Old Bridge Township, New Jersey

Old Bridge Township is a township in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located in the Raritan Valley Region and within the New York Metro Area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township was the state's 21st-most-populous municipality, with a population of 66,876, an increase of 1,501 (+2.3%) from the 2010 census count of 65,375, which in turn reflected an increase of 4,919 (+8.1%) from the 60,456 counted in the 2000 census. As of the 2010 Census, the township was ranked 18th in the state by population, after being the state's 21st most-populous municipality in 2000. The township is a bedroom suburb of New York City located across the Raritan Bay from Staten Island. It is about 25 miles (40 km) from New York City and about 30 miles (48 km) south of Newark.

What is now Old Bridge Township was originally incorporated as Madison Township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 2, 1869, from portions of South Amboy Township (now City of South Amboy). In a referendum held on November 5, 1975, voters approved changing the township's name to Old Bridge Township by a margin of 7,150 votes to 4,888. The township's name was changed to avoid confusion with the borough of Madison in Morris County. When the township was established, the area was made up primarily of farms and the population grew slowly. In 1880, the population was 1,662 and by 1950 it had reached 7,365. Over the next decade, a building boom started; as farms gave way to developments, the population tripled to 22,772 by 1960. The 1980 census cited 51,406 people. The township saw major changes with the extension of Route 18 to the shore.

The township was named as a contender for the title of one of the best places to live in the United States by Money magazine in both 2005 and 2007.

In 2016, SafeWise named Old Bridge Township as the sixth-safest city in America to raise a child; the township was the second-highest ranked of the 12 communities in New Jersey included on the list.