According to tradition, the city derives its name from the city of Bayonne in France. It is said that French Huguenots settled there some time before New Amsterdam was founded. French-speaking Walloons were a large percentage of the population of New Netherland during the mid-seventeenth century and may have given the name. However, there are no historical records to prove this. A 1904 history suggests that the area's developers named it Bayonne because it is on the shores of two bays, Newark and New York, hence Bay-on, or "on the Bays". Bayonne is a diverse city, with large communities of Italian, Irish and Polish Americans.
Bayonne was originally formed as a township on April 1, 1861, from portions of Bergen Township. Bayonne was reincorporated as a city by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 10, 1869, replacing Bayonne Township, subject to the results of a referendum held nine days later.
As of the census of 2000, there were 61,842 people, 25,545 households, and 16,016 families residing in the city. The population density was 10,992.2 people per square mile (4,241.1/km²). There were 26,826 housing units at an average density of 4,768.2/sq mi (1,839.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 78.64% White, 5.52% African American, 0.17% Native American, 4.14% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 7.46% from other races, and 4.02% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 17.81% of the population.
As of the 2000 census, the ancestry of Bayonne residents was: Italian (20.1%), Irish (18.8%), Polish (17.9%), German (6.1%), Arab (3.8%), United States (2.5%).
There were 25,545 households out of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.8% were married couples living together, 15.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.3% were non-families. 32.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.10.
In the city the population was spread out with 22.1% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 89.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $41,566, and the median income for a family was $52,413. Males had a median income of $39,790 versus $33,747 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,553. About 8.4% of families and 10.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.9% of those under age 18 and 11.0% of those age 65 or over.
Bayonne is connected to Staten Island, New York by the Bayonne Bridge. The Bayonne Bridge is lit in patriotic colors (red, white & blue) in the evenings, as a 9/11 memorial initiated by a then 8-year-old girl in the summer of 2002, Veronica Marie Granite, with the assistance of then-Municipal Councilmember-at-Large Maria Karczewski.
The Newark Bay Extension of the New Jersey Turnpike (Interstate 78) provides access to Jersey City and, via the Holland Tunnel, Manhattan. In the opposite direction on the Newark Bay Extension, the Newark Bay Bridge provides access to Newark, Newark Liberty International Airport and the rest of the Turnpike (Interstate 95).
Route 440 runs along the east side of Bayonne, and the west side of Jersey City, following the old Morris Canal route. Although it has traffic lights it is usually the quickest way to go north-south within Bayonne. It connects to the Bayonne Bridge, I-78, and to Route 185 to Liberty State Park.
The Bayonne Bridge, which connects Bayonne to Staten Island, was completed in November, 1931. At the time, it was the longest steel arch bridge ever constructed. Today, it is the third-longest such bridge, with the Lupu Bridge in Shanghai, China and the New River Gorge Bridge in West Virginia being first- and second-longest respectively.
Bus transportation is provided on three main north-south streets of the city: Broadway, Kennedy Boulevard, and Avenue C, both by the state-operated New Jersey Transit and several private bus lines. The Broadway line runs solely inside Bayonne city limits, while bus lines on Avenue C and Kennedy Boulevard run to various end points in Jersey City. One Kennedy Boulevard service (the Coach USA 99S) runs to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in midtown Manhattan, New York City, and rush hours peak direction the NJ Transit 120 runs between Avenue C in Bayonne and Battery Park in Downtown Manhattan, while the 81 provides service to New Jersey.
The Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, which was completed in the year 2000 currently has stops throughout Bayonne, Jersey City, Hoboken, Weehawken, Union City and North Bergen.
Stations in Bayonne are:
A fourth station, 8th Street, which will be located at Avenue C, is under construction. Incidentally, all of these stations were the original train stations for the old Central Jersey railway system.
Service within Bayonne is available between these three stations. Northbound service from Bayonne runs through Jersey City, mostly near the waterfront, to Hoboken Terminal. Other parts of the system can be accessed via transfers. The Tonnelle Avenue (in North Bergen) and other stations north of Hoboken Terminal can also be reached by transferring at stations between Liberty State Park and Pavonia-Newport for the West Side Avenue-Tonnelle Avenue route, or at Hoboken Terminal for the Tonelle Avenue-Hoboken route. The Liberty State Park station is a transfer point for those traveling between Bayonne and stations on the West Side Avenue (Jersey City) line. Connection to PATH trains to midtown Manhattan and to New Jersey Transit commuter train service are available at Hoboken Terminal, and connections to PATH trains to midtown Manhattan are available at the Hoboken Terminal and Pavonia-Newport stations. Transfers to PATH trains to Newark, Harrison, and downtown Manhattan are available at Exchange Place.