Ocean County is a county located along the Jersey Shore in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey, along the Atlantic Ocean. Its county seat is Toms River. Since 1990, Ocean County has been one of New Jersey's fastest-growing counties. As of the 2020 United States Census, the county's population was enumerated at 637,229, a 10.5% increase from the 576,567 counted in the 2010 U.S. Census, making Ocean the state's sixth-most populous county. The 2010 population figure represented an increase of 65,651 (+12.8%) from the 2000 Census population of 510,916, as Ocean surpassed Union County to become the sixth-most populous county in the state. Ocean County was also the fastest growing county in New Jersey between 2000 and 2010 in terms of increase in the number of residents and