Ocean County, NJ Political Map | Democrat & Republican Areas in Ocean County

By the BestNeighborhood data science team. Last updated May 2026.

Ocean County leans heavily Republican by roughly 38 points: about 31% of voters vote Democratic and 69% Republican.

 

About 80% of adults in Ocean County typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Ocean County, ~25% vote Democratic, ~55% Republican, and ~20% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.

How Ocean County compares

Among counties within 50 miles, Ocean County is the most Republican-leaning.

Ocean County runs about 44 points more Republican than New Jersey as a whole. New Jersey leans Democratic overall, while Ocean County is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.

Politics vary noticeably by city within Ocean County. The north side is the most Republican-leaning (R+68) and the west side is the least Republican-leaning (R+22), a spread of about 46 points.

Why Ocean County leans the way it does

This analysis examined 14,881 data points per county to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Ocean County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.

Ocean County votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 69%, modestly above the New Jersey average of 61%). State and regional patterns outweigh the Democratic lean that density usually predicts here. A high family-household share predicts Republican voting, and about 71% of households in Ocean County are family households, above 85% of counties. Ocean County runs against the grain of New Jersey, a Republican-leaning pocket in a Democratic-leaning state.

Walkability and Democratic lean

Places with a highly walkable street grid tend to lean Democratic; Ocean County, NJ sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure. A walkable street grid does not change how people vote; it mostly reflects how urban a place is.

Why turnout in Ocean County looks the way it does

Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Ocean County is in the top quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. The dental-visit rate here is about 66%, about 6 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.

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Sources and methodology

Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from New Jersey Division of Elections, distributed by the Voting and Election Science Team. Demographic inputs come from the U.S. Census Bureau (ACS 5-year estimates and the 2020 Decennial Census). Health and environmental inputs come from the CDC (PLACES and the Environmental Justice Index). Land cover comes from the USGS and EPA. Election-day and lead-up weather come from PRISM 4km daily grids and the NOAA Global Historical Climatology Network. Mail-voting and election-administration patterns come from the MIT Election Lab's Survey of the Performance of American Elections. Block-group crime detail comes from CrimeGrade. Internet data and modeling support provided by ISPreports.org.

Modeling and analysis by the BestNeighborhood data science team. Full methodology and findings: political spectrum map.

Methodology reviewed by the BestNeighborhood data team. Last updated May 2026.