Lakewood Township’s population has grown to 143,765 residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025 estimates released Thursday — a jump of more than 6% since the 2020 Census and enough to keep the Ocean County township firmly in fourth place among New Jersey’s most populous municipalities.

The figures place Lakewood behind only Newark (323,808), Jersey City (302,013), and Paterson (161,793) in the state’s population rankings.

The continued growth cements Lakewood’s standing ahead of Elizabeth, which the township surpassed in previous estimates and has held off since. The new data suggests that gap is not narrowing.

Lakewood has been one of the fastest-growing communities in New Jersey for years, driven in large part by its expanding Orthodox Jewish population. The township’s growth trajectory has brought both economic development and pressure on local infrastructure, housing, and municipal services.

The Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025 estimates are based on demographic modeling using birth, death, and migration data since the 2020 decennial count.