Linden is a city in southeastern Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area, located about 13 miles southwest of Manhattan and bordering Staten Island, a borough of New York City, across the Arthur Kill. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 43,738, an increase of 3,239 from the 2010 census count of 40,499, which in turn reflected an increase of 1,105 from the 39,394 counted in the 2000 census.