Document And Entity Information	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2013	Aug. 06, 2013
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Jun. 30, 2013
Entity Registrant Name	CENTER BANCORP INC
Trading Symbol	CNBC
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Central Index Key	0000712771
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2013
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		16,367,744