Overview
Hoboken is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States; it lies on the west bank of the Hudson River across from the Manhattan, New York City neighborhoods of the West Village and Chelsea between Weehawken Cove and Union City at the north and Jersey City (the county seat) at the south and west.

There are approximately 39,000 people residing in the city. The population density is fourth highest in the nation after the neighboring communities of Guttenberg, Union City and West New York. The racial makeup of the city is 80.82% White, 4.26% African American, 0.16% Native American, 4.31% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 7.63% from other races, and 2.78% from two or more races. Furthermore 20.18% of those residents also consider themselves to be Hispanic or Latino.

History
The name "Hoboken" was decided upon by Colonel John Stevens when he purchased land, on a part of which the city still sits. The first Europeans to live there were Dutch/Flemish settlers to New Netherlands.

Like Weehawken, it's neighbor to the north, Communipaw and Harisimus to the south, Hoboken had variations in the folks-tongue of the period. Hoebuck, old Dutch for high bluff and likely referring to Castle Point, was used during the colonial era and later spelled in English as Hobuck.

Hoboken's unofficial nickname is now the "Mile Square City", but it actually covers an area of two square miles when including the under-water parts in the Hudson River. During the late 19th/early 20th century the population and culture of Hoboken was dominated by German language speakers who sometimes called it "Little Bremen", many of whom are buried in Hoboken Cemetery, North Bergen.

Character
Hoboken is considered to be one of the nation's most vibrant "comeback" towns: a city with an illustrious past, a deep but not devastating decline, and an on-going "rejuvenation" that remains controversial. The definitions of "new-comer" and "old-timer" have faded since Hoboken has had a number of waves of new residents in the last thirty years. It has an increasingly more transient population, the latest being those living in the more anonymous mid-rise buildings along the waterfront and high-rises around 2nd Street Station.

Like Hudson County, in which it's located, Hoboken has remained densely populated and very ethnically diverse. Its compactness, historic street layout, shortage of on-street parking, mean that a car is more of a hindrance than a help, and the city retains a basic pedestrian orientation, making for a lively street-scape. While it has its share of crime, most consider it a safe place to live. Washington Street, the city's commercial thoroughfare, is in many ways a typical American "Main Street", though some would say that Hoboken's human-scale is reminiscent of smaller European cities.