When Superstorm Sandy struck the Garden State in 2012, both Monmouth and Ocean Counties sustained heavy damage.
Since then, the population of Monmouth has been trending downward, while the Ocean County population has continued to climb.
So what’s going on here?
According to Rutgers University economist James Hughes, Ocean County has been somewhat unique over the past few decades.
“It’s been the destination of a lot of retirees because of affordability and developers building a number of retirement communities,” Hughes said.