Toms River is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within and constituting the mainland portion of Toms River Township, in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the CDP's population was 92,830, its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 4,039 (+4.5%) from the 88,791 recorded at the 2010 census, which in turn reflected an increase of 2,464 (+2.9%) from the 86,327 counted in the 2000 census. The Toms River CDP is the county seat of Ocean County. The area is named for Toms River, whose estuary flows through the community and empties into Barnegat Bay.

Toms River is a township located on the Jersey Shore in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its mainland portion is also a census-designated place of the same name, which serves as the county seat of Ocean County. 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. 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.