county

Ocean County, NJ

Demographic and economic profile of Ocean County, NJ, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Ocean County's economy leans toward consumer-facing and residential services, supported by a population of 666,434 that has grown 9.2% over five years—one of the stronger growth rates in the region. The labor force participation rate is relatively low at 59.0%, with 33.7% of residents holding a bachelor's degree or higher and median worker earnings of $48,583, suggesting a workforce skewed toward part-time, seasonal, or retirement-age residents given the median age of 41.2. Housing costs are moderate by New Jersey standards, with a median home value of $366,600 and an 80.7% homeownership rate, though a 5.5% unemployment rate and GDP per capita of $36,350—below the median household income of $89,863—point to a bifurcated local economy.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

666,434

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$89,863

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

41.2 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+9.2% since 2018

Ocean County added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone545,002 (83.3%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race35,129 (5.4%)
  • Some Other Race Alone25,821 (3.9%)
  • Black or African American Alone19,905 (3.0%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races13,061 (2.0%)
  • Asian Alone12,621 (1.9%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish35,638
  2. 2.Other Indo-European9,826
  3. 3.German or other West Germanic9,550
  4. 4.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic5,094
  5. 5.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)3,281

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

24.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

52.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

22.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

8.0%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

29,973

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$36,350

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$43,900

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

5.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

10.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance81,111
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)35,474
  3. 3.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services32,267
  4. 4.Construction (Group)22,198
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services21,449

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations120,730
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations68,488
  3. 3.Service Occupations45,075
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations25,338
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations24,216

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.22×)79,506
  2. 2.Public Administration (LQ 1.21×)15,955
  3. 3.Retail Trade (LQ 1.18×)35,924
  4. 4.Construction (LQ 1.14×)22,093
  5. 5.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.10×)7,096

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$366,600

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$1,702/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

80.7%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,99939,435 (20.0%)
  • $500,000 to $749,99938,064 (19.3%)
  • $400,000 to $499,99934,278 (17.4%)
  • $250,000 to $299,99916,740 (8.5%)
  • $200,000 to $249,99914,143 (7.2%)
  • $750,000 to $999,99913,947 (7.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

33.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

93.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

59.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$48,583

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

30.0 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

5.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone208,095 (75.4%)
  • Worked At Home34,495 (12.5%)
  • Carpooled22,944 (8.3%)
  • Walked3,809 (1.4%)
  • Other2,723 (1.0%)
  • Public Transit2,515 (0.9%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Similar Locations

5 counties with comparable population, workforce, income, education, and cost of living. Click any to compare.

More on FDI Connect

Compare Ocean County against other US geographies, save it to your shortlist, see active property listings on the interactive map, and unlock the full demographic dashboard.

Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.