Various sources list the eponym of the township as either English captain William Tom, or farmer and ferryman Thomas Luker. Much of the early history of the settlement of Toms River is obscured by conflicting stories. In 2007, Toms River was again ranked as the 14th-safest city in the United States of 371 cities nationwide. In 2006, Toms River was ranked by Morgan Quitno Press as the 15th safest city in the United States, of 369 cities nationwide. The township has what is said to be the second-largest Halloween parade in the world. In 1998, Toms River East Little League won the Little League World Series.

Toms River is featured in various TV and news media, including MTV's Made and Jersey Shore (seasons 1, 3, and 5), HBO's Boardwalk Empire, and the original The Amityville Horror movie. The township is a bedroom suburb of New York City in the New York metropolitan area, and a regional commercial hub in central New Jersey.Īs of the 2020 United States census, the township was the state's eighth-most-populous municipality, with a population of 95,438, its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 4,199 (+4.6%) from the 2010 census count of 91,239, which had in turn reflected an increase of 1,533 (+1.7%) from the 89,706 counted in the 2000 census.

Formerly known as the Township of Dover, voters in a 2006 referendum approved a change of the official name to the Township of Toms River, adopting the name of the largest unincorporated community within the township. Its mainland portion is also a census-designated place of the same name, which serves as the county seat of Ocean County. Toms River is a township located on the Jersey Shore in Ocean County, in the U.S.

Brick township tax records