Bogota was formed on November 14, 1894, from portions of Ridgefield Township at the height of the "Boroughitis" phenomenon, based on the results of a referendum held that day. Portions of Bogota were taken in 1895 to form part of the newly-created Township of Teaneck. Bogota was named in honor of the Bogert family, which had been the first to occupy the area, and may also be a portmanteau of Bogert and Banta, another early family, with an "O" added to ease pronunciation.
The borough's name is pronounced "buh-GO-ta", unlike Bogotá, capital city of Colombia, whose name is accented on the final syllable. Coincidentally, 1.54% of Bogota's residents are from Colombia.
As of the census of 2000, there were 8,249 people, 2,874 households, and 2,126 families residing in the borough. The population density was 10,841.3 people per square mile (4,190.7/km). There were 2,915 housing units at an average density of 3,831.1/sq mi (1,480.9/km). The racial makeup of the borough was 75.72% White, 5.73% African American, 0.15% Native American, 7.75% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 6.76% from other races, and 3.83% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 21.32% of the population.
There were 2,874 households out of which 36.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.0% were married couples living together, 13.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.0% were non-families. 21.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.85 and the average family size was 3.38.
In the borough the population was spread out with 25.3% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 32.1% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 90.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.1 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $59,813, and the median income for a family was $69,841. Males had a median income of $49,347 versus $36,406 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $25,505. About 2.6% of families and 4.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.3% of those under age 18 and 4.2% of those age 65 or over.
While no major highways travel through the borough, Interstate 80 is accessible at Exit 67 in Ridgefield Park, just south of Bogota, and Route 4 is accessible in Teaneck to the north in Teaneck. These highways provide access to the George Washington Bridge, the New Jersey Turnpike, the Garden State Parkway and other portions of the area's transportation network. Several bridges span the Hackensack River to Hackensack.
Several New Jersey Transit bus lines travel through Bogota between Hackensack, Jersey City, Paramus and New York City. New Jersey Transit bus service is available to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan on the 155 and 168 routes; to the George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal on the 182 route; and to other New Jersey communities served on the 83 (to Jersey City), 751 and 755 routes.
There is no passenger rail service, but the CSX West Shore Railroad freight line is on the edge of the borough.