Where Have All the People Gone? Population Drops in 17 Ocean County Towns

Did more than half of Ocean County’s communities lose residents in the past decade, or have more property owners just declared tax-friendly states as their primary residences?

Ocean County’s freeholders are convinced the populations in Lavallette and Seaside Park have not dropped 30 percent, as reported in the 2010 census.

“We’re not sure if we lost them or they changed their address to Florida,’’ because of the tax benefits those who claim the Sunshine State as their primary residence receive, Freeholder Director Joseph H. Vicari said yesterday.

“Something is wrong someplace,’’ he said. Early census estimates of the population in the county’s 33 towns gave no warning that 17 of those communities would report population drops.

“They’re all in very expensive, waterfront areas,’’ he said. Those are places where out-of-state license plates are more numerous than those from New Jersey, like Long Beach Island, said Freeholder Gerry P. Little of Surf City.

People who own more than one home and pick their primary residence and consider the tax benefits, Vicari said.

“We’re going to look at it very closely,’’ said Planning Director David J. McKeon, pointing to high seasonal home ownership in most of the towns where the census counted fewer people.

“Brick was the biggest surprise,’’ Vicari said. The third largest town in the county had 1,047 fewer people last year than a decade ago, according to the census.

Point Pleasant Beach and Borough, Tuckerton, Long Beach Township, Seaside Heights and Park, Ocean Gate, Lavallette, Island Heights, Surf City, Beach Haven, Ship Bottom, Bay Head, Barnegat Light, Harvey Cedars, all had fewer people counted by the most recent census than the one in 2000.

Seventeen towns had more people, led by Lakewood, which resumed its place as the most populous town in the county by gaining 32,491 people, a 54 percent increase. Jackson added 12,040 people, a 28 percent hike, while Barnegat counted 5,666 more, up 37 percent.

Little is convinced the numbers are skewed by tax considerations that benefit property owners who declare states without taxes on retirement income as their primary residence.

“A lot of growth is not reflected in the numbers,’’ said Freeholder John P. Kelly of West Creek.

“Tax policy is driving people out of New Jersey,’’ charged Freeholder John C. Bartlett Jr. Little agreed, saying the loss of property tax rebates and other New Jersey tax advantages is having an impact.

“The state needs to take a look at this,’’ Vicari insisted.

Despite the drop in population in 17 towns, McKeon said the 12.8 percent population increase countywide was second only to Gloucester’s 13.2 percent gain among New Jersey’s 21 counties. The new count reported 576,567 people living in the county, compared with 510,916 a decade ago.