Ocean Acres, New Jersey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ocean Acres, New Jersey
Census-designated place
Location of Ocean Acres in Ocean County highlighted in red (left). Inset map: Location of Ocean County in New Jersey highlighted in orange (right).
Ocean Acres, New Jersey Location in Ocean County, New Jersey Show map of Ocean County, New Jersey Ocean Acres, New Jersey Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey Ocean Acres, New Jersey Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Ocean
Township	Barnegat / Stafford
Area
• Total	5.96 sq mi (15.44 km2)
• Land	5.83 sq mi (15.09 km2)
• Water	0.14 sq mi (0.35 km2)  1.81%
Elevation	121 ft (37 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	18,185
• Density	3,121.35/sq mi (1,205.09/km2)
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
FIPS code	34-54315
GNIS feature ID	02389608

Ocean Acres is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) split between Barnegat Township and Stafford Township, in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the CDP's population was 16,142, of which 925 were in Barnegat Township and 15,217 were in Stafford Township. Ocean Acres is located in the northwestern end of Stafford Township and part of Barnegat Township, and is the newest and biggest part of both communities, with approximately 5,500 lots in an area of 6 square miles (16 km²).

History

Ocean Acres was started in the early 1960s, on a large tract west of the Garden State Parkway sprawling between Stafford Township and Barnegat Townships. Potential buyers were bused to the site and in its first year, 2,000 lots were sold. The original Ocean Acres development offered three home designs, two ranch styles and a bi-level design. The original models were located on New Jersey Route 72, west of the present site of the Southern Ocean Medical Center, all three are currently used as businesses.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, growth on the community was slow. Only a handful of the streets were paved, and most homes were used as summer homes. The community offered several recreation centers, such as a lakefront park near the Nautilus Drive entrance (it was eventually leveled to make way for an expanded lake), a second lakefront park with tennis and basketball courts off of Buccaneer Lane was created. This included a bathing beach and pool, and an 18-hole golf course. The pool has since been removed, but the bathing beach is still open to swimmers after being closed for several years throughout the 1990s. This lake also serves as a popular area for fishing and kayaking. While many original recreational centers original to Ocean Acres, many new parks and recreation centers owned by Stafford Township were built since the 1990s.

For years, a state-mandated moratorium on construction west of the Garden State Parkway had limited the 5,500-lot community to fewer than 800 homes. In the 1990s, when the moratorium was lifted and sewer lines were installed; development skyrocketed. Several area developers built nearly thousands of homes in the 1990s. Large areas of vacant land in Ocean Acres were even set aside for other individual subdivisions, such as The Oaks at Stafford development. The Ocean Acres Elementary School opened to grades K-2 in 1999.

Development in the Barnegat side of the development was restricted for years due to environmental concerns, development was jump-started in the 2000s starting with the completion of Nautilus Boulevard, which was formerly a "missing link". The Walters Group became the first developer to build in the Barnegat section, an early sales promotion for the Ocean Acres Barnegat homes included a free Toyota Yaris hatchback to be included with the homes.

In 2010, the Garden State Parkway exit 67 in Barnegat was redesigned to redirect the southbound exit ramp onto the Lighthouse Drive entrance to Ocean Acres. The opening of the exit and redesign of the interchange fueled growth of the Barnegat section starting in the 2010s, with a major shopping center under construction at the intersection.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP had a total area of 5.956 square miles (15.43 km²), including 5.848 square miles (15.15 km²) of land and 0.108 square miles (0.28 km²) of water (1.81%).

Demographics

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 16,142 people, 5,561 households, and 4,371 families in the CDP. The population density was 2,760.1 people per square mile (1,065.7 people/km²). There were 5,923 housing units at an average density of 1,012.8 units per square mile (391.0 units/km²). The racial makeup was 94.10% (15,190) White, 1.39% (224) Black or African American, 0.12% (20) Native American, 1.45% (234) Asian, 0.05% (8) Pacific Islander, 1.60% (258) from other races, and 1.29% (208) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.80% (936) of the population.

Of the 5,561 households, 38.7% had children under the age of 18; 64.4% were married couples living together; 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present and 21.4% were non-families. Of all households, 17.5% were made up of individuals and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.90 and the average family size was 3.30.

27.2% of the population were under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 26.1% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.2 years. For every 100 females, the population had 94.0 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 89.6 males.

See also

In Spanish: Ocean Acres para niños