Ocean County, New Jersey

Ocean County, New Jersey
Location in the state of New Jersey
New Jersey's location in the U.S.
Founded	1850
Seat	Toms River
Largest city	Lakewood Township
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	916 sq mi (2,372 km²) 636 sq mi (1,647 km²) 280 sq mi (725 km²), 30.53%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	576,567 906/sq mi (350/km²)
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^[1], 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. The 2000 Census population for the county was 510,916, making Ocean County the fastest growing in the state of New Jersey in terms of growth in the number of residents and second-highest in percentage growth.^[2] Ocean County was established in 1850 from portions of Monmouth County except for Little Egg Harbor Township which seceded from Burlington County in 1891.

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, however, it is actually in the central part of New Jersey and is home to many tourist attractions frequently visited by Delaware Valley residents, especially the beachfront communities of Seaside Heights and Long Beach Island, 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 U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 915.88 square miles (2,372.1 km²), the largest county in New Jersey, 636.28 square miles (1,648.0 km²) of it is land and 279.60 square miles (724.2 km²) of it (30.53%) is water.^[3]

Much of the county is flat and coastal, and possesses 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 popular beaches 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 populations
Census	Pop.		%±
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%
historical census data source:[4][5] [2]

As of the census^[6] of 2000, 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. 24.9% were of Italian, 18.2% Irish, 12.5% German, 7.0% Polish and 5.4% 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 as of 2009 was $60,787, and the median income for a family as of 2009 was $74,142. Males had a median income of $44,822 versus $30,717 for females. The 2009 per capita income for the county was $29,404. About 4.80% of families and 7.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.00% of those under age 18 and 5.60% of those age 65 or over.

It is also home to Mantoloking (population 423), the wealthiest community in the state of New Jersey.

Government

Ocean County is governed by a Board of Chosen Freeholders consisting of five members, elected at large by the voters of Ocean County in partisan elections and serving staggered three-year terms. Ocean County's Freeholders have both administrative and policy making powers, and are paid some $50,000 in salary and additional benefits.^[7] Ocean County also elects people to the constitutional office positions of county clerk and surrogate. The clerk is Carl W. Block (R), also former mayor of Stafford Township and the surrogate is Jeffrey Moran (R).

As of 2011^[update], Ocean County's Freeholders are:^[8]

• Freeholder Director Joseph H. Vicari (R) (Toms River Township, term ends December 31, 2011)
• Freeholder Deputy Director Gerry P. Little (R) (Surf City, 2012)
• John C. Bartlett, Jr. (R) (Pine Beach, 2012)
• John P. Kelly (R) (Eagleswood Township, 2013)
• James F. Lacey (R) (Brick Township, 2013)

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 Boro. In the 2004 U.S. Presidential election, Republican George W. Bush carried the county by a 21.2% margin over Democrat John Kerry.^[9] 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,^[10] who carried Ocean County's every municipality except South Toms River.^[11] The last Democratic presidential candidate to win Ocean County was Bill Clinton in 1996. In the 2009 Gubernatorial Election, Republican Chris Christie received 64% of the vote, defeating incumbent Democrat Jon Corzine, who received 28%.

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, which is one of the largest yeshivas in the world.^[12]

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. ^[13]

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 three campuses in Brick, Waretown, and Jackson, it contains two magnet schools:

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

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 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.

Transportation

Ocean County has various major roads that pass through. State routes that go through include Route 13, Route 35, Route 37, Route 70, Route 88, and Route 166. Other major routes that pass through are US Route 9, the Garden State Parkway, and Interstate 195 (I-195 is the only interstate to pass through Ocean County solely in Jackson).

Municipalities

The following is a list of the municipalities in Ocean County. Other, unincorporated areas in the county are listed below their parent municipality (or municipalities, as the case may be). 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)

• Barnegat Light (6)
• Barnegat Township (29)
  • Barnegat CDP
  • Ocean Acres (part)
• Bay Head (16)
• Beach Haven (2)
• Beachwood (12)
• Berkeley Township (26)
  • Holiday City-Berkeley
  • Holiday City South
  • Holiday Heights
  • Silver Ridge
• Brick Township (23)
• Eagleswood Township (31)
• Harvey Cedars (5)
• Island Heights (10)
• Jackson Township (21)
  • Cassville
  • Vista Center
• Lacey Township (27)
  • Forked River
  • Lanoka Harbor
• Lakehurst (19)
• Lakewood Township (22)
  • Lakewood CDP
  • Leisure Village
  • Leisure Village East
• Lavallette (14)
• Little Egg Harbor Township (33)
  • Mystic Island
• Long Beach Township (32)
  • North Beach Haven
• Manchester Township (25)
  • Cedar Glen Lakes
  • Cedar Glen West
  • Crestwood Village
  • Leisure Knoll
  • Leisure Village West-Pine Lake Park
  • Pine Ridge at Crestwood
• Mantoloking (15)
• Ocean Gate (9)
• Ocean Township (28)
  • Waretown
• Pine Beach (11)
• Plumsted Township (20)
  • New Egypt
• Point Pleasant (18)
• Point Pleasant Beach (17)
• Seaside Heights (8)
• Seaside Park (7)
• Ship Bottom (3)
• South Toms River (13)
• Stafford Township (30)
  • Beach Haven West
  • Manahawkin
  • Ocean Acres (part)
• Surf City (4)
• Toms River Township (County Seat) (24)
  • Dover Beaches North
  • Dover Beaches South
• Tuckerton (1)

See also

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

References

1. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
2. ^ ^{a b} The Counties and Most Populous Cities and Townships in 2010 in New Jersey: 2000 and 2010, United States Census Bureau. Accessed September 5, 2011. HTML version of original Excel spreadsheet.
3. ^ GCT-PH1. Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2000 for Ocean County, New Jersey -- County Subdivision and Place, United States Census Bureau. Accessed September 4, 2011.
4. ^ "New Jersey Resident Population by County: 1880–1930". http://www.wnjpin.net/OneStopCareerCenter/LaborMarketInformation/lmi01/poptrd5.htm. 
5. ^ "Geostat Center: Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/collections/stats/histcensus/. Retrieved 2007-03-02. 
6. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
7. ^ Freeholder History, Ocean County, New Jersey. Accessed September 5, 2011.
8. ^ Home page, Ocean County, New Jersey. Accessed September 5, 2011.
9. ^ New Jersey Presidential Election Returns by County 2004, Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University. Accessed August 31, 2008.
10. ^ 2008 Presidential General Election Results for New Jersey, USElectionAtlas.org. Accessed September 5, 2011.
11. ^ 2008 Presidential General Election Results: Ocean County, New Jersey Department of State, December 23, 2008. Accessed September 4, 2011.
12. ^ Fahim, Kareem (December 10, 2007). "As Orthodox Population Grows, So Do Tensions". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/10/nyregion/10lakewood.html?pagewanted=all. Retrieved 11 March 2010. 
13. ^ School Directory, Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton. Accessed September 5, 2011.

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
• Photographic galleries featuring the flora,fauna,and landscapes of the New Jersey Pinelands: Featuring many photographs that reflect the natural beauty of Ocean County, New Jersey.

Coordinates: 39°52′N 74°15′W / 39.87°N 74.25°W / 39.87; -74.25