Neptune Township, New Jersey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Neptune Township, New Jersey
Township
Row of Victorian houses in the village of Ocean Grove
Seal
Nickname(s):  The Crossroads of the Jersey Shore
Motto(s):  Where Community, Business & Tourism Prosper
Location of Neptune Township in Monmouth County highlighted in yellow (right). Inset map: Location of Monmouth County in New Jersey highlighted in black (left). <mapframe text="Interactive map of Neptune Township, New Jersey" zoom="8" width="250" height="250"> { "type": "ExternalData", "service": "geoshape", "ids": "Q2641218" } </mapframe>
Census Bureau map of Neptune Township, New Jersey
Neptune Township, New Jersey Location in Monmouth County, New Jersey Show map of Monmouth County, New Jersey Neptune Township, New Jersey Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey Neptune Township, New Jersey Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Monmouth
Incorporated	February 26, 1879
Named for	Neptune, Roman water deity
Government
• Type	Township
• Body	Township Committee
Area
• Total	8.84 sq mi (22.90 km2)
• Land	8.13 sq mi (21.05 km2)
• Water	0.72 sq mi (1.86 km2)  8.11%
Area rank	222nd of 565 in state 14th of 53 in county
Elevation	52 ft (16 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	28,061
• Estimate  (2023)	27,986
• Rank	88th of 565 in state 7th of 53 in county
• Density	3,452.8/sq mi (1,333.1/km2)
• Density rank	196th of 565 in state 22nd of 53 in county
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Codes	07753–07754
Area code(s)	732
FIPS code	3402549890
GNIS feature ID	0882111
Website

Neptune Township is a township in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 28,061, an increase of 126 (+0.5%) from the 2010 census count of 27,935, which in turn reflected an increase of 245 (+0.9%) from the 27,690 counted in the 2000 census.

Featuring Jersey Shore Medical Center, the historic community of Ocean Grove, along with office parks and cultural amenities, Neptune Township has been a longtime regional commercial and cultural hub of the Jersey Shore. The township was named for Neptune, the Roman water deity, and its location on the Atlantic Ocean.

History

Neptune was incorporated as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 26, 1879, from portions of Ocean Township. Portions of the township were taken to form Neptune City (October 4, 1881), Bradley Beach (March 13, 1893) and Ocean Grove (April 5, 1920, until the action was found unconstitutional and restored to Neptune Township as of June 16, 1921).

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 8.84 square miles (22.90 km²), including 8.13 square miles (21.05 km²) of land and 0.72 square miles (1.86 km²) of water (8.11%).

Ocean Grove (2010 Census population of 3,342) and Shark River Hills (2010 population of 3,697) are census-designated places and unincorporated communities located within Neptune Township. Other unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Bradley Park, the Gables, Green Grove, Hamilton, Hamilton Mills, Mid-Town, Summerfield, Seaview Island, The Observatory, West Grove, West Neptune, and Whitesville.

Neptune Township stretches from the Atlantic Ocean west to the Garden State Parkway (exit 100). The southern border is the Shark River estuary, and the northern border is with Asbury Park and Ocean Township. Neptune Township is a diverse community, both in terms of population and landscape, extending from the seaside community of Ocean Grove, a national historic site, to Mid-town which is undergoing a municipal-led revitalization, to the riverside residential community of Shark River Hills, to the open spaces of Shark River Park and the commercial corridor on Route 66 in the west.

The township borders the Monmouth County communities of Asbury Park, Avon-by-the-Sea, Belmar, Bradley Beach, Neptune City, Ocean Township, Tinton Falls, and Wall Township.

Deal Lake covers 158 acres (64 ha) and is overseen by the Deal Lake Commission, which was established in 1974. Seven municipalities border the lake, accounting for 27 miles (43 km) of shoreline, also including Allenhurst, Asbury Park, Deal, Interlaken, Loch Arbour, and Ocean Township.

Demographics

The Shark River Hills neighborhood

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 27,935 people, 11,201 households, and 6,844 families in the township. The population density was 3,414.3 per square mile (1,318.3/km²). There were 12,991 housing units at an average density of 1,587.8 per square mile (613.1/km²). The racial makeup was 53.18% (14,855) White, 38.56% (10,772) Black or African American, 0.34% (94) Native American, 2.26% (632) Asian, 0.03% (9) Pacific Islander, 2.51% (701) from other races, and 3.12% (872) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.33% (2,607) of the population.

Of the 11,201 households, 23.6% had children under the age of 18; 39.6% were married couples living together; 16.6% had a female householder with no husband present and 38.9% were non-families. Of all households, 31.8% were made up of individuals and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.13.

20.6% of the population were under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 30.4% from 45 to 64, and 16.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.7 years. For every 100 females, the population had 87.2 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 83.5 males. The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $58,630 (with a margin of error of +/− $3,034) and the median family income was $74,422 (+/− $5,369). Males had a median income of $56,743 (+/− $4,233) versus $43,853 (+/− $3,118) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $30,656 (+/− $1,559). About 8.1% of families and 10.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.7% of those under age 18 and 6.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The Neptune Township Schools serve students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. The district is one of 31 former Abbott districts statewide that were established pursuant to the decision by the New Jersey Supreme Court in Abbott v. Burke which are now referred to as "SDA Districts" based on the requirement for the state to cover all costs for school building and renovation projects in these districts under the supervision of the New Jersey Schools Development Authority.

As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprised of eight schools, had an enrollment of 4,063 students and 372.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.9:1. Schools in the district (with 2018–19 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Early Childhood Center (228 students; in grade Pre-K), Gables School (269; Pre-K–5), Green Grove School (350; Pre-K–5), Midtown Community School (379; K–5), Shark River Hills School (264; Pre-K–5), Summerfield School (465; Pre-K–5), Neptune Middle School (721; 6–8) and Neptune High School (1,317; 9–12).

Historic district

Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
A statue of Ellwood H. Stokes and the Great Auditorium facing Ocean Pathway – once named one of the ten most beautiful streets in America
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Location	Bounded by Fletcher Lake, NJ Route 71, Lake Wesley, and the Atlantic Ocean
Area	220 acres (89 ha)
Architectural style	Bungalow/craftsman, Stick/eastlake, Queen Anne
NRHP reference No.	76001170
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	April 12, 1976

Ocean Grove is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) that is part of Neptune Township, in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It had a population of 3,057 at the 2020 United States census. Founded in 1869 by a group of Methodist clergymen, led by William B. Osborn and Ellwood H. Stokes, this historic community is located on the Atlantic Ocean's Jersey Shore, between Asbury Park to the north and Bradley Beach to the south. It was here where the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association was founded as a summer camp meeting site on the New Jersey shore. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Ocean Grove is noted for its abundant examples of Victorian architecture and the Great Auditorium, acclaimed as "the state's most wondrous wooden structure, soaring and sweeping, alive with the sound of music".

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  Ocean Grove Welcome Sign

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  Photograph of Ocean Grove from the early 20th century

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  Street scene of Ocean Grove from atop of the North End Hotel from the early 20th century

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  Modern Ocean Grove cityscape

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  Centennial Cottage, an example of Victorian architecture in this village

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  The Great Auditorium

Infrastructure

Transportation

Roads and highways

Route 18 northbound in Neptune Township

As of May 2010^[update], the township had a total of 129.27 miles (208.04 km) of roadways, of which 108.92 miles (175.29 km) were maintained by the municipality, 8.73 miles (14.05 km) by Monmouth County and 11.62 miles (18.70 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

Route 18, Route 33, Route 35, Route 66 and Route 71 are the main highways passing through the township.

The Garden State Parkway is west of the township, with the best access provided via exits 100 and 102. Interstate 195 is southwest of the township in neighboring Wall Township. The New Jersey Turnpike (Interstate 95) entrance for Exit 8 is about 25 miles west on Route 33 in East Windsor, Mercer County.

Public transportation

The township is served by NJ Transit trains at the Bradley Beach station. Commuter service on the North Jersey Coast Line to Newark Penn Station, Secaucus Junction, New York Penn Station and Hoboken Terminal.

NJ Transit bus service between the township and Philadelphia is available on the 317 route and local service is provided by the 830, 832 and 836 routes.

Healthcare

HOPE Tower at Jersey Shore University Medical Center

Jersey Shore University Medical Center (JSUMC) is a 691-bed non-profit, tertiary research and academic medical center located in Neptune Township. This major healthcare artery services the greater northern Jersey Shore region in Central Jersey. JSUMC is the shore region's only university-level academic medical center and is a major partner of the Hackensack Meridian Healthcare network (it is the system's second largest hospital). JSUMC is also affiliated with the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School of Rutgers University, and Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine. JSUMC is designated as a level II trauma center with a rooftop helipad handling medevac patients.

The medical complex also hosts the K. Hovnanian Children's Hospital, which treats infants, children, adolescents, and young adults up to the age of 21. JSUMC is a major teaching and tertiary care hospital that has a staff of 127 interns and residents, as it's a member of the Council of Teaching Hospitals and Health Systems.

Climate

Ecology

According to the A. W. Kuchler U.S. potential natural vegetation types, Neptune Township would have a dominant vegetation type of Appalachian Oak (104) with a dominant vegetation form of Eastern Hardwood Forest (25). The plant hardiness zone is 7a with an average annual extreme minimum air temperature of 3.6 °F (−15.8 °C).

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Neptune Township include:

See also

In Spanish: Municipio de Neptune para niños