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Home > Community Development > Community Profiles > Ocean County, NJ > Demographics and Economic Data

Community Profile: Ocean County, NJ

Demographics and Economic Data

Included in this section is a brief summary of demographic and economic data. Detailed data can be accessed through the following websites:

• DataPlace : DataPlace is a KnowledgePlex initiative sponsored by the Fannie Mae Foundation as a source for housing and demographic data at the community, regional, and national levels. The site assembles a variety of data sets from multiple sources and also provides tools and guides to assist in analyzing, interpreting, and applying the data. For example, the site includes a mapping section that allows users to develop maps based on housing and demographic criteria they select (e.g. population, homeownership rates, unemployment, etc.).
• Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council : The website includes a geocoding/mapping system that allows users to obtain census data based on specific street addresses and a census report system that provides census information by census tract within a county or MSA.
• U.S. Census Bureau American FactFinder : Official source for population, housing, economic, and geographic data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Included below is a summary of the following data:

• Population
• Income
• Poverty Level
• Housing Units
• Housing Permits
• Local Industries
• Unemployment Rate
• Education

Population1

The population of Ocean County, NJ rose from 433,203 in 1990 to 510,916 in 2000, a 17.9 percent increase. During the same period, the state of New Jersey experienced an 8.9 percent increase in population, while Dover Township (in which the Toms River Census Designated Place [CDP] is located) experienced a 17.5 percent increase in population.1, 2

Table 1 shows the racial composition of the state of New Jersey, Ocean County, and the Toms River CDP based on the 2000 census. Ocean County and the Toms River CDP are not racially diverse areas.  For example, only 2.9 percent of the population of Ocean County and 1.7 percent of the Toms River CDP was black or African American, compared to 13.4 percent of the population for the state. The last line of the table represents the percentage of the total population who stated they were Hispanic or Latino in origin.

The racial composition of Ocean County, NJ is illustrated in Figure 1.

The racial composition of those who reported they were Hispanic or Latino in origin within Ocean County, NJ (5.0 percent of the total population for the county) is illustrated in Figure 2.

Income

The 1999 median household income for Ocean County, NJ was $46,443, and the median family income was $56,420. Statewide, the median household income was $55,146, and the median family income was $65,370. In the same year, the median household income for the Toms River CDP was $55,659, and the median family income was $62,971.1

The term low- and moderate-income persons (LMI) is used for CRA and community development purposes and includes people and communities whose income is less than 80 percent of the area median income. People and communities whose income is less than 50 percent of the area median income are considered low income and those whose income exceeds 50 percent, but does not exceed 80 percent, are considered moderate income.

In 2000, there were 200,553 households within Ocean County, NJ. Of all households in all census tracts, 31.1 percent were households with low incomes and 20.5 percent were households with moderate incomes. A household's income is not necessarily an indicator of the income of the census tract in which the household resides. As Table 2 indicates, 41.8 percent of all households with low incomes resided in middle- and upper-income census tracts and 56.1 percent of all households with moderate incomes resided in middle- and upper-income census tracts.3

In 2007, there were 116 census tracts in Ocean County, NJ. Of the total, 11 were low-income tracts and 32 were moderate-income tracts. In the Toms River CDP, there were 18 census tracts. Of the total, one was a low-income tract and two were moderate-income tracts. 3,4

Poverty Level1

In 1999, Ocean County, NJ had 34,945 residents living below the poverty line, or 7 percent of the population. Statewide, 8.5 percent of the population was living below the poverty line. The Toms River CDP had 4,734 residents (5.6 percent of the total population) living below the poverty line.

Information about how the U.S. Census Bureau measures poverty is available through its website.

Housing Units1

In 2000, Ocean County, NJ had a total of 248,711 housing units, of which 80.6 percent were occupied and 19.4 percent were vacant. Of the occupied housing units, 83.2 percent were occupied by the owner, and 16.8 percent were occupied by a renter. The state of New Jersey had a total of 3,310,275 housing units, of which 92.6 percent were occupied and 7.4 percent were vacant. The Toms River CDP had a total of 34,388 housing units, of which 92.2 percent were occupied and 7.8 percent were vacant.

The reasons for vacancies are illustrated in Figure 3.

Housing Permits5

In January 2007, 124 housing permits for new, privately owned houses in Ocean County, NJ were issued. Of this group, 121 housing permits were for 1- to 4-unit homes. These numbers have not been seasonally adjusted.

Current information regarding housing permits in MSAs and other areas within the Third Federal Reserve District is available through a database on the Regional Employment, Unemployment, and Selected Statistics page of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s Research Department.

Local Industries

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s Research Department maintains a database of monthly employment data by industry for the Edison, NJ metropolitan division, which includes Ocean County (Excel spreadsheet). Please note that all values for industry employment in this file are in thousands.

Unemployment Rate6

In 2006, Ocean County, NJ had an annual unemployment rate of 5.0 percent, compared with a rate of 4.6 percent for the state of New Jersey. Dover Township, NJ (in which the Toms River CDP is located) had an annual unemployment rate of 5.5 percent for the same year.

More recent unemployment data are available through the Bureau of Labor Statistics' website.

Education1

In Ocean County, NJ 19.5 percent of the population that is 25 years of age or older has a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the Toms River CDP, 23.7 percent of the population that is 25 years of age or older has received a bachelor’s degree or higher. For the state of New Jersey, this figure is 29.8 percent. See Figure 4 for more details.

• 1 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, “2000 Census – Summary File 3,” http://factfinder.census.gov/home/saff/main.html?_lang=en 
• 2 Due to a definitional change, the 1990 and 2000 census population counts for the Toms River Census Designated Place (CDP) are not comparable. Based on its 2000 census definition, the Toms River CDP accounts for 96.2 percent of the population of Dover Township, NJ. 
• 3 Source: Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), http://www.ffiec.gov.  
• 4 It should be noted that five of the 18 census tracts within the Toms River CDP do not lie entirely within the CDP. Source: Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), http://www.ffiec.gov.  
• 5 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, “Manufacturing, Mining, and Construction Statistics,” http://www.census.gov/const/www/permitsindex.html6 Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Local Area Unemployment Statistics,” 2006 annual data, http://data.bls.gov/PDQ/outside.jsp?survey=la 

• Last updated: Monday, October 29, 2007