Ocean City Upends Wildwood as NJ’s Best Beach

The bottom of the Garden State's beachfront is still tops with voters in this year's New Jersey Top 10 Beaches poll - but there's a new lead dog on the sled.

Ocean City outdistanced perennial frontrunner the Wildwoods in the survey done by the New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium (NJSGC). Wildwood, Wildwood Crest and North Wildwood grabbed third through fourth spots and Cape May placed fifth.

Rounding out the Top 10, in order, are Belmar, Stone Harbor, Asbury Park, Sea Isle City, and Island Beach State Park.

Results were disclosed Thursday afternoon in Asbury Park.

NJSGC conducts the survey annually with cooperation from Stockton University. The impact of changes in voting criteria and procedures on results has yet to be determined.

Participants were instructed to vote by community instead of regions. Environment and use of natural resources were given increased weight alongside amenities and access, family friendliness, ecotourism and day trip value.