Buena, New Jersey facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Buena, New Jersey
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Borough
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St. Padre Pio Shrine
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| Motto(s):
"A Small Town with a Big Heart"
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Location of Buena in Atlantic County highlighted in red (left). Inset map: Location of Atlantic County in New Jersey highlighted in orange (right).
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Census Bureau map of Buena, New Jersey
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 Buena, New Jersey
Location in Atlantic County, New Jersey
Buena, New Jersey
Location in New Jersey
Buena, New Jersey
Location in the United States
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| Country |  United States |
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| State |  New Jersey |
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| County | Atlantic | |
| Incorporated | September 1, 1948 | |
| Named for | Buena Vista Township/Battle of Buena Vista | |
| Government | ||
| • Type | Borough | |
| • Body | Borough Council | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 7.57 sq mi (19.62 km2) | |
| • Land | 7.57 sq mi (19.61 km2) | |
| • Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2) 0.01% | |
| Area rank | 235th of 565 in state 15th of 23 in county |
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| Elevation | 121 ft (37 m) | |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 4,501 | |
| • Estimate
(2023)
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4,489 | |
| • Rank | 395th of 565 in state 16th of 23 in county |
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| • Density | 594.4/sq mi (229.5/km2) | |
| • Density rank | 432nd of 565 in state 12th of 23 in county |
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| Time zone | UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST)) | |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT)) | |
| ZIP Codes | ||
| Area code(s) | 609, 856 | |
| FIPS code | 3400108680 | |
| GNIS feature ID | 0885173 | |
Buena (/ˈbjuːnə/ BEW-nə) is a borough in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The borough, and all of Atlantic County, is part of South Jersey and the Atlantic City-Hammonton metropolitan statistical area, which in turn is included in the Philadelphia-Reading-Camden combined statistical area and the Delaware Valley.
As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 4,501, a decrease of 102 (−2.2%) from the 2010 census count of 4,603, which in turn reflected an increase of 730 (+18.8%) from the 3,873 counted in the 2000 census.
Contents
History
Charles K. Landis was a land developer who was the driving force behind the creation of Hammonton and Vineland. Landis also had a hand in establishing other small communities, including Landisville, in Buena Borough. He planned to make it county seat of a new county called Landis County, which would incorporate land from the surrounding counties. However, the locals were against this, and began calling him "King Landis".
Buena was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on September 1, 1948, from portions of Buena Vista Township. The borough was reincorporated on May 18, 1949. The borough derives its name from Buena Vista Township, which in turn was named for the 1847 Battle of Buena Vista during the Mexican–American War.
In 1979, local resident Madeline Barrale authored a 115-page book illustrating the borough's history. Buena Borough celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1999 with the 1st Annual "Buena Day" at Bruno Melini Park. In 2002, the St. Padre Pio Shrine was erected by Italian-American farmers in the Landisville section of Buena and has attracted what was described by The New York Times as a "steady stream of Catholics" who come to pray at the site.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 7.57 square miles (19.62 km2), including 7.57 square miles (19.61 km2) of land and <0.01 square miles (<0.01 km2) of water (0.01%).
Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the borough include Landisville and Minotola, each of which had postal facilities established with those names in 1871 and 1897, respectively.
The borough borders the municipalities of Buena Vista Township in Atlantic County; Vineland in Cumberland County; and Franklin Township in Gloucester County.
The borough is one of 56 South Jersey municipalities that are included within the New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve, a protected natural area of unique ecology covering 1,100,000 acres (450,000 ha), that has been classified as a United States Biosphere Reserve and established by Congress in 1978 as the nation's first National Reserve. Part of the borough is included in the state-designated Pinelands Area, which includes portions of Atlantic County, along with areas in Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester and Ocean counties.
Unexpected Road was named the seventh wackiest street name according to a 2006 poll by Car Connection website.
Demographics
| Historical population | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1950 | 2,640 | — | |
| 1960 | 3,243 | 22.8% | |
| 1970 | 3,283 | 1.2% | |
| 1980 | 3,642 | 10.9% | |
| 1990 | 4,441 | 21.9% | |
| 2000 | 3,873 | −12.8% | |
| 2010 | 4,603 | 18.8% | |
| 2020 | 4,501 | −2.2% | |
| 2023 (est.) | 4,489 | −2.5% | |
| Population sources: 1950–2000 1950–1990 2000 2010 2020 |
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2010 census
The 2010 United States census counted 4,603 people, 1,723 households, and 1,160 families in the borough. The population density was 607.4 per square mile (234.5/km2). There were 1,855 housing units at an average density of 244.8 per square mile (94.5/km2). The racial makeup was 73.50% (3,383) White, 9.43% (434) Black or African American, 0.74% (34) Native American, 1.78% (82) Asian, 0.07% (3) Pacific Islander, 11.62% (535) from other races, and 2.87% (132) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 29.42% (1,354) of the population.
Of the 1,723 households, 30.7% had children under the age of 18; 43.6% were married couples living together; 17.0% had a female householder with no husband present and 32.7% were non-families. Of all households, 27.5% were made up of individuals and 15.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.23.
24.9% of the population were under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.4 years. For every 100 females, the population had 92.4 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 88.3 males.
The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $53,060 (with a margin of error of +/− $14,830) and the median family income was $60,398 (+/− $6,199). Males had a median income of $47,439 (+/− $6,193) versus $35,700 (+/− $8,353) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $23,044 (+/− $2,700). About 8.2% of families and 11.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.6% of those under age 18 and 9.9% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Students in public school for pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from Buena Borough attend the Buena Regional School District, together with students from Buena Vista Township. Students are sent to the district's high school, Buena Regional High School, for grades 9–12 from both Estell Manor City and Weymouth Township as part of sending/receiving relationships with the respective school districts.
As of the 2020–21 school year, the district, comprised of five schools, had an enrollment of 1,691 students and 150.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.3:1. Schools in the district (with 2020–21 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Collings Lakes Elementary School with 197 students in grades K-2, John C. Milanesi Elementary School with 259 students in grades PreK-2, Dr. J.P. Cleary Elementary School with 309 students in grades 3–5, Buena Regional Middle School with 336 students in grades 6-8 and Buena Regional High School with 535 students in grades 9–12.
Borough public school students are also eligible to attend the Atlantic County Institute of Technology in the Mays Landing section of Hamilton Township or the Charter-Tech High School for the Performing Arts, located in Somers Point.
Edgarton Christian Academy is a non-denominational Christian K–8 school established in 2012. As of 2020[update] it leases a 29,000-square-foot (2,700 m2) space in Newfield in Gloucester County, though it has plans to move to Buena. When the 76-student The Ellison School in Vineland closed in December 2019, 25 of them moved to Edgarton. The school is building a 50,000-square-foot (4,600 m2) permanent building on a 15-acre (6.1 ha) property in Buena.
Notre Dame Regional School of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden had one of its two campuses in Landisville, with the other in Newfield. The school closed in 2012. It had 270 students at the time of closure. That year remnants of the school formed the non-Catholic Edgarton Christian Academy. 263 of the former Notre Dame students moved to Edgarton.
Transportation
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As of May 2010[update], the borough had a total of 39.28 miles (63.22 km) of roadways, of which 24.69 miles (39.73 km) were maintained by the municipality, 11.62 miles (18.70 km) by Atlantic County and 2.97 miles (4.78 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.
U.S. Route 40 passes through the heart of the borough, running concurrently with County Route 557. Route 54 passes through along the eastern border.
The closest limited access road is Route 55 in Vineland and Franklin. The Atlantic City Expressway can be reached by Route 54.
Notable people
People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Buena include:
- Sharif Mobley (born 1984), suspected member of al-Qaeda
- Clifford Morgan (1915–1976), psychologist whose research was in the fields of physiological and experimental psychology
Attractions
- Bellview Winery
- St. Padre Pio Shrine
See also
In Spanish: Buena (Nueva Jersey) para niños
