Cherry Hill is South Jersey’s biggest municipality for the ninth year in a row
The U.S. Census Bureau estimates 78,988 people lived in Cherry Hill in 2024.
Cherry Hill is once again the biggest municipality in South Jersey, outpacing Camden for the ninth year in a row.
According to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, 78,988 people lived in Cherry Hill in 2024. That’s up 1,318 residents from 2023 and up 7,099 from 2014.
Cherry Hill has experienced slow and steady growth over the last decade after a relatively stagnant stretch in the 1980s and ’90s. Brian Bauerle, chief of staff for the Cherry Hill mayor’s office, said in an email that he attributes Cherry Hill’s growth to its “strong and vibrant neighborhoods,” access to shopping and dining, outdoor spaces, and high-quality schools.
Cherry Hill’s growth has persisted as its neighbor, the city of Camden, has seen a marked decline. The Census Bureau estimates that 71,749 people lived in Camden in 2024, up slightly from 71,413 in 2023 but down from 74,859 in 2014 and 78,901 in 2004.
Camden’s population has declined precipitously since its peak of nearly 125,000 residents in 1950.
South Jersey’s current population trends reflect patterns of suburbanization and development that go back to the 1960s, said Howard Gillette, professor of history emeritus at Rutgers University-Camden and author of Camden After the Fall.
Through the middle of the 20th century, much of what is now Cherry Hill was farmland. That began to change in the mid-1950s, when developers plotted out new neighborhoods and RCA Service Co. built a local plant. In 1961, the Cherry Hill Mall opened, turning the community into a regional shopping destination. Cherry Hill’s assessed property value soared from $9.5 million in 1950 to $156.2 million in 1965, exceeding Camden’s and making it the wealthiest community in South Jersey, according to the Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia.
The “reversal of fortune” happened quickly after the opening of the mall, Gillette said. In the decades that followed, residents and resources continued to move out of Camden and into the surrounding suburbs.
“The greater population on our side of the river has really been continuing to move from west to east,” Gillette said.
Cherry Hill surpassed Camden in population in 2016.
Pockets of multifamily housing have allowed Cherry Hill to continue growing, albeit at a much slower rate than during its 1960s boom, Gillette said.
A number of housing developments have come on the market in Cherry Hill in recent years, including 202 Park Drive and the Enclave at Woodcrest.
While there is a limited amount of space available for new construction, the township expects to be able to keep up with continuing growth, Bauerle said.
Cherry Hill’s population trends match larger regional patterns.
Philadelphia lost population in the years during and after the pandemic, while its suburbs grew. South Jersey added 33,656 residents between April 2020 and July 2024, and the Pennsylvania suburbs added 60,632 residents.
Between 2023 and 2024, Philly gained about 10,500 residents, beginning to reverse its post-pandemic decline. South Jersey counties grew, too, with 4,954 new residents in Burlington County, 2,943 in Gloucester County, and 4,412 in Camden County.