666,434 people (2024 Census estimate, +4.4% since 2020)
628 square miles of land · 1,061 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
57 active community water systems list Ocean County in the area they serve, reporting 1,056,181 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| NJ AMERICAN WATER - COASTAL NORTH surface water · private · NJ1345001 | 377,613 served |
| VEOLIA WATER NEW JERSEY TOMS RIVER groundwater · private · NJ1507005 | 123,184 served |
| BRICK TOWNSHIP MUA surface water · local government · NJ1506001 | 81,829 served |
| JACKSON TWP MUA groundwater · local government · NJ1511001 | 37,224 served |
| STAFFORD TWP WATER - BEACH HAVEN WEST groundwater · local government · NJ1530004 | 30,608 served |
| LACEY TWP MUA groundwater · local government · NJ1512001 | 29,000 served |
| LAKEWOOD TWP MUA buys surface water · local government · NJ1514002 | 27,614 served |
| LONG BEACH TWP BRANT BEA groundwater · local government · NJ1517001 | 25,300 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 300 people were held in Ocean County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2023), or 81 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2018 it was about 436.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
28 school districts have their office in Ocean County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $357.6 million — $305.9 million to run schools, about $20,962 per student, plus $39.7 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $191 million local (mostly property tax), $115.5 million state, $24.7 million federal. Long-term debt: $177.1 million.
Spent $211.6 million — $189.8 million to run schools, about $22,752 per student, plus $14.4 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $124.7 million local (mostly property tax), $63.2 million state, $17.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $959,000.
Spent $202.8 million — $191.8 million to run schools, about $25,227 per student, plus $4.2 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $114.9 million local (mostly property tax), $79.3 million state, $12.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $36.9 million.
Spent $349 million — $286.4 million to run schools, about $57,022 per student, plus $3.2 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $119.9 million local (mostly property tax), $151.5 million state, $95 million federal. Long-term debt: $26.4 million.
Spent $96.7 million — $89 million to run schools, about $23,238 per student, plus $4.6 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $57.2 million local (mostly property tax), $34.9 million state, $4.7 million federal. Long-term debt: $14.1 million.
Spent $85.9 million — $79.2 million to run schools, about $21,601 per student, plus $2.1 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $38.2 million local (mostly property tax), $41.8 million state, $4.5 million federal. Long-term debt: $23 million.
Spent $83.6 million — $79.8 million to run schools, about $28,027 per student, plus $1.5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $55.6 million local (mostly property tax), $23.6 million state, $6.7 million federal. Long-term debt: $14.9 million.
Spent $78.2 million — $76 million to run schools, about $27,512 per student, plus $2 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $58.3 million local (mostly property tax), $17.8 million state, $4.6 million federal.
And 20 more.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively High compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Ocean County about $203.7 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very High; social vulnerability: Relatively Moderate.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
240 bridges in Ocean County: 114 in good condition, 118 fair, and 8 poor (3.3%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| NJ 35 over WILLS HOLE MANASQUAN RIV · built 1950 | 34,451 vehicles a day |
| NJ 166 over North Channel Toms River · built 1928 | 27,261 vehicles a day |
| NJ 166 over North Channel Toms River · built 1928 | 26,921 vehicles a day |
| NJ RT 88 over BEAVER DAM CREEK · built 1923 | 20,806 vehicles a day |
| BAY AVENUE over MILL CREEK · built 1929 | 4,267 vehicles a day |
| STRIKELAND BLVD. over BARNEGAT BAY · built 1950 | 1,220 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $50.1 million of work in Ocean County in fiscal 2025, about $79 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for New Jersey are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Ocean County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Ocean County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of New Jersey: the state government and every county in New Jersey.
Nearby counties: Burlington County (21 mi) · Monmouth County (30 mi) · Atlantic County (34 mi) · Mercer County (37 mi) · Camden County (37 mi) · Middlesex County (40 mi).