Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not governed by a local municipal corporation; similarly an unincorporated community is a settlement that is not governed by its own local municipal corporation, but rather is administered as part of larger administrative divisions, such as a township, parish, borough, county, city, canton, state, province or country. Occasionally, municipalities dissolve or disincorporate, which may happen if they become fiscally insolvent, and services become the responsibility of a higher administration. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. In most other countries of the world, there are either no unincorporated areas at all, or these are very rare; typically remote, outlying, sparsely populated or uninhabited areas.
Local government in New Jersey
Unincorporated communities in the state of New Jersey are well-defined communities that are part of one or more incorporated municipalities but are not independent municipalities in their own right. While these unincorporated communities may have a sense of "communal character" and unique identity, they are all located within incorporated municipalities. There is no territory in the state of New Jersey that is not part of an incorporated municipality.