Lakewood, NJ.

Lakewood is a city of 141,985 in Ocean County, and breakdowns here happen on county roads and in yards more often than on an interstate. That changes the job: there is usually somewhere safe to work, and the drive out to you is the part that takes the time.

Lakewood Township is the most populous township in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A rapidly growing community, as of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 135,158, its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 42,315 (+45.6%) from the 2010 census count of 92,843, which in turn reflected an increase of 32,491 (+53.8%) from the 60,352 counted in the 2000 census. The township ranked as the fifth-most-populous municipality in the state in 2020, after ranking seventh in 2010, and 22nd in 2000, placing the township only behind the state's four biggest cities. The sharp increase in population from 2000 to 2010 was led largely by increases in the township's Orthodox Jewish and Latino communities. Further growth in the Orthodox community led to a sharp increase in population in the 2020 census, with a large number of births leading to a significant drop in the township's median age. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the township's population was 141,985 in 2024, helping the fast-growing township surpass Elizabeth as the fourth-most-populous municipality in the state.

The trucks that cover Lakewood also run Ramtown, Leisure Village, Leisure Village East, and Cedar Glen West, out to about 7 miles at Pine Lake Park. So a call from the edge of Ocean County reaches the same people as one from the middle of town, and you are not handed off to a different dispatcher because of a county line.