What is now Hampton was originally incorporated by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature as Junction Borough on February 20, 1895, from portions of both Lebanon Township and Bethlehem Township, based on the results of a referendum held on the previous day. By a resolution of the borough council, the name was changed to Hampton as of February 11, 1909. In 1931, additional territory was annexed from both Glen Gardner borough and Bethlehem Township.
Hampton Borough, on the banks of the Musconetcong River has changed little since it was first settled in 1800. In 1880, the town consisted of a store, hotel, cabinet manufacturer, blacksmith, wheelwright shop, grist mill, school house and about 25 dwellings. Hampton was once known as "Junction" because the Central Railroad of New Jersey and the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad crossed through here.
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,546 people, 559 households, and 377 families residing in the borough. The population density was 1,006.8 people per square mile (387.6/km²). There were 574 housing units at an average density of 373.8/sq mi (143.9/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 91.01% White, 4.98% African American, 0.39% Native American, 0.97% Asian, 0.78% from other races, and 1.88% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.85% of the population.
There were 559 households out of which 36.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.3% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.4% were non-families. 27.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.20.
In the borough the population was spread out with 25.7% under the age of 18, 10.9% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 11.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 106.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 108.0 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $51,111, and the median income for a family was $64,583. Males had a median income of $45,096 versus $32,000 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $22,440. About 7.1% of families and 8.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.1% of those under age 18 and 3.5% of those age 65 or over.