Journal Square is Jersey City’s centre of gravity – the transit hub the whole city routes through, the cultural district, and the neighbourhood changing faster than anywhere else in Hudson County. It is also the answer to a question people ask constantly and rarely get straight: what is actually here, beyond the PATH station?

Quite a lot, as it turns out – a 1929 movie palace being brought back to life, one of the most significant South Asian commercial districts in the United States, and a skyline of new towers going up around a hundred-year-old square. This guide covers what is here, how the transit works, what it costs and an honest answer on safety. Everything was verified before publishing. For what changed this month, ask the Jersey City neighbors who live there.

Where the name comes from

Worth knowing because almost nobody does. Journal Square is named after the Jersey Journal, the newspaper whose headquarters stood here from 1911 until 2013. The square kept the name long after the paper left the building – a small piece of local history hiding in plain sight in a name people say every day without thinking about it.

The Journal Square Transportation Center

Everything here starts with the station. The Journal Square Transportation Center is the anchor of the neighbourhood and one of the busiest transit points in New Jersey, linking PATH trains to Manhattan, Newark and Hoboken with NJ Transit light rail and regional bus service.

What that means practically: from Journal Square you can be in Lower Manhattan or Midtown quickly and reliably, and you can reach Newark and Hoboken without changing systems. That connectivity is the entire reason the neighbourhood is being rebuilt around the station – the residential towers going up here are transit-oriented development in the most literal sense.

It is also why Journal Square rents sit below the downtown and waterfront neighbourhoods while offering comparable commute times: roughly $2,000 to $2,500 for a one-bedroom here against $2,700 to $3,400 nearer the water. Our neighbourhoods guide compares them properly.

Loew’s Jersey Theatre

The landmark, and one of the more remarkable buildings in New Jersey. Designed by the architects Rapp and Rapp and opened on 28 September 1929, it was built as one of the five Loew’s Wonder Theatres in the New York City area – enormous, ornate movie palaces from the last moment before the Depression ended that kind of building.

It stands directly across from the Journal Square Transportation Center, which makes it about as accessible as a venue can be. ⚠️ Status matters here: the theatre has been through a long restoration and its doors are slated to open in autumn 2026. Check its current programme before planning a visit around it, because reopening timelines on projects of this scale move.

India Square, or Little India

★ The best reason to eat in Journal Square, and genuinely one of the most significant South Asian commercial districts in the country. India Square – known locally as Little India – runs through the Journal Square and Marion Section neighbourhoods, and it is a working commercial district rather than a themed strip.

What is here: a dense concentration of Indian restaurants across regional cuisines, sweet shops selling mithai, grocery stores stocking spices, produce and pantry goods you will not find in a mainstream supermarket, and shops selling traditional clothing, jewellery and gifts.

How to approach it if it is new to you: eat at more than one place rather than committing to a single sit-down dinner – the chaat counters, the sweet shops and the full restaurants are all doing different things. And go into a grocery even if you are not cooking; it is the fastest way to understand the neighbourhood. Our restaurants guide puts it in the context of the wider city.

Is Journal Square safe?

A question people search directly, so here is a direct answer. Journal Square is a busy, heavily-trafficked transit district, and its risk profile reflects that rather than anything unusual: the realistic concern is property crime and opportunistic theft around the station and the surrounding blocks, particularly late at night, as it would be at any major transit hub.

Jersey City overall reports around 25 crimes per 1,000 residents, with the spread running from roughly 1 in 35 in the southern neighbourhoods to 1 in 44 in the northeast – Journal Square sits in the middle of that range rather than at either end. Normal city judgement applies: be aware around the station late, keep valuables out of sight, and use the well-lit main routes. Our Jersey City safety guide explains the numbers properly and shows you how to check a specific block rather than trusting a neighbourhood grade.

Living in Journal Square

This is the trade the neighbourhood offers: you accept a less polished streetscape than downtown, and you get a shorter commute for less money. New residential towers have gone up rapidly around the station, so the rental stock skews newer here than in the older brownstone neighbourhoods, and amenities in the new buildings tend to be better.

What you give up is the walkable restaurant-and-bar density of Downtown and Grove Street – though India Square substantially offsets that if you like the food, which you should. Jersey City overall is expensive by national standards, with a cost-of-living index around 141 and average rent near $3,764 citywide; Journal Square is where that number comes down. See our cost of living guide and moving guide.

A good afternoon in Journal Square

Arrive by PATH – driving here and parking is the least sensible way to do it.

Eat in India Square first, and eat in more than one place. Chaat, then a sweet shop, then a grocery to look around.

See Loew’s from the outside at minimum – it is worth standing in front of – and check whether anything is programmed inside.

Then head elsewhere for the evening: Journal Square is not the city’s nightlife district. Downtown and Grove Street are ten minutes away on the PATH and that is where the bars are.

More Jersey City guides

Keep going with the Downtown Jersey City guide, the Heights guide, pizza in Jersey City, restaurants, brunch, coffee shops, bars, things to do, parks, events, free things to do, the best neighborhoods, how safe Jersey City is, schools and moving to Jersey City.

Frequently asked questions about Journal Square

Why is it called Journal Square?

It is named after the Jersey Journal, the newspaper whose headquarters stood on the square from 1911 until 2013. The name outlived the paper’s presence there, so most people say it daily without knowing the origin.

What is at Journal Square in Jersey City?

The Journal Square Transportation Center, which links PATH trains to Manhattan, Newark and Hoboken with NJ Transit light rail and regional buses; Loew’s Jersey Theatre, a 1929 movie palace directly across from the station; India Square, also called Little India, one of the most significant South Asian commercial districts in the United States; and a rapidly growing cluster of new residential towers built around the station.

Is Loew’s Jersey Theatre open?

It has been through a long restoration, with doors slated to open in autumn 2026. The building was designed by Rapp and Rapp and opened on 28 September 1929 as one of the five Loew’s Wonder Theatres in the New York City area, and it stands directly across from the Journal Square Transportation Center. Check its current programme before planning a trip around it, since reopening timelines on restorations of this scale can move.

What is India Square in Jersey City?

India Square, known locally as Little India, is a commercial and restaurant district running through the Journal Square and Marion Section neighbourhoods. It holds a dense concentration of Indian restaurants across regional cuisines, sweet shops selling mithai, grocery stores carrying spices and pantry goods that mainstream supermarkets do not stock, and shops selling traditional clothing, jewellery and gifts. It is a working commercial district rather than a themed strip.

Is Journal Square safe?

It is a busy transit district and its risk profile reflects that: the realistic concern is property crime and opportunistic theft around the station and nearby blocks, especially late at night, as at any major transit hub. Jersey City overall reports around 25 crimes per 1,000 residents, with the range running from about 1 in 35 in the southern neighbourhoods to 1 in 44 in the northeast, and Journal Square sits in the middle rather than at either end.

Is Journal Square cheaper than Downtown Jersey City?

Yes, noticeably. A one-bedroom in Journal Square generally runs about $2,000 to $2,500, against roughly $2,700 to $3,400 in the downtown and waterfront neighbourhoods – while offering comparable commute times into Manhattan because the PATH hub is right there. That trade is the main reason people choose it.

How do you get to Manhattan from Journal Square?

By PATH train directly from the Journal Square Transportation Center, which runs services into Manhattan as well as to Newark and Hoboken, with NJ Transit light rail and regional buses at the same hub. The connectivity is the neighbourhood’s defining feature and the reason so much new residential development has gone up around the station.

Is Journal Square a good night out?

Not really, and it is better to say so. Journal Square is a transit, cultural and dining district rather than a nightlife one – India Square is excellent for eating but the bars are elsewhere. Downtown Jersey City and Grove Street are a short PATH ride away and that is where the city’s bar scene actually is.