Photo: Dough4872 · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Ocean City have higher incomes than those in 78% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 9.8% of residents; New Jersey has 9.7%. Jobs and income earn Ocean City B+; getting around on foot earns it A+. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 1.0 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 43.7 in Jersey City.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Ocean City: the figures worth knowing
Ocean City trades workers with the towns around it
Ocean City has about as many jobs (3,919) as working residents (3,379), but they are mostly different people: 2,568 residents leave for work each day while 3,108 people come in. Only 21% of the jobs in Ocean City are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Ocean City’s workforce skews older
39% of Ocean City’s working residents are 55 or older. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Jobs & income in Ocean City: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Ocean City is better than 70% of U.S. towns, #311 of 468 in New Jersey. Household income holds Ocean City’s grade up ($101,782, U.S. $80,734); the poverty rate pulls it down. It also does well on unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Ocean City could be anywhere from B− to A.
In and out of Ocean City on a workday
On a workday 2,568 residents head out to work, 811 work right here, and 3,108 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.16 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
What work there is in Ocean City: 3,919 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ocean City, 2014 → 2024: 4,090 → 3,919. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Ocean City’s own residents hold wherever they work.
6% of working residents work in Egg Harbor Township
Where Ocean City clocks in
6% of workers
6% of workers
4% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
How long Ocean City spends getting to work: about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ocean City workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,109 commuters (the 19% who work from home are left out). Across New Jersey: 75% drive alone, 10% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Near or far: the trip to work from Ocean City
About 29% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Ocean City is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Ocean City is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns, #116 of 468 in New Jersey. Both inputs place Ocean City near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 5,091 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 71% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 6% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 57% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 10.6% of Ocean City households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Ocean City’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Ocean City is 1,010th among 2,507 U.S. towns of 8,000 to 15,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 8 | Waldwick NJ | 10,252 | $178K | 1.4% | 2.2% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Fanwood NJ | 8,035 | $196K | 1.0% | 2.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 21 | Oradell NJ | 8,293 | $221K | 3.6% | 2.3% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,008 | Pewaukee WI | 8,216 | $62K | 7.3% | 3.0% | 4% | B+ |
| 1,009 | East Nottingham Township PA | 9,235 | $130K | 7.2% | 3.8% | 5% | B+ |
| 1,010 | Ocean City NJ | 11,101 | $102K | 9.8% | 3.2% | 24% | B+ |
| 1,011 | Sarasota Springs FL | 12,611 | $96K | 12.7% | 3.2% | 3% | B+ |
| 1,012 | Kemp Mill MD | 13,042 | $146K | 10.5% | 7.1% | 2% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,507 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 19% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Ocean City, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
The towns next door employ 15% of Ocean City
The biggest share goes to Egg Harbor Township (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ocean City workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ocean City | – | B+ | A+ | 27 min | $101,782 |
| Upper Township | 3% | A | C+ | 24 min | $111,991 |
| Egg Harbor Township | 6% | B− | B | 23 min | $97,190 |
| Strathmere | under 2% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Somers Point | 6% | C+ | A+ | 24 min | $71,062 |
| Longport | under 2% | — | — | 32 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Strathmere: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Longport: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Ocean City’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Ocean City: questions
What is the median household income in Ocean City?
$101,782 (±$11,565) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ocean City?
9.8%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ocean City?
27 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 19% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ocean City work?
24% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Egg Harbor Township (6%, 8 mi), Somers Point (6%, 3 mi), Middle Township (4%, 18 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Ocean City walkable?
Ocean City is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.2 out of 20, and 12% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ocean City without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. 6% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ocean City, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ocean City
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.