Ocean County | |
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![]() Location within the U.S. state of New Jersey | |
![]() New Jersey's location within the U.S. | |
Coordinates: 39°52′N 74°15′W / 39.87°N 74.25°W | |
Country | ![]() |
State | ![]() |
Founded | 1850[1] |
Named for | Atlantic Ocean |
Seat | Toms River[2] |
Largest municipality | Lakewood Township (population) Jackson Township (area) |
Government | |
• Commissioner Director | Barbara Jo Crea (R, term ends December 31, 2024) |
Area | |
• Total | 914.84 sq mi (2,369.4 km2) |
• Land | 628.29 sq mi (1,627.3 km2) |
• Water | 286.55 sq mi (742.2 km2) 31.3% |
Population | |
• Total | 637,229 |
• Estimate | 659,197 |
• Density | 1,014.2/sq mi (391.6/km2) |
Congressional districts | 2nd, 4th |
Website | www |
Ocean County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the southernmost county in the New York metropolitan area. The county borders the Atlantic Ocean on the east and in terms of total area is the state's largest county.[3] Its county seat is Toms River.[2] The county is part of the Jersey Shore[7] and is considered part of the Central Jersey region of the state,[8] though it was not among the four counties explicitly listed as included in Central Jersey as part of legislation signed into law in 2023.[9]
Since 2020, Ocean County has been the fastest-growing county in New Jersey,[10] with a population of 637,229 recorded at the 2020 United States census,[4][5] its highest decennial count ever and ranking the county as the state's sixth-most populous county,[11][12] with an increase of 60,662 (+10.5%) from the 576,567 enumerated at the 2010 census,[13] which in turn reflected an increase of 65,651 (+12.8%) from the 510,916 counted in the 2000 census.[14] Since 2010, Ocean County's population has been growing faster than the United States as a whole.[15] The United States Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program estimated a 2023 population of 659,197, an increase of 21,968 (+3.4%) from the 2020 decennial census.[6] Ocean County’s most populous and fastest-growing place is Lakewood Township, with an estimated 139,866 residents as of 2023,[16] while Jackson Township covers 100.62 square miles (260.6 km2), the largest total area of any municipality in the county.
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 vacation destination for residents of these cities during the summer. As with the entire Jersey Shore, summer traffic routinely clogs local roadways throughout the season. Over 31% of Ocean County's total area is water.
Ocean County is part of the New York metropolitan area.[17] The county is also home to many tourist attractions frequented by Philadelphia metropolitan area residents, including the beachfront communities of Seaside Heights, Long Beach Island, and Point Pleasant Beach, and Six Flags Great Adventure, an amusement park in Jackson Township that is the home to the world's tallest and second-fastest roller coaster, Kingda Ka.[18] Ocean County is a gateway to New Jersey's Pine Barrens, one of the largest protected land areas on the East Coast.
Story
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).CensusArea
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).Census2020
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).LWD2020
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).PopEst
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, nowhere in New Jersey has been growing as fast as Ocean County..Ocean County grew by nearly 3 percent — the largest increase in the state. Four of the five fastest growing towns in New Jersey are in Ocean..Lakewood, which has been the fastest growing town in New Jersey for decades, retained its title. But seven other Ocean County towns, like [[Brick Township, New Jersey|]], Toms River, and [[Jackson Township, New Jersey|]], also bucked state trends and experienced significant population growth.
Census2010
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).Census2000
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).The population of Ocean County, New Jersey in 2021 was 648,998, 12.4% up from the 577,574 who lived there in 2010. For comparison, the US population grew 7.3%