By Stephen Stirling | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

To say that New Jersey has changed over the last 30+ years would be an understatement.

The state has added more than 1.5 million people since 1980, has become one of the most diverse in the nation and has undergone two major demographic shifts in that time.

But the accessibility of satellite data allows us to see those changes in ways never before possible. Using Google Earth Engine, we created animations of 30 years of satellite data, highlighting some of the areas of New Jersey that have changed the most.

At the end of this article, you can also use Google Earth Engine's tool to see how your town has changed.

Scroll down to watch farmland become bustling suburbia, cities get reborn and the seas shift the shoreline.

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1) Lakewood

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A Yeshiva changes everything

No one institution may have changed New Jersey more than Beth Medrash Govoha, now the largest yeshiva in North America, in Lakewood. It began with just 14 students in 1943, but now boasts a student population of more than 6,500 and has made Lakewood a destination for the Orthodox Jewish community.

They have been the primary reason the town's population has grown by more than 160 percent since 1980.

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2) Jersey City

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A renaissance in Jersey City

Since Jersey City has been built out for decades, one of the easiest ways to mark the transformation the city has undergone is through it's tax base. Since 2000 alone, it has added nearly $20 billion in equalized tax value, as new high rises soar above the Hudson River, to rival New York City next door.

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3) Newark

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N.J.'s largest city may be on the cusp of a turnaround

For decades, Newark has symbolized urban decay in New Jersey. But 50 years after the Newark Riots helped push the city's population into a downward spiral, it appears to be rebounding. Population is on the rise for the first time in half a century, and new construction like the Prudential Center have allowed the city to double its taxable value in the last 15 years.

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4) Great Bay

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Shifting seas shape shoreline

The most radical physical changes in New Jersey have taken place along the state's shoreline. Here, every day, shifting currents reshape the shoreline. At Great Bay, above, currents continuously reshape the sands ringing the inlet that connects the bay to the ocean.

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5) The Jersey Shore

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A constant battle with Mother Nature

The battle between man and nature is most intense along the Jersey Shore's densely developed shoreline. Property along the white sand beaches of the Garden State remains in high demand, but a string of powerful storms, most notably Hurricane Sandy, have put the homes along the coast at a near constant threat.

Beach replenishment occurs on an annual basis, and the back and forth between the state adding sand and storms stealing it away is clearly visible over the last several years.

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If you build it, they will come

The extension of Interstate 287 to the New York state border, opened in 1994, has either been a revelation or a nightmare, depending on who you ask. Area residents fought tooth and nail against the new highway going all the way back to the 1970s, but its eventual construction has lead to booming development in the towns that border it.

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6) Interstate 287

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Development seizes farmland

Thirty years ago, Franklin was mostly farmland. That changed quickly as suburban small took over central New Jersey in the 1980s and 1990s. Franklin has been the fastest growing town in the state in that span, doubling its population as farmland gives way to new neighborhoods.

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7) Franklin

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The power of good schools

West Windsor in Mercer County is another case of suburban sprawl, but it remains a popular destinations for families even as other towns around it decline. One big reason? West Windsor boasts some of the best schools in the country, a sure draw for parents no matter what the broader housing market does around it.

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8) West Windsor

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A town erupts after 200 years

Woolwich was a late bloomer, compared to other Philadelphia suburbs that grew significantly in the 1980s and 1990s. The population of this small town sat between 1,000 and 3,000 from 1800 until 2000. But in the last 15 years, it has grown by more than 300 percent, spurred by new development.

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9) Woolwich

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What's changed in your neighborhood?

Google Earth Engine's Timelapse tool allows you to see what's happening in your neck of the wood or anywhere in the world. Use the tool above to search around the globe and see how things have evolved since the 1980s, whether it be in Dunellen or Dubai.

Use the zoom controls at the top left to change the map location or click and drag to move the map.

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