Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Overall, Ocean City earns a B, better than 58% of U.S. towns. That places it 250th of 466 in New Jersey. Its strongest subject is walkability (A+): it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 97% of U.S. towns. It also does well on health — it is healthier than 86% of U.S. towns. The trade-off is cost of living — the typical home is worth about $1.1 million, 13.8 years of the Atlantic City metro’s $82K median household income. Hazard risk is weaker too: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 92% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. Just over a third of residents are 65 or older locally, against 18% in New Jersey’s towns and 18% across U.S. towns. The town has 6 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Ocean City Tenth Street Station and Ocean City 34th Street Station.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · FEMA National Risk Index · National Register of Historic Places.
Where Ocean City beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Census counts: 452 in 1890, a peak of 15,512 in 1990, 11,229 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1885 and 6 maps from 1890 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Jersey), ordered by how far Ocean City is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 97% of comparable towns) to D− for cost of living (better than 2%), so the B overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ocean City, 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 City.
Ocean City has a longer frost-free season than almost anywhere else in New Jersey, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of New Jersey (mostly inland flooding) and has homes that cost more against local pay than most of New Jersey.
At 13.8 years of the Atlantic City metro’s $82K median household income, the typical home (about $1.14M) costs more against local pay than in 97% of New Jersey towns; that ratio is one input to that grade.
A home in Ocean City typically sold within 83 days of listing. Values rose 11% in the 12 months to September 2026. Its midpoint rent stands at $1,683 a month.
| Ocean City | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,683 a month | $1,780 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 73% | 77% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Three of its 4 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. The largest public high school is Ocean City High School, with 1,106 students. The public schools here belong to the Ocean City School District.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ocean City Intermediate SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 4–8 | Grades 4–8 | 326 | B |
| Ocean City High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,106 | A− |
| Ocean City Primary SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–3 | Grades PK–3 | 271 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 98% of New Jersey towns, with expected losses of about $2,194 per resident a year; that rating is what its D− for hazard risk is built on. 7,807 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 559 properties have flooded more than once.
Households in Ocean City have drawn federal disaster aid in 7 declared disasters, most recently in 2020. Expected losses in Ocean City break down as 42% from inland flooding and 41% from coastal flooding. Also worth knowing: the national flood insurance program has paid 7,807 claims here since 1978.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Within New Jersey it is less healthy than 51% of the 468 graded towns: New Jersey sets a high bar. Its A for health tops all 3 graded neighbors; Upper Township (B+) comes closest.
Among 468 New Jersey towns, just 3 have a lower share of adults who sleep under 7 hours than Ocean City. In Ocean City, 13% of adults report frequent mental distress. CDC measures, 32 in all: Ocean City beats New Jersey on 16 and trails on 7.
| Ocean City | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 32% | 33% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 36% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 15% | 17% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 83% | 78% | 79% |
| What stands out | Ocean City | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 6.4% | 12.3% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.7% | 14.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 13% | 7.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The Atlantic City Intl Ap weather station, 13 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 190 days, the highest of 941 New Jersey places with climate records.
For Ocean City, the July high is 84°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Ocean City has about as many jobs (4,113) as working residents, but only 783 people both live and work here.
For half of commuters, work is under 14 miles away. The top destinations are Somers Point (5%), Egg Harbor Township (5%) and Atlantic City (4%). The median household income in the town is $102,000.
| Ocean City | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 22% | 6.3% | 8% |
| Work from home | 19% | 16% | 11% |
| Median household income | $102,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Ocean City’s rate of thefts and burglaries is 17.7 per 1,000 residents. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. 6 violent crimes were reported in 2025.
| Ocean City | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 17.7 per 1,000 residents | 7.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.5 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The trail network density for Ocean City comes to 0.3 miles per square mile. In 5 parks and preserves, walkers have 2.9 miles of trail. The biggest park or preserve is Corson's Inlet State Park, at 155 acres.
| Ocean City | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 9% | 11% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Corson's Inlet State Park | 0.8 mi | 155 |
| 2. Cape May Coastal Wetlands Wildlife Management Area | — | 273 |
| 3. Veterans Memorial Park | 0.2 mi | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Ocean City. Close and well known come first.
Big draw34 mi Park & preservePine Barrens
6 mi LandmarkLucy the Elephant
11 mi Stadium & arenaBoardwalk Hall
in town Theme parkGillians Wonderland Pier and Island Waterpark
12 mi Theme parkSteel Pier35 mi BeachLong Beach IslandPine Barrens: Famartin, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lucy the Elephant: User:dtcdthingy 3:30 pm 30th July 2004 (Minolta Dimage X20), Public domain · Boardwalk Hall: Jack Boucher, Public domain · Gillians Wonderland Pier and Island Waterpark: Kevin Jarrett from Northfield, NJ, USA, CC BY 2.0 · Steel Pier: Make Lemons, CC BY-SA 2.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Ocean City
About 3 of every 100 Ocean City residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Jersey.
Coastal flooding makes up 41% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
66.3% of homes are seasonal or vacation homes, so the town is fuller in summer than its census count suggests.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
6 places in Ocean City on the National Register of Historic Places.
10 notable people were born in Ocean City.
City in Cape May County, New Jersey, US
Ocean City is a city in Cape May County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is the principal city of the Ocean City metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses all of Cape May County, and is part of the Philadelphia metropolitan area. It is part of the South Jersey region of the state. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 11,229, a decrease of 472 (−4.0%) from the 2010 census count of 11,701, which in turn reflected a decline of 3,677 (−23.9%) from the 15,378 counted in the 2000 census. In summer months, with an influx of tourists and second homeowners, there are estimated to be 115,000 to 130,000 within the city's borders. Ocean City originated as a borough …
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Ocean City.
It grades higher overall than all 3 graded towns on its borders; Upper Township (B) comes closest.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ocean City | #250 | B | D− | — | B+ | A |
| Upper Township | #252 | B | D | — | A− | B+ |
| Egg Harbor Township | #373 | C | D | C+ | C+ | B+ |
| Strathmere | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Somers Point | #430 | D | D | C− | C− | B− |
| Longport | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Ocean City and Upper Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Strathmere and Longport aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Ocean City with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Ocean City grades B overall, better than 58% of U.S. towns and #250 of 466 in New Jersey. It grades A for health 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−.
Ocean City was settled in 1881 and has 6 places on the National Register of Historic Places. 10 notable people were born here, including Keith Andes and Gay Talese.
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