Ocean City is a somewhat small coastal town (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Maryland. With a population of 6,915 people and four associated neighborhoods, Ocean City is the 99th largest community in Maryland.Ocean City is a decidedly white-collar town, with fully 87.99% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Ocean City is a town of service providers, managers, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Ocean City who work in food service (16.84%), management occupations (12.81%), and office and administrative support (11.19%). One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 16.46% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes. Another notable thing is that Ocean City is a major vacation destination. Much of the town’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 dependent 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. One of the nice things about Ocean City is that it is nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Because of this, visitors and locals will often go to these areas to take in the scenery or to enjoy waterfront activities. Even though Ocean City is a smaller town, it has many people who hop on public transportation – mostly the bus for their daily commute to work. Typically, these people are commuting to good jobs in the surrounding cities.The citizens of Ocean City are very well educated compared to the average community in the nation: 38.76% of adults in Ocean City have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree. The per capita income in Ocean City in 2022 was $59,876, which is wealthy relative to Maryland and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $239,504 for a family of four. However, Ocean City contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Ocean City is a somewhat ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Ocean City home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Ocean City residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Ocean City include German, Irish, English, Italian, and Polish. The most common language spoken in Ocean City is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Greek.
