Seaside Heights is a borough situated on the Jersey Shore, within Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 2,440,[10] a decrease of 447 (−15.5%) from the 2010 census count of 2,887,[19][20] which in turn had reflected a decline of 268 (−8.5%) from the 3,155 counted in the 2000 census.[21] Seaside Heights is located on the Barnegat Peninsula, a long, narrow barrier peninsula that separates the Barnegat Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. During the summer, the borough attracts a crowd largely under the age of 21, mainly highschoolers and young adults, drawn to a community with boardwalk entertainment and one of the few shore communities with sizable numbers of apartments, attracting as many as 65,000 people who are often out until early morning visiting bars and restaurants.[22]
Based on the results of a referendum held on March 25, 1913, Seaside Heights was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 26, 1913, from portions of both Berkeley Township and Dover Township (now Toms River).[23] The borough was named for its location on the Atlantic Ocean.[24]
As a resort community, the beach, an amusement-oriented boardwalk, and numerous clubs and bars, make it a popular destination. Seaside Heights calls itself, "Your Home For Family Fun Since 1913!"[25] The beach season runs from March to October, with the peak months being July and August, when the summer population explodes to as many as 30,000 to 65,000.[22][26]Route 37 in Toms River is routinely gridlocked on Friday afternoons in the summer months as vacationers travel to the barrier islands. The community is also known as the location of the hit MTV show Jersey Shore, with the director of the borough's business improvement district saying in 2010 that "we can't even calculate the economic benefit" to Seaside Heights from the continued presence of the show.[27]
^ abMansnerus, Laura. "So, Just Who Goes Where When Going to the Shore?", The New York Times, June 6, 1999. Accessed July 13, 2011. "Seaside Heights, with a summer population of about 65,000, is packed, one of the few shore towns with larger apartment buildings. The boardwalk has almost a mile of skeeball and video arcades and enough fast food and bars to amuse the young into the early-morning hours. 'I don't think they let you into Seaside Heights if you're over 21,' said Kristin Farfalla, a sales representative at Midway Beach Real Estate in South Seaside Park."
^About Seaside Heights, Seaside Heights. Accessed May 10, 2007. "A community of 3,100 year-round residents, Seaside Heights expands to more than 30,000 in the summer."