Stafford Township is a township in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population increased to 26,535, reflecting an increase of 4,003 (+17.8%) from the 22,532 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 9,207 (+69.1%) from the 13,325 counted in the 1990 Census. The 2010 population was the highest level ever recorded in a decennial census for Stafford Township.

Stafford Township is the gateway to the resort communities on Long Beach Island, with Route 72 providing the sole road access, ending in Ship Bottom as it crosses Barnegat Bay via the Manahawkin Bay Bridge (formally known as the Dorland J. Henderson Memorial Bridge). The Garden State Parkway and U.S. Route 9 pass through the township and provide access to Route 72.

Stafford Township was mostly a rural area, aside from the bustling downtown of Manahawkin. Early growth in the township started in the 1950s, starting with the construction of large resort communities of Beach Haven West and Ocean Acres, which were built around the same time as the completion of the Garden State Parkway and the expansion of Route 72, the latter which formerly ran along the two-lane Bay Avenue.

While growing quickly, development was still sparse. Route 72 was still mostly wooded, aside from several car dealerships, gas stations, a drive-in movie theater, and the Manahawkin Executive Airport. Most of the growth started in the 1980s, when several new developments were constructed, such as Colony Lakes and the expansion of Beach Haven West, and Ocean Acres, which strayed from being a community of summer homes into a booming development of Single-family homes. Stafford Square was the first major shopping center to open on Route 72, anchored by ShopRite and a Caldor (which is currently a Lowe’s). Manahawkin Airport was closed in the early 1990s to make way for a Walmart and PathMark. However, part of the runway was still left intact until the 2000s, when the St. Mary’s of the Pines Catholic Church and All Saints Regional Catholic School were built on the land.

In the 2000s, many big box stores, such as Home Depot, BJ’s Wholesale Club, Bed Bath & Beyond and the Manahawkin Commons Power Center opened. To alleviate the traffic on Route 72, a four-lane bypass road known as McKinley Avenue was built in 2001, backing up to the many shopping centers. In 2007, construction started on Stafford Park, a mixed-use development west of the Parkway Exit 63. The first phase opened in 2008 includes a Target, Costco, Best Buy, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and PetSmart. The second phase included construction of LEED-certified apartments, and future plans in place for the development include a Lifestyle center and an age-restricted community.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 54.882 square miles (142.142 km²), including 45.849 square miles (118.747 km²) of land and 9.033 square miles (23.395 km²) of water (16.46%).

Beach Haven West (2010 Census population of 3,896) and Manahawkin (2,303) are unincorporated communities and census-designated places contained within Stafford Township, while Ocean Acres (16,142) is a census-designated place and unincorporated area split between Barnegat Township and Stafford Township.

Other unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Bayside, Beach View, Bonnet Island, Cedar Bonnet, Cedar Grove, Cedar Run, Manahawkin Landing, Mayetta, South Beach View and Sunshine City. Warren Grove is an unincorporated rural area located within the township as well as portions of Barnegat Township and Little Egg Harbor Township in the heart of the Pine Barrens.

The township borders the Ocean County municipalities of Barnegat Township, Eagleswood Township, Harvey Cedars, Little Egg Harbor Township, Long Beach Township, Ship Bottom and Surf City.

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 26,535 people, 10,096 households, and 7,249 families residing in the township. The population density was 578.8 per square mile (223.5/km²). There were 13,604 housing units at an average density of 296.7 per square mile (114.6/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 94.51% (25,077) White, 1.05% (278) Black or African American, 0.16% (42) Native American, 1.48% (394) Asian, 0.03% (8) Pacific Islander, 1.68% (445) from other races, and 1.10% (291) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.31% (1,410) of the population.

Source: Wikipedia