Ocean City is a somewhat small coastal city (ie. on the ocean or tidally-influenced rivers) located in the state of New Jersey. With a population of 15,378 people and two constituent neighborhoods, Ocean City is the 134th largest community in New Jersey.

Ocean City is a decidedly white-collar city, with fully 86.82% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Ocean City is a city of sales and office workers, professionals, and service providers. There are especially a lot of people living in Ocean City who work in sales jobs (17.24%), office and administrative support jobs (12.30%), and management occupations (10.69%).

Ocean City is a major vacation destination. Much of the city's population is seasonal: many people own second homes and only live there part-time, during the vacation season. The effect on the local economy is that many of the businesses are dependant on tourist dollars, and may operate only during the high season. As the vacation season ends, Ocean City's population drops significantly, such that year-round residents will notice that the city is a much quieter place to live.

Ocean City, while not large, also appears to be attractive to some younger, educated professionals, who help shape the character of the city.

In addition to being popular with young singles, Ocean City is also home to many people who can be described as "urban sophisticates." While both of these categories describe educated professionals, urban sophisticates are quite a different demographic. Urban sophisticates are people who are both educated and wealthy, and thus tend to be older, richer, and more established than young professionals. "Urban sophisticates" is not just about being educated and well-off financially: it is a point of view and state of mind, one that you might call 'urbaneness.' But such people can and do regularly live in small towns, suburbs and rural areas, as well as in big cities. They read, support the arts and high-end shops, and love travel.

The city is also nautical, which means that parts of Ocean City are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and tidal rivers. Quite often, nautical areas such as these attract visitors and locals who come to enjoy the scenery and various waterfront activities.

Although Ocean City is a relatively small city, quite a few people get to and from work by way of the bus, often traveling to the central city in the area.

Ocean City Information and Demographics

The education level of Ocean City citizens is very high relative to the national average among all cities (14.96%): 33.49% of adults in Ocean City have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree.

The per capita income in Ocean City in 2000 was $33,217, which is upper middle income relative to New Jersey, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $132,868 for a family of four.

The people who call Ocean City home come from a variety of different races and ancestries. The most prevalent race in Ocean City is White, followed by African-American. Important ancestries of people in Ocean City include Irish, Italian, German, English, Polish, and Scotch-Irish.

The most common language spoken in Ocean City is English.