The township of Woodbridge is named after Reverend John W. Woodbridge (1613-1691) of Newbury, Massachusetts. The Township of Woodbridge is the oldest original township in the state of New Jersey. It was settled in the early autumn of 1664 and was granted a charter on June 1, 1669 by King Charles II of England, and reincorporated on October 31, 1693. Woodbridge Township was incorporated by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1798. Portions of the township were taken to form Rahway , Raritan Township (March 17, 1870, now Edison Township) and Roosevelt (April 11, 1906, now Carteret).
As of the census of 2000, there were 97,203 people, 34,562 households, and 25,437 families residing in the township. The population density was 4,224.5 people per square mile (1,631.0/km²). There were 35,298 housing units at an average density of 1,534.1/sq mi (592.3/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 70.83% White, 8.75% African American, 0.17% Native American, 14.46% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 3.30% from other races, and 2.46% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.21% of the population.
As of the 2000 census, 9.19% of Woodbridge Township's residents identified themselves as being of Indian American ancestry, which was the tenth highest of any municipality in the United States and the fifth highest in New Jersey — behind Edison (17.75%), Plainsboro Township (16.97%), Piscataway Township (12.49%) and South Brunswick Township (10.48%) — of all places with 1,000 or more residents identifying their ancestry.
There were 34,562 households out of which 33.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.1% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.4% were non-families. 21.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.19.
In the township the population was spread out with 22.4% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 34.8% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 100.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.0 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $60,683, and the median income for a family was $68,492 (which had risen to $77,019 and $82,831 respectively as of the 2006 estimate.) Males had a median income of $49,248 versus $35,096 for females. The per capita income for the township was $25,087. About 3.2% of families and 4.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.7% of those under age 18 and 5.3% of those age 65 or over.
There are three train stations in the township: Metropark, Avenel(limited service) and Woodbridge. Service is provided by New Jersey Transit Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coast Line as well as Amtrak Acela Express and Regional services to Newark Penn Station, Penn Station New York, PHL, WAS, & BOS (MetroPark only).
Garden State Parkway exits 127 to 131 are in the Township. The New Jersey Turnpike passes through Woodbridge Township, and is accessible at Exit 11 (which features a 24-lane toll gate). The Turnpike's Grover Cleveland service area is located between Interchanges 11 and 12 northbound at milepost 92.9. The Thomas Edison service area is located between Interchanges 11 and 12 southbound at milepost 92.9.
U.S. Route 1 and U.S. Route 9 serve the township and merge heading north of the township as the U.S. Route 1/9 concurrency. Other roadways passing through the township are Route 27, Route 35, Route 184 and Route 440.
The Edison Bridge on U.S. Route 9 spans the Raritan River, connecting Woodbridge Township on the north with Sayreville on the south.
The first cloverleaf interchange in the United States opened in 1929 at the intersection of highways 25 and 4 (now U.S. Route 1/9 and Route 35, respectively).