Secaucus was originally formed as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 12, 1900, from portions of North Bergen. On June 7, 1900, Secaucus was incorporated as a town, replacing Secaucus borough, based on the results of a referendum held on June 5, 1917.
Before the 1950s, Secaucus was home to a number of pig farms, rendering plants, and junk yards, which gave the town a reputation for being one of the most odorous in the New York metropolitan area. In 1963, debris from the demolition of Pennsylvania Station was carted over and dumped in the Secaucus Meadowlands. In later decades Secaucus became more a commuter town. Today it is the most suburban town in Hudson County. About 20% of the town's employed residents commute to New York City to work.
New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked Secaucus as its 11th best place to live in its 2008 rankings of the "Best Places To Live" in New Jersey.
As of the census of 2000, there were 15,931 people, 6,214 households, and 3,945 families residing in the town. The population density was 2,706.7 people per square mile (1,044.3/km²). There were 6,385 housing units at an average density of 1,084.8/sq mi (418.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 78.54% White, 4.45% African American, 0.11% Native American, 11.80% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 2.79% from other races, and 2.26% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12.26% of the population.
There were 6,214 households out of which 25.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.2% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.5% were non-families. 31.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 3.08.
In the town the population was spread out with 19.2% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 33.5% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 16.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 97.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.2 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $59,800, and the median income for a family was $72,568. Males had a median income of $49,937 versus $39,370 for females. The per capita income for the town was $31,684. About 3.9% of families and 7.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.4% of those under age 18 and 9.0% of those age 65 or over.
Secaucus has exceptionally good road and rail transportation. The town is divided into four by the intersecting roads of NJ 3, which runs east and west, and the eastern spur of the New Jersey Turnpike (part of Interstate 95), which runs north-south, with an interchange (16E/17) at NJ Route 3 and a new interchange 15X, near the Secaucus Junction Station , which opened in late 2005.
Because of this, many shipping warehouses and truck freight transfer stations are located in Secaucus, both for shipping companies such as UPS and for numerous retailers. For example, Barnes & Noble's "same day delivery" service to Manhattan is run out of a warehouse in Secaucus. The town also has a large rail yard run by Conrail/CSX/Norfolk Southern where loads are switched between trains or transferred to or from trucks.
Secaucus is also the site of New Jersey Transit's Secaucus Junction (also known as the Frank R. Lautenberg Station, and sometimes known as Secaucus Transfer Station or Allied Junction. Currently there is no track junction, although one is planned for the future). The transfer station links all of NJT's long-distance train lines except the Raritan Valley Line and the Atlantic City Line. Access to the station from the rest of Secaucus is limited (it is in the southeast corner of Secaucus), via County Avenue or via NJ Turnpike Interchange 15X.
Numerous New Jersey Transit bus lines serve Secaucus, including the 124, 129, 190 and 320 buses to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan, the 78 to Newark, the 2 and 85 to Jersey City and local service provided on the 772 route. There is a bus park-and-ride at the northeast corner of Secaucus.
In the first half of the 20th Century a trolley line ran through the then main business district of Secaucus, on Paterson Plank Road from Jersey City and across the Hackensack River to East Rutherford. The extent to which the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail will resurrect this service is undecided.
The closest airport with scheduled passenger service is Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark / Elizabeth.
There are three taxicab services located within the town of Secaucus. Each taxicab service is licensed and inspected by the Secaucus Chief of Police and each individual driver of these licensed services undergo fingerprinting, motor vehicle record check and a complete background check each year.
Secaucus has been the subject of numerous artistic works. Poetry by Walt Whitman, Langston Hughes and Charles Bukowski has focused on the natural beauty of Secaucus. Probably the most famous piece, published by Bukowski in 1981 and inscribed on a plaque in the main lobby of city hall, is entitled "Secaucus." The three-stanza free verse poem is quintessentially Bukowski in its reliance on bizarre, shocking and somewhat confusing imagery.
"A square one type of gal has my head squarely by the ponytail held and fists handfuls of the toxic Secuacus runoff down my resistant mouth.
Can I trust you anymore?
The same stranger with estuarial eyes glances at the mise-en-scène. Deliverance has come with patience purchase promised." [1]