Ocean City is a city in Cape May County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is the principal city of the Ocean City metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses all of Cape May County, and is part of the Philadelphia metropolitan area.New Jersey: 2020 Core Based Statistical Areas and Counties, United States Census Bureau. Accessed December 22, 2022. It is part of the South Jersey region of the state.
As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 11,229, a decrease of 472 (−4.0%) from the 2010 census count of 11,701, which in turn reflected a decline of 3,677 (−23.9%) from the 15,378 counted in the 2000 census.Table 7. Population for the Counties and Municipalities in New Jersey: 1990, 2000 and 2010, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, February 2011. Accessed May 1, 2023. In summer months, with an influx of tourists and second homeowners, there are estimated to be 115,000 to 130,000 within the city's borders.Lawlor, Julia. "Weekender | Ocean City, N.J." , The New York Times, May 7, 2004. Accessed January 17, 2012. "Population -- 15,378 year-round; about 115,000 in summer"Miller, Michael. "Ocean City Seeks New Ways to Surf at Beach" , The Press of Atlantic City, February 9, 2007. Accessed January 17, 2012. "Ocean City, with a year-round population of 15,500, swells to more than 130,000 in the summer."
Ocean City originated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on May 3, 1884, from portions of Upper Township, based on results from a referendum on April 30, 1884, and was reincorporated as a borough on March 31, 1890. Ocean City was incorporated as a city, its current government form, on March 25, 1897.Snyder, John P. The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 115. Accessed May 30, 2024.Honeyman, Abraham Van Doren. Index-analysis of the Statutes of New Jersey, 1896-1909: Together with References to All Acts, and Parts of Acts, in the 'General Statutes' and Pamphlet Laws Expressly Repealed: and the Statutory Crimes of New Jersey During the Same Period , p. 209. New Jersey Law Journal Publishing Company, 1910. Accessed September 12, 2015. The city is named for its location on the Atlantic Ocean.Hutchinson, Viola L. The Origin of New Jersey Place Names , New Jersey Public Library Commission, May 1945. Accessed September 13, 2015.Gannett, Henry. The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States, p. 228. United States Government Printing Office, 1905. Accessed September 13, 2015.
Known as a family-oriented seaside resort, Ocean City has not allowed the sale of alcoholic beverages within its limits since its founding in 1879,New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control. New Jersey ABC list of dry towns (May 1, 2013)Giordano, Rita. "More towns catching liquor-license buzz; Moorestown considers ending its dry spell" , The Philadelphia Inquirer, June 24, 2007. Accessed February 16, 2014. offering miles of guarded beaches, a boardwalk that stretches for , and a downtown shopping and dining district.Genovese, Peter. "Down the Shore 2011: South Jersey" , Inside Jersey / The Star-Ledger, May 2011. Accessed October 27, 2019. "For those who swear by Seaside, Ocean City's boardwalk will come as a shock. No boardwalk is better, or more relentlessly maintained; cups, straws and fast-food wrappers are quickly snatched up by cleanup crews.If you're looking for a good time in 'America's Greatest Family Resort,' it'll have to be alcohol-free. Ocean City is a dry town, which means no liquor stores and no bringing wine or beer to a restaurant." The city earned $5.9 million in revenue from beach tags in 2025, the highest of any municipality in the state.
Travel Channel rated Ocean City as the Best Family Beach of 2005.Best Family Beach of 2005 , Travel Channel, March 2005. It was ranked the third-best beach in New Jersey in the 2008 Top 10 Beaches Contest sponsored by the New Jersey Marine Sciences Consortium.Urgo, Jacqueline L. "Sandy laurels for South Jersey; Seven of the Top 10 N.J. beaches are in Cape May County" , The Philadelphia Inquirer, May 23, 2008. Accessed September 13, 2015. "Neighboring Wildwood Crest came in second, followed by Ocean City, North Wildwood, Cape May, Asbury Park in Monmouth County, Avalon, Point Pleasant Beach in northern Ocean County, Beach Haven in southern Ocean County and Stone Harbor." In the 2009 Top 10 Beaches Contest sponsored by NJ.com, Ocean City ranked first.Spoto, MaryAnn. "Ocean City wins No. 1 beach in New Jersey for '09" , NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, May 19, 2009. Accessed September 13, 2015. "The town is dry and charges beach fees, but Ocean City had enough quaint charm to knock its rowdier neighbor Wildwood out of the top spot of best beach in the state this year."
History Before Ocean City was established, local Native Americans set up camps on the island for fishing in the summer months.A Brief History of Ocean City New Jersey , Ocean City, New Jersey. Accessed December 23, 2017. In 1633, Dutch navigator David Pietersz. de Vries referred to "flat sand beaches with low hills between Cape May and Egg Harbor", possibly the earliest reference to the island that became Ocean City. In 1695, Thomas Budd surveyed the land on behalf of the West Jersey Society.
Originally purchased by the Somers family, the island was named Peck's Beach, believed to have been given the name for a whaler named John Peck.Staff. "Ocean City's Birthday / The Perfect Gift", The Press of Atlantic City, September 10, 2009. Accessed March 2, 2025, via Newspapers.com. Around 1700, Peck began using the barrier island as a base of operation and storage place for freshly caught whales. The island was also used as a cattle-grazing area, and mainlanders would boat over for a picnic or to hunt.History of Ocean City , OceanCityVacation.com. Accessed April 7, 2015.
The first record of a house on Peck's Beach was in 1752. During the 18th century, cattle grazers brought cows to the island, where plentiful trees, weeds, brush, and seagrass provided suitable conditions. Parker Miller was the first permanent resident of Peck's Beach in 1859.
On September 10, 1879, four Methodist ministers—Ezra B. Lake, James Lake, S. Wesley Lake, and William Burrell—chose the island as a suitable spot to establish a Christian retreat and camp meeting on the order of Ocean Grove. They met under a tall cedar tree, which stands today in the lobby of the Ocean City Tabernacle. Having chosen the name Ocean City, the founders incorporated the Ocean City Association and laid out streets and lots for cottages, hotels, and businesses. The Ocean City Tabernacle was built between Wesley and Asbury Avenues and between 5th and 6th Streets. Camp meetings were held by the following summer and continue uninterrupted to this day.History , Ocean City Tabernacle. Accessed June 22, 2017.
In 1881, the first school on the island opened. The first bridge to the island was built in 1883, and the West Jersey Railroad opened in 1884. Based on a referendum on April 30, 1884, the borough of Ocean City was formed from portions of Upper Township, following an act of the New Jersey Legislature on May 3, 1884.
The ship Sindia joined other shipwrecks on the beach on December 15, 1901, on its way to New York City from Kobe, Japan, but has since sunk below the sand. A salvage attempt to retrieve treasures believed to have been on the ship was most recently launched in the 1970s, all of which have been unsuccessful.The Sindia: The Mystery Continues , The Sindia. Accessed June 4, 2007. In 1920, the Chamber of Commerce adopted the slogan "America's Greatest Family Resort".Longo, Brandon. "SummerFest: Ocean City Is All About Families" , KYW-TV, July 21, 2017. Accessed December 19, 2017. "'The motto of the town since 1920 has been, "America's Greatest Family Resort,"' says Fred Miller, author and Ocean City historian."Miller, Fred; and Miller, Susan. Legendary Locals of Ocean City, p. 7. Arcadia Publishing, 2012. . Accessed December 19, 2017. "In 1920, the Ocean City Chamber of Commerce adopted the slogan 'America's Greatest Family Resort.' and that is the city's motto today."
In 1927, a large fire broke out and caused $1.5 million in damage (equivalent to $ million in ). This led the city to move the boardwalk closer to the ocean, which resulted in a greater potential for damage from saltwater.Johnston, David. "In Ocean City, The Expensive Legacy Of A Fire" , The Philadelphia Inquirer, August 12, 1991. Accessed September 13, 2015. "The popular Music Pier needs those renovations because of the city fathers' action after the 1927 inferno. They used the fire as an excuse to move the boardwalk much closer to the ocean. That, in turn, led the Music Pier to be built over the water - making it much more susceptible to the damaging effects of saltwater."
Alcohol prohibition As a result of its religious origins, the sale or public drinking of alcoholic beverages in Ocean City was prohibited.History of Ocean City , Ocean City Chamber of Commerce. Accessed September 13, 2015. "Part of the original four's wish, that Ocean City remain a pure retreat that exemplified the Christian mindset, still remains today as strong as the cedar tree they first met under. Historically, Ocean City is a dry town—there is no public drinking anywhere on the island." In 1881, the Ocean City Association passed a set of blue laws, which were designed to enforce religious standards. The town banned the manufacturing or sale of alcohol in 1909.
Promoting water instead of drinking alcohol, the Woman's Christian Temperance Union donated a public fountain, dedicated on Memorial Day in 1915.Lowe, Claire. "Temperance fountain rededicated in front of City Hall" , The Gazette of Ocean City, May 27, 2015. Accessed December 23, 2017. "Steelman was on the corner of Ninth Street and Central Avenue Monday, May 25 for the rededication of the Women's Christian Temperance Union water fountain outside of City Hall. This year marks a century since Mayor Joseph G. Champion dedicated the fountain on Memorial Day 1915." Despite the prohibition of alcohol within the municipality, illegal saloons operated within Ocean City, and in 1929, prosecutors raided 27 speakeasies.Miller, Michael. "Ocean City's BYOB debate brings city's history with alcohol to forefront" , The Press of Atlantic City, July 24, 2011. Accessed October 27, 2019.