Monmouth County, New Jersey

Monmouth County is a located in the  of, within the. As of the, the population is 615,301. Its is. Monmouth County ranks 42nd among the with a per capita income of $31,149. The most populous municipality is, with 66,327 residents at the time of the 2000 Census. It is the northernmost county on the.

In recent years, due in large part to the county's position on the and its location within commuting distance of, the population and cost of living have been skyrocketing. In its 2006 ranking of the Most Expensive ZIP Codes in the United States, Monmouth County was represented by (96),  (131),  (138),  (157),  (309) and  (316).

Towns such as Rumson (#7), Sea Girt (#14) and (#19) are among the.

 magazine has frequently named the Monmouth- County area one of the 10 best areas to live in the country.

The county contains only two incorporated, and. Long Branch is more populated, but Asbury Park possesses a population density nearly twice that of Long Branch, and as such is decidedly more urban. Despite its name, is incorporated as a, as are  and , despite a fairly urban character.

History
Monmouth County was established in 1675. Its name came from a suggestion from. He suggested it be named after,. In the first county government was established. At the, , near Freehold,  's  defeated the British under Sir , in the largest battle of the.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,723 (665 ). 1,222 km² (472 sq mi) of it is land and 500 km² (193 sq mi) of it (29.04%) is water.

Much of Monmouth County remains flat and low-lying even far inland. However, there are some low hills in and around, and one of them, , the former site of a radar facility, is the county's highest point at at least 380 feet (116 m) above sea level. The top portion of the hill is owned by and houses a research laboratory of.

The northeastern portion of the county, in the Locust neighborhood of and the boroughs of  and, are also very hilly. The lowest point is sea level.

Along with adjacent, Monmouth County is a mecca of boating and fishing. Its waterways include several rivers and bays that flow into and the. The Manasquan Inlet is located in the county, which connects the Atlantic Ocean with the estuary of the, a bay-like body of saltwater that serves as the starting point of the.

Adjacent Counties

 * - north
 * - south
 * - southwest
 * - west
 * - northeast
 * -north

Monmouth County also shares a border with the  of. This border is shared through the, which is the area of the which turns into  west of.

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 615,301 people, 224,236 households, and 160,328 families residing in the county. The was 503/km² (1,304/sq mi). There were 240,884 housing units at an average density of 197/km² (510/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 84.39%, 8.06% or , 0.14% , 3.97% , 0.02% , 1.74% from , and 1.68% from two or more races. 6.20% of the population were or  of any race. 22.6% were of, 17.7% , 8.7% and 5.4%  ancestry according to.

There were 224,236 households out of which 35.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.20% were living together, 10.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.50% were non-families. 23.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.24.

In the county the population was spread out with 26.10% under the age of 18, 6.90% from 18 to 24, 30.40% from 25 to 44, 24.10% from 45 to 64, and 12.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 94.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $64,271, and the median income for a family was $76,823. Males had a median income of $55,030 versus $35,415 for females. The for the county was $31,149. About 4.50% of families and 6.30% of the population were below the, including 7.50% of those under age 18 and 7.00% of those age 65 or over.

Monmouth County is home to a large Irish-American population, with 141,515 residents (23% of the county's population) listed themselves as being of Irish ancestry in the 2000 Census. Among U.s. municipalities with 1,000 or more residents identifying their ancestry, Monmouth had three of the top 10 highest percentage of residents of Irish ancestry: (ranked 1st, at 39.4%), (#3 at 36.5%) and  (in the 9th spot, at 34.1%).

Government
Monmouth County is governed by a five-member, who are elected at-large for three year terms. Each January, the freeholders select one of their members to serve as the director of the board for the year to preside over the meetings and activities of the board. Monmouth County's Freeholders have both administrative and policy making powers.

The s oversee the five mandatory functions of county government delegated to it by the state. Each freeholder is assigned responsibility for one of the five functional areas: Administration and Special Services; Public Works and Engineering; Human Services, Health and Transportation; Finance and Administration of Justice. In total, the Board is responsible for supervising more than 70 county departments.

Monmouth County's Freeholders are:
 * Director William C. Barham
 * Deputy Director Lillian G. Burry
 * Robert D. Clifton
 * Anna C. Little
 * Barbara McMorrow

Politics
Monmouth County has trended in favor of the Republican party for quite some time. Most recently President George W. Bush in the 2004 election, carried Monmouth County with 54.6% of the vote, and in the 2006 Senate election, State Senator Tom Kean Jr. also carried Monmouth, by a similar margin of 52.63% of the vote. The Republican Party currently holds 4 of 5 Freeholder seats, however it is the first time in 20 years that a Democrat has won a seat on the board, as Barbara McMorrow of Freehold Township won a close race in November of 2006 with 51% of the vote.

Education
is the two-year for Monmouth County, one of a network of 19 county colleges statewide. The school is in and was founded in 1967. is a four-year private university located in West Long Branch.

In addition to multiple, there are many secular and non-secular private schools in Monmouth County such as , , , , and.

is a magnet which requires an application and selective acceptance. High Tech is one of the top-rated schools in the entire country, with the highest SAT scores in all of New Jersey.