Toms River is 8th largest city in New Jersey and moving up the list quickly

TOMS RIVER, NJ – Toms River residents are facing another growth spurt that could soon move the growing city up a notch in the next few years. Yes, let’s face it, Toms River is a city. It ranks 8th in population in the entire state behind cities like Newark, Paterson, Jersey City and Lakewood.

Lakewood has been moving up the list too. It is now the 5th largest city in the state.

Toms River has a population of 95,000, but with multiple high-density apartment projects already under construction in the North Dover section and a proposed plan to add multiple hi-rise apartment buildings in the downtown village area, it is a city ready to have a massive growth spurt in the near future.

That proposed high-density, vertical redevelopment plan is championed by Toms River Mayor Maurice “Mo” Hill, ironically a native of Lakewood Township. Hill, a Lakewood High School graduate and football star for the Piners watched his hometown grow into a city before moving to Toms River. Now, he’s overseeing the rapid growth of Toms River from the driver’s seat.

A third growth area, the Route 37 West Corridor is also part of Hill’s plan for future growth. Under that plan Hill seeks to grow industrial and residential centers along Route 37 west of the Garden State Parkway. One of those projects is the controversial Ciba-Geigy superfund site that, if approved by the State of New Jersey could see more than a thousand new homes built on a 250-acre tract of land being reserved for developers.

Toms River has become a desirable relocation destination as neighboring Lakewood has essentially run out of land to build on. That growth in Lakewood is now flowing over to Toms River, Jackson, and to some degree, Brick Township, Manchester, and Howell Township.

Within five to ten years, between the two growth motivators, Toms River could become the 6th largest city in New Jersey.

Here are the top 10 cities in New Jersey by population.