Monmouth population now exceeds 659,000
The Monmouth County Planning Board has released the county's 2008 population information, which estimates 659,353 people now live in Monmouth County.

This represents a total resident population increase of 0.56 percent in 2007 and an overall increase of 7.2 percent, since the 2000 U.S. census.

"Monmouth County continues to be a preferred location to live and work," said Monmouth County Freeholder Director Lillian G. Burry. "Monmouth is a very desirable place to live. Our landscape is quite green thanks to our active open space and farmland preservation programs, and county services offer an array of support and assistance to residents and municipalities alike."

Freeholder John D'Amico Jr. said, "The findings of the survey indicate that the county's population continues at a manageable growth rate. Since 2000, Monmouth County has averaged less than 1 percent a year in growth, and in the 1990s the average annual growth rate was 1.1 percent."

Ten municipalities (Manalapan, Marlboro, Freehold Township, Howell, Tinton Falls, Upper Freehold Township, Long Branch, Middletown, Ocean and Wall) account for 77 percent of the population increase over the past eight years, according to a press release.

The estimates are based on a survey of municipal occupancy certificates conducted by the staff of the Monmouth County Planning Department.

The survey asked municipal building inspectors for information regarding certificates of occupancy for new residential construction, conversions of seasonal housing to year-round housing, and demolitions of existing housing in their respective municipality for the preceding year.

The change in the number of occupied year-round homes in conjunction with the average household size for each municipality provides a basis to estimate population changes between censuses of population surveys, according to the press release.

This survey and the resulting population estimates are made each January. These estimates serve as the official population estimates for the county. The last national census was conducted in 2000 and the next census will be conducted in 2010. Detailed information about the 2008 population estimates is available at www.monmouthplanning. com.