New Jersey, on its southwestern side borders Philadelphia, across the Delaware River. So a great deal of New Jersey’s population and industries borders New York and Philadelphia. Also, since 1978, Atlantic City has been one of the largest centers of casino gambling in the United States. The Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal was the world’s first container port and is one of the world’s largest container ports. Newark Liberty International Airport is one of the three New York City metropolitan area airports.

New Jersey is known as the Garden State and it still produces significant amount of agricultural goods, particularly for the local and New York City and Philadelphia markets. Products include nursery stock, horses, vegetables, fruits and nuts, seafood, and dairy products, cranberries, peach, and tomatoes. New Jersey’s economy has a large base of heavy industry and chemical manufacturing. There are several oil refineries in the state, including the Bayway Refinery in Linden, and refineries in Westville and Paulsboro. New Jersey also is home to major pharmaceutical firms Merck, Wyeth, Johnson and Johnson, Novartis, Pfizer, Hoffman-LaRoche, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Schering-Plough.