Bay Head, New Jersey
Bay Head is a borough situated on the Jersey Shore in northern Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 930, a decrease of 38 (−3.9%) from the 2010 census count of 968, which in turn reflected a decline of 270 (−21.8%) from the 1,238 counted in the 2000 census. Bay Head is situated on the Barnegat Peninsula, also known as Barnegat Bay Island, a long, narrow barrier island that separates Barnegat Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. Together with Mantoloking, Bay Head is considered part of the Jersey Shore's "Gold Coast".
Bay Head, New Jersey | |
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Sunrise at Bay Head Beach | |
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Seal | |
Location of Bay Head in Ocean County highlighted in red (right). Inset map: Location of Ocean County in New Jersey highlighted in orange (left). | |
Census Bureau map of Bay Head, New Jersey | |
| Coordinates: 40.070315°N 74.048162°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New Jersey |
| County | Ocean |
| Incorporated | June 15, 1886 |
| Named for | Bayhead Land Company / location on Barnegat Bay |
| Government | |
| • Type | Borough |
| • Body | Borough Council |
| • Mayor | William W. Curtis (R, term ends December 31, 2023) |
| • Administrator | Frank Pannucci Jr. |
| • Municipal clerk | Patricia M. Applegate |
| Area | |
| • Total | 0.71 sq mi (1.83 km2) |
| • Land | 0.58 sq mi (1.52 km2) |
| • Water | 0.12 sq mi (0.32 km2) 17.32% |
| • Rank | 529th of 565 in state 30th of 33 in county |
| Elevation | 3 ft (0.9 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
| • Total | 930 |
| • Estimate (2022) | 956 |
| • Rank | 534th of 565 in state 30th of 33 in county |
| • Density | 1,588.4/sq mi (613.3/km2) |
| • Rank | 331st of 565 in state 16th of 33 in county |
| Time zone | UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT)) |
| ZIP Code | 08742 |
| Area code(s) | 732 |
| FIPS code | 3402903520 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0885150 |
| Website | www |
Bay Head was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on June 15, 1886, from portions of Brick Township, based on the results of a referendum held three days earlier.
The community was supposed to have been named "Bayhead" after the Bayhead Land Company that developed the area in the 1870s. A railroad sign posted in the 1880s labeled the station as "Bay Head," and the name stuck when the borough was incorporated in 1886. The name also comes from the town's location, which is at the "head" of Barnegat Bay.