On May 14, 2013, Fulop beat sitting mayor Jerramiah T. Healy by 15 percentage points, 53%–38%, to become the 49th Mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey. Fulop took office on July 1, 2013 with a vision to make Jersey City the "best mid-sized city in the country". Due to a healthy population growth rate combined with a significant increase in residential construction, Fulop has asserted that Jersey City will overtake Newark, New Jersey, to become the largest city in New Jersey, possibly as early as late 2016.