Ocean County, New Jersey

Ocean County
County
Barnegat Lighthouse on Long Beach Island
Location within the U.S. state of New Jersey
New Jersey's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 39°52′N 74°15′W
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
Founded	1850
Seat	Toms River Township
Largest city	Lakewood Township (population) Jackson Township (area)
Area
• Total	915.40 sq mi (2,370.9 km2)
• Land	628.78 sq mi (1,628.5 km2)
• Water	286.62 sq mi (742.3 km2)  31.31%
Population  (2010)
• Total	576,567
• Density	900/sq mi (350/km2)
Congressional districts	2nd, 3rd, 4th
Website	www.co.ocean.nj.us

Ocean County is a county located along the Jersey Shore in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its county seat is Toms River, which, like the county itself, has been one of the fastest growing areas of the state since the 1990s. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 576,567, having increased by 65,651 (+12.8%) from the 2000 Census population of 510,916, surpassing Union County to become the fifth-most populous county in the state and making Ocean County the fastest growing in the state of New Jersey in terms of increase in the number of residents and second-highest in percentage growth. Ocean County was established on February 15, 1850, from portions of Monmouth County, with the addition of Little Egg Harbor Township which was annexed from Burlington County on March 30, 1891. The most populous place was Lakewood Township, with 92,843 residents at the time of the 2010 Census (up 32,491 since 2000, the largest population increase of any municipality in the state), while Jackson Township, covered 100.62 square miles (260.6 km²), the largest total area of any place in New Jersey.

Ocean County is located 50 miles (80 km) east of Philadelphia, 70 miles (110 km) south of New York City, and 25 miles (40 km) north of Atlantic City, making it a prime destination for residents of these cities during the summer. As with the entire Jersey Shore, summer traffic routinely clogs local roadways throughout the season.

Ocean County is part of the New York metropolitan area, and is home to many tourist attractions frequently visited by Delaware Valley residents, especially the beachfront communities of Seaside Heights, Long Beach Island, Point Pleasant Beach, as well as Six Flags Great Adventure, which is the home of the world's tallest and formerly fastest roller coaster, Kingda Ka. Ocean County is also a gateway to New Jersey's Pine Barrens, one of the largest protected pieces of land on the East Coast.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county had as of the 2010 Census a total area of 915.40 square miles (2,370.9 km²), the second-largest county in New Jersey (behind Burlington County), of which 628.78 square miles (1,628.5 km²) of it (68.7%) was land and 286.62 square miles (742.3 km²) of it (31.31%) was water.

Much of the county is flat and coastal, with many beaches. The highest point is one of three unnamed hills (one in Jackson Township, the other two in Plumsted Township) that reach at least 230 feet (70 m) in elevation. The lowest elevation in the county is sea level.

It is also home to many beaches on the Jersey Shore, such as Beach Haven, Ship Bottom, Surf City, Harvey Cedars and Barnegat Light.

Adjacent counties

• Monmouth County, New Jersey – north
• Atlantic County, New Jersey – south
• Burlington County, New Jersey – west

National protected area

• Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1850	10,032		—
1860	11,176		11.4%
1870	13,628		21.9%
1880	14,455		6.1%
1890	15,974		10.5%
1900	19,747		23.6%
1910	21,318		8.0%
1920	22,155		3.9%
1930	33,069		49.3%
1940	37,706		14.0%
1950	56,622		50.2%
1960	108,241		91.2%
1970	208,470		92.6%
1980	346,038		66.0%
1990	433,203		25.2%
2000	510,916		17.9%
2010	576,567		12.8%
2013 (est.)	583,414		1.2%
Historical sources: 1790-1990 1970-2010 2000 2010 2000-2010

Census 2000

As of the 2000 United States Census there were 510,916 people, 200,402 households, and 137,876 families residing in the county. The population density was 803 people per square mile (310/km²). There were 248,711 housing units at an average density of 151/km² (391/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 93.05% White, 2.99% Black or African American, 0.14% Native American, 1.28% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.24% from other races, and 1.29% from two or more races. 5.02% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Among those who listed their ancestry, 25.3% were of Italian, 23.6% Irish, 18.7% German, 8.8% Polish and 8.5% English ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 200,402 households out of which 28.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.40% were married couples living together, 9.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.20% were non-families. 27.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the county the population was spread out with 23.30% under the age of 18, 6.60% from 18 to 24, 26.00% from 25 to 44, 21.90% from 45 to 64, and 22.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 90.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $46,443, and the median income for a family was $56,420. Males had a median income of $44,822 versus $30,717 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,054. About 4.8% of families and 7.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.0% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.

As of the 2000 Census, Mantoloking was the wealthiest community in the state of New Jersey with a per capita money income of $114,017 as of 1999.

Government

Ocean County is governed by a Board of Chosen Freeholders consisting of five members, elected on an at-large basis in partisan elections and serving staggered three-year terms of office, with either one or two seats coming up for election each year as part of the November general election. At an annual reorganization held in the beginning of January, the board chooses a Director and a Deputy Director from among its members.

As of 2015, Ocean County's Freeholders (with party affiliation, term-end year, residence and department directorship listed in parentheses) are Freeholder Director John C. Bartlett, Jr. (R, term ends December 31, 2015, Pine Beach; Finance, Parks and Recreation), Freeholder Deputy Director Gerry P. Little (R, 2015, Surf City; Human Services), John P. Kelly (R, 2016, Eagleswood Township; Law and Public Safety), James F. Lacey (R, 2016, Brick Township; Transportation) and Joseph H. Vicari (R, 2017, Toms River; Senior Services and County Operations).

Constitutional officers elected on a countywide basis are County Clerk Scott M. Colabella (R, 2015, Barnegat Light), Sheriff Michael Mastronardy (R, 2016; Toms River) and Surrogate Jeffrey Moran (R, 2018, Beachwood).aeb.pdf 2013 General Election Winner's List], Ocean County Clerk's Office, November 6, 2013. Accessed January 14, 2014.</ref>

The 2nd, 3rd and 4th Congressional Districts cover the county. For the 118th United States Congress, New Jersey's 2nd congressional district is represented by Jeff Van Drew (R, Dennis Township). For the 118th United States Congress, New Jersey's 3rd congressional district is represented by Andy Kim (D, Moorestown). For the 118th United States Congress, New Jersey's 4th congressional district is represented by Chris Smith (R, Manchester Township).

The county is part of the 9th, 10th, 12th and 30th Districts in the New Jersey Legislature. For the 2024-2025 session, the 9th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Carmen Amato (R, Lacey Township) and in the General Assembly by Greg Myhre (R, Stafford Township) and Brian E. Rumpf (R, Little Egg Harbor Township). For the 2024-2025 session, the 10th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by James W. Holzapfel (R, Toms River) and in the General Assembly by Paul Kanitra (R, Point Pleasant Beach) and Gregory P. McGuckin (R, Toms River). For the 2024-2025 session, the 12th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Owen Henry (R, Old Bridge Township) and in the General Assembly by Robert D. Clifton (R, Matawan) and Alex Sauickie (R, Jackson Township). For the 2024-2025 session, the 30th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Robert Singer (R, Lakewood Township) and in the General Assembly by Sean T. Kean (R, Wall Township) and Avi Schnall (D, Lakewood Township).

Politics

Ocean County is one of the few Republican strongholds in New Jersey.

Doug Forrester carried Ocean County by 12 points in the 2005 New Jersey gubernatorial election, winning every municipality but Lakewood Township and South Toms River Borough. In the 2004 U.S. Presidential election, Republican George W. Bush carried the county by a 21.2% margin over Democrat John Kerry. In 2008, the county voted for Republican John McCain by an 18.4% margin over Democrat Barack Obama, making it McCain's second-strongest county in New Jersey behind Sussex County, with Obama winning the Garden State by 15.5% margin over McCain, who carried Ocean County's every municipality except South Toms River. The last Democratic presidential candidate to win Ocean County was Bill Clinton in 1996.

As of March 23, 2011, there were a total of 364,597 registered voters in Ocean, of which 74,795 (20.5%) were registered as Democrats, 103,517 (28.4%) were registered as Republicans and 186,089 (51.0%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 196 voters registered to other parties. Among the county's 2010 Census population, 63.2% were registered to vote, including 82.6% of those ages 18 and over.

In the 2008 presidential election, Republican John McCain received 58.1% of the vote here (160,677 cast), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 39.8% (110,189 votes) and other candidates with 1.2% (3,432 votes), among the 276,544 ballots cast by the county's 380,712 registered voters, for a turnout of 72.6%. In the 2004 presidential election, Republican George W. Bush received 59.9% of the vote here (154,204 ballots cast), outpolling Democrat John Kerry with 38.8% (99,839 votes) and other candidates with 0.6% (2,263 votes), among the 257,364 ballots cast by the county's 353,085 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 72.9.

In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 64.3% of the vote here (124,238 ballots cast), ahead of Democrat Jon Corzine with 27.8% (53,761 votes), Independent Chris Daggett with 4.7% (9,068 votes) and other candidates with 1.0% (1,955 votes), among the 193,186 ballots cast by the county's 371,066 registered voters, yielding a 52.1% turnout.

Education

Ocean County College is the two-year community college for Ocean County, one of a network of 19 county colleges statewide. The school is in Toms River and was founded in 1964.

Georgian Court University in Lakewood is a private Roman Catholic Sisters of Mercy college, which opened in 1908 on the former winter estate of millionaire George Jay Gould I, son of railroad tycoon Jay Gould. Lakewood is also home to Beth Medrash Govoha, a Haredi Yeshiva with 5,000 students, making it one of the largest yeshivas in the world.

The state's largest suburban school district, Toms River Regional Schools, is located in the county. Toms River is also home to Ocean County's only Roman Catholic High School, Monsignor Donovan High School, operated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton, which also has six elementary schools located in the county.

In addition to multiple public high schools, the county has an extensive vocational high school program, known as the Ocean County Vocational Technical School district. In addition to its campuses in Brick, Toms River, Waretown, and Jackson, it contains two magnet schools:

• Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Science (MATES)
• OCVTS Performing Arts Academy – Theater, Dance, and Vocal

Attractions

Ocean County has an extensive stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, including the Jersey Shore communities and oceanfront boardwalk resorts of Seaside Heights and Point Pleasant Beach.

Six Flags Great Adventure, America's largest Six Flags theme park, is home to the world's tallest and formerly fastest roller coaster, Kingda Ka. The park also contains Six Flags Hurricane Harbor, New Jersey's largest water park, and the 2,200-acre (890 ha) Six Flags Wild Safari, the largest drive-thru animal safari outside of Africa.

Forty miles of barrier beaches form the Barnegat and Little Egg Harbor Bays, offering ample watersports. It also is home of the Tuckerton Seaport, a 40-acre (160,000 m²) maritime history village in Tuckerton. In addition to being the northeast gateway to New Jersey's Pine Barrens, Ocean County is also home to several state parks:

• Barnegat Lighthouse State Park
• Island Beach State Park
• Double Trouble State Park
• Brendan T. Byrne State Forest
• Jackson State Forest
• Forked River State Marina

Ocean County is also home to the Ocean County Mall in Toms River, and FirstEnergy Park, home of the Lakewood BlueClaws, the Class A-affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Infrastructure

Roads

Ocean County has various major roads that pass through. State routes that go through include Route 13, Route 35, Route 37, Route 70, Route 72, and Route 166. Other major routes that pass through are U.S. Route 9, the Garden State Parkway, and Interstate 195 (I-195 is the only interstate to pass through Ocean County, solely in Jackson Township).

The county had a total of 2,958.58 miles (4,761.37 km) of roadways, of which 2,164.22 miles (3,482.97 km) are maintained by the municipality, 615.58 miles (990.68 km) by Ocean County and 140.19 miles (225.61 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation and 38.59 miles (62.10 km) by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority.

Public transportation

NJ Transit's North Jersey Coast Line railway line, which serves Penn Station New York, passing through Middlesex and Monmouth counties, offering service at the Bay Head and Point Pleasant Beach stations, located at the northernmost corner of the county.

Ocean Ride also operates 12 local bus routes in Ocean County. Out of all of these routes, only the OC 10 (Lavallette to Toms River) operates Monday-Saturday, with the OC 4 (Point Pleasant to Lakewood) operating Monday-Friday. All other routes run 2–3 days a week.

Southern Ocean County is also located in close proximity (less than 25 miles) to the Atlantic City Line which provides service to Philadelphia.

Municipalities

Municipalities in Ocean County (with 2010 Census data for population, housing units and area in square miles) are: Other, unincorporated communities in the county are listed alongside their parent municipality (or municipalities). Most of these areas are census-designated places that have been created by the United States Census Bureau for enumeration purposes within a Township. The numbers in parentheses stand for the numbers on the map.

Index map of Ocean County municipalities (click to see index key)

Municipality (map index)	Municipal type	Population	Housing units	Total area	Water area	Land area	Pop. density	Housing density	Unincorporated communities / notes
Barnegat Light (6)	borough	574	1,282	0.85	0.12	0.73	785.1	1,753.6
Barnegat Township (29)	township	20,936	9,085	40.78	6.41	34.38	609.0	264.35	Barnegat CDP, Ocean Acres (part)
Bay Head (16)	borough	968	1,023	0.70	0.12	0.58	1,662.8	1,757.3
Beach Haven (2)	borough	1,170	2,667	2.32	1.34	0.98	1,196.0	2,726.2
Beachwood (12)	borough	11,045	3,826	2.85	0.00	2.85	3,878.4	1,343.5
Berkeley Township (26)	township	41,255	23,818	56.00	13.13	42.86	962.5	555.7	Crossley, Holiday City-Berkeley, Holiday City South, Holiday Heights, Silver Ridge
Brick Township (23)	township	75,072	33,677	32.32	6.60	25.72	2,919.4	1,309.6
Eagleswood Township (31)	township	1,603	760	18.86	2.80	16.06	99.8	47.3
Harvey Cedars (5)	borough	337	1,214	1.19	0.63	0.56	604.6	2,178.0
Island Heights (10)	borough	1,673	831	0.91	0.30	0.61	2,738.3	1,360.2
Jackson Township (21)	township	54,856	20,342	100.62	1.38	99.24	552.7	205.0	Cassville, Ridgeway (part), Vista Center
Lacey Township (27)	township	27,644	11,573	98.53	15.27	83.26	332.0	139.0	Aserdaten, Forked River, Lanoka Harbor
Lakehurst (19)	borough	2,654	943	1.01	0.09	0.91	2,900.8	1,030.7
Lakewood Township (22)	township	92,843	26,337	24.98	0.41	24.58	3,777.7	1,071.6	Lakewood CDP, Leisure Village, Leisure Village East
Lavallette (14)	borough	1,875	3,207	0.95	0.15	0.81	2,319.2	3,966.8
Little Egg Harbor Township (33)	township	20,065	10,324	73.05	25.69	47.37	423.6	218.0	Mystic Island
Long Beach Township (32)	township	3,051	9,216	22.04	16.59	5.44	560.5	1,693.0	North Beach Haven
Manchester Township (25)	township	43,070	25,886	82.69	1.07	81.62	527.7	317.2	Cedar Glen Lakes, Cedar Glen West, Crestwood Village, Leisure Knoll, Leisure Village West-Pine Lake Park, Pine Ridge at Crestwood, Ridgeway (part), Wheatland
Mantoloking (15)	borough	296	535	0.64	0.26	0.39	767.9	1,387.9
Ocean Gate (9)	borough	2,011	1,203	0.45	0.01	0.45	4,490.3	2,686.1
Ocean Township (28)	township	8,332	4,291	32.04	11.49	20.56	405.3	208.8	Waretown
Pine Beach (11)	borough	2,127	903	0.62	0.00	0.61	3,465.4	1,471.2
Plumsted Township (20)	township	8,421	3,067	40.15	0.44	39.71	212.1	77.2	New Egypt
Point Pleasant (18)	borough	18,392	8,331	4.17	0.68	3.49	5,272.1	2,388.1
Point Pleasant Beach (17)	borough	4,665	3,373	1.74	0.32	1.43	3,270.1	2,364.4
Seaside Heights (8)	borough	2,887	3,003	0.75	0.13	0.62	4,662.9	4,850.2
Seaside Park (7)	borough	1,579	2,703	0.77	0.12	0.65	2,429.4	4,158.7
Ship Bottom (3)	borough	1,156	2,066	1.00	0.29	0.71	1,620.6	2,896.3
South Toms River (13)	borough	3,684	1,160	1.23	0.06	1.17	3,146.7	990.8
Stafford Township (30)	township	26,535	13,604	54.88	9.03	45.85	578.8	296.7	Beach Haven West, Manahawkin, Ocean Acres (part)
Surf City (4)	borough	1,205	2,566	0.92	0.17	0.75	1,616.5	3,442.4
Toms River Township (24)	township	91,239	43,334	52.88	12.40	40.49	2,253.5	1,070.3	Dover Beaches North, Dover Beaches South
Tuckerton (1)	borough	3,347	1,902	3.80	0.44	3.36	995.1	565.5
Ocean County	county	576,567	278,052	915.40	286.62	628.78	917.0	442.2

Toms River, New Jersey
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     3.9     41 22     3.3     44 24     4.8     51 30     4.1     61 39     3.7     71 49     3.8     80 59     4.6     85 64     4.7     83 62     3.8     77 55     3.9     67 43     4.1     57 35     4.5     46 27 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches Source: The Weather Channel
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     100     5 −6     84     7 −4     122     11 −1     103     16 4     95     22 9     97     27 15     117     29 18     119     28 17     96     25 13     99     19 6     104     14 2     115     8 −3 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Toms River have ranged from a low of 22 °F (−6 °C) in January to a high of 85 °F (29 °C) in July, although a record low of −19 °F (−28 °C) was recorded in January 1982 and a record high of 105 °F (41 °C) was recorded in July 1999. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 3.30 inches (84 mm) in February to 4.79 inches (122 mm) in March. Areas closer to the coast typically experience more mild winters and cooler summers due to the Atlantic Ocean's influence.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Ocean County, New Jersey

Further reading

• Salter, Edwin. A History of Monmouth and Ocean Counties Embracing a Genealogical Record of Earliest Settlers of Monmouth and Ocean Counties and Their Descendants; The Indians: Their Language, Manners, and Customs; Important Historical Events: The Revolutionary War, Battle of Monmouth, The War of the Rebellion: Names of Officers and Men of Monmouth and Ocean Counties Engaged in It, etc., etc. Bayonne, NJ: E. Gardner and Son, 1890.

External links

• Ocean County website
• Ocean County Planning Board's Databook
• Ocean County Historical Museum: History of Ocean County
• History of the County Courthouse from County Clerk's website
• Ocean County Library