As defined by the New Jersey State Development and Redevelopment Plan, Regional Centers are the focal point for the economic, social and cultural activities of an economic region, often serving as a county seat, with a compact, mixed-use core and neighborhoods offering a wide variety of housing types.

The Somerset County Regional Center is the strategic center of Somerset County, New Jersey consisting of 12.6 square miles encompassing Raritan Borough, Somerville Borough, and a portion of Bridgewater Township. The Regional Center is bisected by U.S. Route 206, U.S. Route 202, U.S. Route 22, NJ State Route 28, and I-287 with public transit options and serves as the focal point of County government and the regional economy. The Regional Center includes the county seat and county library and is home to the only medical center and only regional mall in Somerset County.

The Regional Center incorporates mixed commercial uses and vibrant and interconnected residential neighborhoods with distinct vibrant downtowns, major employment centers, and key regional facilities and attractions including TD Bank Ballpark (home of the Soemrset Patriots Minor League baseball team), Somerset County Vocational & Technical Schools, the Torpey Athletic Complex, and the Raritan River Greenway, a linear park that includes a paved multi-use pathway linking the Regional Center with popular regional destinations such as Duke Island Park and Duke Farms.

The Regional Center is served by three Raritan Valley Line rail stations, four New jersey Transit bus lines, and one private regional bus line (Trans-Bridge) together providing direct access to Network Penn Station with connections to New York City and Amtrak’s Norteast Corridor. The Regional center also has local mass transit options which incude Somerset County SCOOT and CAT bus shuttles and the Link 23 bus route operated by Hunterdon County. The highway system provides interstate access to Manhattan in one hour, Philadelphia in just over one hour, Washington in three hours, and Boston in four hours.