The borough encompasses a narrow strip of Long Beach Island fronting both the Atlantic Ocean and Barnegat Bay.

[21] The community's post office was initially known as High Point, the name of a neighborhood in the borough that lies at a higher elevation, before a name change was made in the 1930s at the request of the United States Postal Service to differentiate the post office from the northern New Jersey community of High Point in Sussex County.

[24] Before Long Beach Island was developed, its northern area, from the Barnegat Inlet to the Great Swamp (now Surf City), was covered with Atlantic white cedar (chamaecyparis thyoides).

Early inhabitants of the area harvested salt hay (spartina patens) and seaweed to make a living.

[1][2] Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the borough include High Point.

[36][37] The Borough of Harvey Cedars has operated under the Walsh Act form of New Jersey municipal government since 1923.

[41] The governing body is comprised of the three-member Board of Commissioners whose members are elected at-large on a non-partisan basis to serve concurrent four-year terms of office in voting held as part of the November general election.

[47][48][49] Prior to the 2010 Census, Harvey Cedars had been part of the 3rd Congressional District, a change made by the New Jersey Redistricting Commission that took effect in January 2013, based on the results of the November 2012 general elections.

[50] For the 119th United States Congress, New Jersey's 2nd congressional district is represented by Jeff Van Drew (R, Dennis Township).

[59][60][61] Constitutional officers elected on a countywide basis are: Clerk Scott M. Colabella (R, 2025, Barnegat Light),[62][63] Sheriff Michael G. Mastronardy (R, 2025; Toms River)[64][65] and Surrogate Jeffrey Moran (R, 2028, Beachwood).

[69] Among the borough's 2010 Census population, 111.3% (vs. 63.2% in Ocean County) were registered to vote, including 125.8% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 82.6% countywide).

[82] For pre-kindergarten through sixth grade, public school students attend the Long Beach Island Consolidated School District, which also serves students from Barnegat Light, Long Beach Township, Ship Bottom and Surf City.

[94] Students in public school for seventh through twelfth grades attend the Southern Regional School District, which serves the five municipalities in the Long Beach Island Consolidated School District, along with students from Beach Haven and Stafford Township, as well as students from Ocean Township (including its Waretown section) who attend as part of a sending/receiving relationship.

At the time of its founding in 1957, the Southern Regional School District had a roughly equal number of students from Long Beach Island and Stafford Township.

These demographic changes have led to significant discrepancies in the cost per pupil sent to the district from each community, with Harvey Cedars and Long Beach Township paying more than $200,000 per pupil, while Stafford Township's costs are $3,600 for each student.

The main road serving the borough is County Route 607 (Long Beach Boulevard).

Ocean County Ride provides bus service on the OC9 LBI North route between Barnegat Light and Manahawkin / Stafford Township.

[104] The LBI Shuttle operates along Long Beach Boulevard, providing free service every 5 to 20 minutes from 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM.

The plant hardiness zone at Harvey Cedars Beach is 7a with an average annual extreme minimum air temperature of 3.5 °F (−15.8 °C).