Ocean County is a
county located along the
Jersey Shore in the
U.S. state of
New Jersey. Its
county seat is
Toms River, which, like the county itself, has been one of the fastest growing areas of the state since the 1990s. As of the
2010 United States Census, the population was 576,567, having increased by 65,651 (+12.8%) from the
2000 Census population of 510,916, surpassing
Union County to become the fifth-most populous county in the state and making Ocean County the fastest growing in the state of New Jersey in terms of increase in the number of residents and second-highest in percentage growth. Ocean County was established on February 15, 1850, from portions of
Monmouth County, with the addition of
Little Egg Harbor Township which was annexed from
Burlington County on March 30, 1891. The most populous place was
Lakewood Township, with 92,843 residents at the time of the 2010 Census (up 32,491 since 2000, the largest population increase of any municipality in the state), while
Jackson Township, covered , the largest total area of any municipality in the county.