Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 28,088, settled in 1849.
Ocean Township grades C+ overall, 315th of 466 graded towns in New Jersey, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Residents are healthier than 85% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates and it is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns. On the other side, homes are expensive, about $678K for a typical one and 6.8 times the New York metro’s $99K median household income. Ocean Township’s property crime rate is 28.4 per 1,000 residents, against 7.4 in New Jersey’s towns and 9.9 across U.S. towns. The biggest park or preserve is Joe Palaia Park, at 32 acres.
Where Ocean Township beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Jersey), ordered by how far Ocean Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 3,768 in 1850, a low of 1,377 in 1910, 27,672 in 2020. The archive holds 7 old photos and papers going back to 1873 and 3 maps from 1954 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Ocean Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw34 mi Stadium & arenaMadison Square Garden
Big draw37 mi GardenCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw22 mi BeachConey Island
Big draw35 mi TheatreStudio 54
Big draw39 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife Stadium
Big draw37 mi MuseumMetropolitan Museum of Art2.0M visitors a yearMadison Square Garden: Ajay Suresh from New York, NY, USA, CC BY 2.0 · Central Park: Ed Yourdon from New York City, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Coney Island: OptimumPx, Public domain · Studio 54: Americasroof (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · MetLife Stadium: babyknight, CC BY 2.0 · Metropolitan Museum of Art: Hugo Schneider, CC BY-SA 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ocean Township, and how to reach them.
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 Ocean Township.
Ocean Township is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in New Jersey; it also has seen reported crime rise beyond ordinary swings and has a long record of flood insurance claims.
Within New Jersey it is less healthy than 52% of the 468 graded towns: New Jersey sets a high bar.
15% of Ocean Township adults have been diagnosed with depression.
| Ocean Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 23% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 32% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 15% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Ocean Township | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 9.2% | 11.3% |
| Fewer adults lacking emotional support | 20.1% | 24% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 8.4% | 7.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Township of Ocean School District. Two of its 9 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Ocean Township High School, with 925 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Township of Ocean Intermediate SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 889 | B− |
| Ocean Township High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 925 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
Reported crimes rose from 690 to 829 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. Property crime runs at 28.4 per 1,000 residents, about twice the New Jersey rate, most of it theft.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
7.7 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Ocean Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 8.8% | 11% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Joe Palaia Park | 0.2 mi | 32 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Ocean Township has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 25° and about 25 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Ocean Township for work: only 11% work in town. Jobs based in Ocean Township grew to 9,911 in 2023, 1,184 more than in 2013. The median household income in Ocean Township is $109,000.
| Ocean Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 18% | 16% | 11% |
| Median household income | $109,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 11% | 6.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
People 65 and older are 22% of residents (17% statewide). 52% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Ocean Township.
| Ocean Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 52% | 45% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 22% | 18% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 23% | 21% | 22% |
54% women, 46% men
About 86 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.6 points). Across New Jersey, 50.8% of residents are women.
| Ocean Township | NJ | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 14.1% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.3% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.3% | 8.4% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.6% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.8% | 12.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.2% | 13.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.7% | 10% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9% | 7.2% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.5% | 9.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 19% | 25.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 16.1% | 15% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.3% | 6.7% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 31.4% | 26.1% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 20.6% | 17.6% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
945 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 57 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 52% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 945 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Ocean Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
16 within 15 miles of the center of Ocean Township
About 5 of every 100 Ocean Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Jersey.
Township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, US
Ocean Township is a township situated on the Jersey Shore in east central Monmouth County, within the U.S. state of New Jersey. Ocean Township has no central downtown and consists of three main unincorporated communities: Oakhurst, Wanamassa, and Wayside. The township is divided into two ZIP codes, 07755 (Oakhurst) and 07712 (Wanamassa and Wayside). Small portions have Allenhurst (07711), Deal (07723) and Long Branch (07740) ZIP codes. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 27,672, its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 381 (+1.4%) from the 27,291 recorded at the 2010 census, which in turn reflected an increase of 332 (+1.2%) from the 26,959 counted …
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
9 towns share a border with Ocean Township.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ocean Township | #315 | C+ | D | C− | B | A |
| Eatontown | #329 | C+ | D | C+ | B− | A− |
| Wanamassa | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| West Long Branch | #193 | B+ | D− | B | A− | A |
| Interlaken | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Deal | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Asbury Park | #431 | D | D− | — | D− | B |
| Neptune Township | #428 | D | D− | D | D− | B+ |
Asbury Park reports no FBI crime data of its own. Wanamassa, Interlaken and Deal aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Ocean Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Ocean Township grades C+ overall, better than 44% of U.S. towns and #315 of 466 in New Jersey. It grades A for health, C− for safety and B for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
2 notable people were born here, including Brett Wigdortz and Eric Nies.
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