Lakewood still grows at fastest rate in NJ
10,500 babies born to township in two years
LAKEWOOD – More than 10,500 babies have been born to township parents in two years, by far the most in New Jersey and about 3,000 more than Newark, the state’s largest city, according to newly released data.
Observers cite Lakewood’s growing population, which is estimated at 155,000, along with the large number of Orthodox families who typically have twice as many children as non-Orthodox.
“The logical explanation is the religious values of the community,” said James W. Hughes, a professor of urban planning and policy development at Rutgers University.
“It looks to encourage a lot of children, producing a lot of children. It is still way above the state.”
The New Jersey Department of Health released data last week for births in 2022, the most recent year available.
It found that 5,264 babies were born to parents in Lakewood, at least 1,394 more than Newark, which has about twice as many people at 307,220, according to the state.
It marked the second straight year that Lakewood surpassed 5,000 babies, having produced 5,261 in 2021. No other community has come close.
“We cherish children, we love them,” said Rabbi Moshe Zev Weisberg, a Lakewood Orthodox leader. “Generally, a healthy family and a healthy environment are important. If the parents are up to it, it is a beautiful gift. Sometimes couples go through extraordinary lengths for fertility. It is such a treasured value in Judaism, it is set up for real support.”
Lakewood’s overall population has grown more than any other New Jersey community in recent years, from 92,843 in 2010 to 135,138 in 2020, according to the U.S. Census.
The Census also indicates that more than half of the township’s population is under 18 years of age, much higher than the state average of 21%.
Much of the population increase is from the Orthodox community, due in large part to Beth Medrash Govoha, the largest Yeshiva in the United States, which is based in Lakewood and draws thousands of students annually.
“You have couples that have very large families and they like to stay here,” said Mayor Ray Coles. “Lakewood has everything that an observant Jewish person could want.”
But he also admits Lakewood’s growing population, either from new babies or new residents moving into town from elsewhere, brings new issues.
Among those is the need for more schools for Orthodox children, who primarily attend private schools. While that does not impact the township’s public schools, the nonpublic growth has sparked a flurry of new school construction that will only increase along with the birth rate.
“That is our main issue,” Coles said. “Now that Jackson has started to allow private orthodox schools to open up that will take a lot of the burden off of our town.”
But it’s already adding to the burden of Jackson, Toms River and Howell, neighboring communities that are seeing more school and housing construction, observers say.
“The various municipalities impacted by this are going to be facing many issues,” Hughes said. “School expansion assuming they are at a capacity.”
An Asbury Park Press review of new home building found that Lakewood still leads all Shore communities with new home construction permits, but with fewer in 2023 than 2022.
Coles expects less housing construction of new sites in the future and more expansion of existing homes in Lakewood. “I don’t believe you will see a lot of new large-scale development,” Coles said. “What you are seeing is a lot of redevelopment of existing neighborhoods where a single family home of 1600 square feet is taken down and the houses going up are probably 3,000 to 5,000 square feet.”
Weisberg, who has three children, said the larger families are due also to the younger ages that most Orthodox couples marry.
“In the Yeshiva community girls start at 19 or 20, in the Hasidic community it is younger,” he said. “It is about a 4.1 average for children in the Yeshiva community. A couple that has been married for a while, 10 years or so, it might be a little higher.”
A 2015 Pew Research Center study found that Orthodox Jews marry younger and bear at least twice as many children as other Jews.
“And they are especially likely to have large families,” the study said. “Among those who have had children, nearly half (48%) of Orthodox Jews have four or more offspring, while just 9% of other Jewish parents have families of that size.”
While birth control and abortion are generally opposed in Orthodox culture, Weisberg stressed that each case is different and exceptions are accepted.
“There are challenges, emotional challenges or physical challenges that make birth control encouraged and the rabbi is part of the conversation,” Weisberg said. “
Most couples have rabbis they look up to and if a rabbi deems that you are headed for divorce or have a problem it is not encouraged to have a child. It is in the minority, it is when the condition is a problem, medical or emotional stress.” He said it is the same for abortion. “In cases of a danger to the mother, medical or emotional, it is permitted. But embryos are not disposable on a whim.”