Dayton is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in South Brunswick Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey, in the United States. At the 2020 United States census, the CDP's population was 8,138, up from 7,063 in 2010. Dayton has a post office with its own ZIP Code (08810) that encompasses the entire CDP, as well as some surrounding areas. The community was named for William L. Dayton, a local attorney who later served in the United States Senate, or for Jonathan Dayton, the youngest person to sign the United States Constitution, who later served as a U.S. senator from New Jersey. The area had been known as "Cross Roads" and was renamed in 1866 to avoid confusion with mail that was sent to another post office that shared the name.

Geography

Dayton is in southwestern Middlesex County, in east-central South Brunswick Township. It is bordered to the north by Deans and to the west by Monmouth Junction. U.S. Route 130 forms the eastern border of the Dayton CDP and leads north 10 mi to New Brunswick, the Middlesex county seat, and south 7 mi to Hightstown. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Dayton CDP has a total area of 2.433 mi2, including 2.407 mi2 of land and 0.026 mi2 of water (1.07%). The community drains southwest toward Devils Brook, a west-flowing tributary of the Millstone River, and northeast toward Lawrence Brook, which flows northeast to join the Raritan River east of New Brunswick.

Demographics

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 7,063 people, 2,288 households, and 1,901 families in the CDP. The population density was 3365.0 /mi2. There were 2,347 housing units at an average density of 1118.2 /mi2. The racial makeup was 40.15% (2,836) White, 9.19% (649) Black or African American, 0.18% (13) Native American, 46.00% (3,249) Asian, 0.01% (1) Pacific Islander, 1.63% (115) from other races, and 2.83% (200) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.78% (408) of the population. Of the 2,288 households, 52.8% had children under the age of 18; 70.0% were married couples living together; 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present and 16.9% were non-families. Of all households, 13.5% were made up of individuals and 3.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.09 and the average family size was 3.44. 30.1% of the population were under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 27.1% from 45 to 64, and 5.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.0 years. For every 100 females, the population had 92.5 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 89.3 males.

2000 census

At the 2000 census, there were 6,235 people, 2,061 households and 1,690 families living in the CDP. The population density was 1,130.2 /km2. There were 2,252 housing units at an average density of 408.2 /km2. The racial makeup of the CDP was 61.54% White, 9.90% African American, 0.22% Native American, 25.04% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 1.30% from other races, and 1.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.15% of the population. There were 2,061 households, of which 52.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.9% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.0% were non-families. 14.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.03 and the average family size was 3.36. 31.8% of the population were under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 37.3% from 25 to 44, 19.7% from 45 to 64, and 5.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.2 males. The median household income was $79,050 and the median family income was $83,024. Males had a median income of $56,892 versus $43,500 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $28,924. About 1.9% of families and 2.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.5% of those under age 18 and 2.7% of those age 65 or over. As part of the 2000 Census, 15.72% of Dayton's residents identified themselves as being Indian American. This was the fourth-highest percentage of Indian people in any place in the United States with 1,000 or more residents identifying themselves as being of Indian ancestry.

Economy

Companies headquartered or with office in Dayton include:

Transportation

County Route 522 crosses through the community and U.S. Route 130 travels along the neighborhood's eastern edge. The New Jersey Turnpike, U.S. Route 1, and New Jersey Route 32 are accessible just outside of Dayton.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Dayton include: