About one in seven people with a credit file in Ocean County, New Jersey, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Ocean County, 14.1% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is lower than in 84% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 55% of U.S. counties.
What drives Ocean County's score
In Ocean County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 96.3. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 14.8. The typical household earns $94,954 a year (2024), more than in 92% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Ocean County: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each part is scored from 0 to 100, and a higher score means worse off than other counties.
Even so, Ocean County is worse off than most counties on renters paying half their income or more in rent (30.6%, 2020 to 2024) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (28.9%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 96.4 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent30.6% · 2020 to 202497th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income28.9% · fiscal year 202794th percentile
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- 60.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202674th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.3% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
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- 36.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector14.1% · August 202515th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people144.3 · 202557th percentile
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- 26.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.6% · August 202534th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.4% · August 202522nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score32.4% · second quarter of 202620th percentile
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- 14.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.1% · 202415th percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.2% · 202423rd percentile
- People with a disability12.3% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
- People without health insurance4.1% · 2020 to 20249th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$94,954 · 20247th percentile
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Sources: Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and Census income; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. County Distress Index by American Default Research, from data through Sep 2026.
Where the money in Ocean County comes from
Benefit checks are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid paid on people's behalf, veterans' benefits, and food and income support, so a high share usually means an older population, low pay, or both. In Ocean County, 22.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Ocean County
New Jersey
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Ocean County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 24.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Ocean County, New Jersey, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 24.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Ocean County getting SNAP food aid rose most in two steps: 3.7% in 2010 to 4.8% in 2011; 5.8% in 2012 to 6.9% in 2013.
The share of households in Ocean County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 2.9% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Ocean County, New Jersey.
How Ocean County has changed
Ocean County's population had its largest rise, from 199,210 in 1969 to 282,057 in 1974.
Ocean County's population more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 666,434, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2009 to 2014, reaching 594,892. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Ocean County, New Jersey.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Ocean County nearly doubled to 192,715, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 192,715. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Ocean County, New Jersey.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.1% | 2025 5.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 6.4% | 2024 9.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $29,162 | 2024 $94,954 |
The table uses 5.3% for 2025; the score uses 4.6% for the latest year (Oct 2025 to Sep 2026), both from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Ocean County's history
1998
Lightning in May 1998 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
A rip current in July 2000 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 637,229, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2021
Lightning in August 2021 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2025
Lightning in July 2025 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
30 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Ocean County, 7 of them for flooding. FEMA
Ocean County beside its neighbors
Of the three counties that border Ocean County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Ocean County ranks 2nd of the four; Atlantic County is highest, at 25.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic County, NJ | 77 | 11.1% | 25.0% |
| Ocean County, NJ | 44 | 9.1% | 24.4% |
| Burlington County, NJ | 34 | 5.5% | 17.0% |
| Monmouth County, NJ | 23 | 6.9% | 13.3% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Sep 2026; each county scored against all 3,144. Poverty rate: Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024. Benefit checks: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. Neighbors share a border, from Census county maps.
Is Ocean County the poorest county in New Jersey?
No, Ocean County's poverty rate was 9.1% in 2024, 11th highest of 21 in New Jersey (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Hudson County, at 14.7%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Ocean County ranks 10th of 21 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Ocean County
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes free foreclosure-avoidance counseling, including help with mortgage-company conversations and available options Source CFPB.
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Ocean, Inc. (ocean Community Economic Action Now, Inc.)
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Legal Services of New Jersey
Legal aid
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New Jersey county bar lawyer referral services (NJSBA list)
Lawyer referral
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Our help directory lists 1,010 agencies approved for foreclosure counseling, by state.
The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026, built from Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it. Our methodology
- Urban Institute · Debt in America Breno Braga, Signe-Mary McKernan, Samantha Atherton, and Kassandra Martinchek, "Debt in America," last updated November 20, 2025, https://datacatalog.urban.org/dataset/debt-america-2025. Licensed under ODC-By 1.0.
- Rent on a two-bedroom and household income The rent share compares HUD fair market rent for fiscal year 2027 with Census Bureau median household income for 2024. The page calls this the typical household's income.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Ocean County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.