777 Constitution assigned nine representatives to New York “city and county,” ten to Albany “city and county,” four to Queens County, two to Kings County, and so on. And the infamous Massachusetts gerrymander of 1812 was really just a particular configuration of Massachusetts towns and counties.

As the country’s population grew, it did not grow equally, and some towns and counties grew much larger than others. Some jurisdictions kept pace with changing population, shifting the number of representatives assigned to each district, or reconfiguring district lines; others did not. Sometimes, districts stayed the same despite population shifts because of an underlying philosophy: several state Senate systems were modeled after the federal Senate, with representation for counties as such rather than the population therein. Sometimes, districts stayed the same because of political advantage or neglect: from 1901 through 1961, the Tennessee legislature simply ignored a state constitutional requirement to redraw district lines. In either case, the result was that some districts grew much larger than others. By the 1960s, for example, Los Angeles County (the largest district in California) had 422 times as many people as California’s smallest district. And because each district in California’s state senate elected one Senator, each person in the smallest district enjoyed 422 times the Senate representation of each Los Angeles resident.

In a series of cases starting in the mid-1960s, the Supreme Court decided that this sort of population disparity violated the U.S. Constitution. It required roughly equal population for each legislative district. This meant that district boundaries would have to be periodically readjusted, to account for new population information. So now, after the Census is conducted at the start of a new decade, district boundaries have to be redrawn.

This is the process we know as redistricting.

-From “What is redistricting?”

Here are the municipalities by county that have been shifted from one congressional district to another:

Bergen

Moving from the 9th Congressional District, currently represented by Democratic Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., to the 5th Congressional District, represented by Democratic Rep. Josh Gottheimer.

Cresskill

Englewood

Englewood Cliffs

Fort Lee

Leonia

Palisades Park

Ridgefield Park

Tenafly

Moving from 8th District, currently represented by Democratic Rep. Albio Sires, to the 9th District, represented by Democratic Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr.

Fairview

Moving from the 5th District, currently represented by Democratic Rep. Josh Gottheimer, to the 9th District, represented by Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr.

Franklin Lakes

Lodi

Oakland

Rochelle Park

Burlington

Moving from the 2nd District, currently represented by Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew, to the 3rd District, currently represented by Democratic Rep. Andy Kim

Bass River

Washington Township

Camden

Moving from the 2nd District, currently represented by Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew, to the 1st District, represented by Democratic Rep. Donald Norcross

Waterford

Essex

Moving from the 7th District currently represented by Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski, to the 11th District, represented by Rep. Mikie Sherrill

Millburn

Moving from the 8th District, currently represented by Democratic Rep. Albio Sires, to the 11th District, represented by Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill

Belleville

Moving from the 10th District, currently represented by Democratic Rep. Donald Payne Jr., to the 11th District, represented by Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill

Bloomfield

Glen Ridge

Maplewood

South Orange

Moving from the 11th District, currently represented by Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill. to the 10th District, represented by Democratic Rep. Donald Payne Jr.

Caldwell

Essex Fells

Verona

Gloucester

Moving from the 1st District, currently represented by Democratic Rep. Donald Norcross, to the 2nd District, represented by Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew

Greenwich

Logan

Moving from the 2nd District, currently represented by Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew, to the 1st District, represented by Democratic Rep. Donald Norcross

Mantua

Pitman

Mercer

Moving from the 4th District, currently represented by Republican Rep. Chris Smith, to the 3rd District, represented by Democratic Rep. Andy Kim

Hamilton

Robbinsville

Moving from the 12th District, currently represented by Democratic Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, to the 3rd District, represented by Democratic Rep. Andy Kim

East Windsor

Hightstown

Lawrence

Monmouth

Moving from the 4th District, currently represented by Republican Rep. Chris Smith, to the 3rd District, represented by Democratic Rep. Andy Kim

Allentown

Englishtown

Freehold Borough

Holmdel

Manalapan

Millstone

Upper Freehold

Moving from the 4th District, currently represented by Republican Rep. Chris Smith, to the 6th District, represented by Democratic Rep. Frank Pallone Jr.

Bradley Beach

Fair Haven

Little Silver

Neptune City

Neptune Township

Red Bank

Roosevelt

Rumson

Moving from the 6th District, currently represented by Democratic Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., to the 3rd District, represented by Democratic Rep. Andy Kim

Marlboro

Morris

Moving from the 7th District, currently represented by Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski, to the 11th District, represented by Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill

Dover

Moving from the 11th District, currently represented by Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill, to the 7th District, represented by Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski

Mendham

Ocean

Moving from the 3rd District, currently represented by Democratic Rep. Andy Kim, to the 4th District, represented by Republican Rep. Chris Smith.

Beachwood

Brick

Island Heights

Lavallette

Mantoloking

Ocean Gate

Pine Beach

Point Pleasant Borough

Seaside Heights

Seaside Park

South Toms River

Toms River

Moving from the 3rd District, currently represented by Democratic Rep. Andy Kim, to the 2nd District, represented by Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew

Barnegat Township

Ocean Township

Stafford

Passaic

Moving from the 11th District, currently represented by Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill, to the 5th District, represented by Rep. Josh Gottheimer

Bloomingdale

Wanaque

Moving from the 11th District, currently represented by Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill, to the 9th District, represented by Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr.

North Haledon

Pompton Lakes

Somerset

Moving from the 7th District, currently represented by Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski, to the 12th District, represented by Democratic Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman

Millstone

Montgomery

North Plainfield

Rocky Hill

Sussex

Moving from the 5th District, currently represented by Democratic Rep. Josh Gottheimer, to the 7th District, represented by Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski

Andover

Fredon

Green

Stillwater

Walpack

Moving from the 11th District, currently represented by Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill, to the 7th District, represented by Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski

Byram

Hopatcong

Ogdensburg

Sparta

Stanhope

Union

Moving from the 7th District, currently represented by Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski, to the 10th District, represented by Rep. Donald Payne Jr.

Cranford

Garwood

Kenilworth

Moving from the 10th District, currently represented by Rep. Donald Payne Jr., to the 7th District, represented by Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski

Rahway

Moving from the 12th District, currently represented by Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, to the 7th District, represented by Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski

Fanwood

Scotch Plains

Warren

Moving from the 5th District, currently represented by Democratic Rep. Josh Gottheimer, to the 7th District, represented by Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski

Allamuchy

Belvidere

Blairstown

Frelinghuysen

Hackettstown

Hardwick

Hope

Independence

Knowlton

Liberty

Mansfield

Oxford

Washington

Washington Township

White

There 16 municipalities are divided between two congressional districts.

Some neighborhoods may have been shifted from one district to another. Check our tracker above to see which district your residence is in.

Bergen

Maywood, Districts 5 and 9

Essex

Montclair, Districts 10 and 11

Newark, Districts 8 and 10

Gloucester

East Greenwich, Districts 1 and 2

Hudson

Jersey City, Districts 8 and 10

Kearny, Districts 8 and 9

Middlesex

Old Bridge, Districts 6 and 12

Monmouth

Freehold Township, Districts 3 and 4

Middletown, Districts 4 and 6

Morris

Mendham Township, Districts 7 and 11

Ocean

Berkeley Township, Districts 2 and 4

Lacey Township, Districts 2 and 4

Passaic

Wayne, Districts 9 and 11

Somerset

Bridgewater, Districts 7 and 12

Hillsborough, Districts 7 and 12

Union

Linden, Districts 7 and 10