Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 5,196.
The biggest park or preserve is Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, at 125 acres. We don’t grade Forked River yet; the figures below are still real.
Coastal flooding makes up 16% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1933.
Explore the history →Forked River is unincorporated, so Ocean County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Forked River.
Of the losses FEMA expects in Forked River, 67% come from inland flooding and 16% from coastal flooding. Since 1978, 786 flood insurance claims have been paid out in the town. Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 91% of U.S. communities.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The top destinations are Lacey Township (13%), Toms River Township (10%) and Berkeley Township (4%). Employers in Forked River added 530 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 1,775. Also worth knowing: the mean commuting time for Forked River comes to 31 minutes, against 30 minutes in New Jersey’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. Half the trips to work are shorter than 26 miles.
| Forked River | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 18% | 16% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 6.1% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $91,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The peak summer temperature for Forked River comes to 85°F, below New Jersey’s towns (86°F) and close to U.S. towns (85°F).
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The share of adults in Forked River who say their health is fair or poor: 17%. On the CDC’s 32 measures, Forked River is ahead of New Jersey on 3 and behind on 4. 30% of adults in Forked River feel lonely; 76% had a checkup this year.
| Forked River | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 16% | 23% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 33% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 76% | 78% | 79% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | Forked River | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 9% | 11.3% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11.6% | 14.3% |
| More smokers | 14.4% | 10.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
0.4 miles of trail wind through 3 parks and preserves. For Forked River, the concentration of trails is 0.1 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, at 125 acres.
| Forked River | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 9.1% | 11% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Enos Pond County Park | 0.4 mi | 122 |
| 2. Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge | — | 125 |
| 3. Vincent Clune Park | — | 23 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Typical home values rose 5.5% in the year to September 2026. Forked River: 92% of households are owner-occupiers. In Forked River, the going rate for rent is $2,170 a month.
| Forked River | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,170 a month | $1,778 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 92% | 77% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Forked River. Close and well known come first.
Big draw31 mi Park & preservePine Barrens
Big draw26 mi Theme parkSix Flags Great Adventure2.2M visitors a year12 mi BeachLong Beach Island
35 mi Stadium & arenaBoardwalk Hall
39 mi LandmarkLucy the Elephant
6 mi LighthouseBarnegat LighthousePine Barrens: Famartin, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Six Flags Great Adventure: Unknown, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Boardwalk Hall: Jack Boucher, Public domain · Lucy the Elephant: User:dtcdthingy 3:30 pm 30th July 2004 (Minolta Dimage X20), Public domain · Barnegat Lighthouse: L'Aquatique, CC BY-SA 3.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Forked River
About 3 of every 100 Forked River residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Jersey.
Where Forked River’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Place in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States
Forked River () is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Lacey Township, in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the CDP's population was 5,274, an increase of 30 (+0.6%) from the 5,244 enumerated at the 2010 census, which in turn reflected an increase of 330 (+6.7%) from the 4.914 counted in the 2000 census. Many Ocean County residents commonly refer to all of Lacey Township as Forked River. The first word is pronounced by locals with two syllables (). Pronouncing the first word with one syllable () is considered a sign of a new resident or outsider (an example of a shibboleth).
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Forked River.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forked River | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Ocean Township | #245 | B | C− | A+ | C | A− |
| Lacey Township | #295 | B− | D | B+ | C+ | A− |
Forked River isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Forked River with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
We don’t grade Forked River yet; the figures below are still real.
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