The township is noted for containing the Lakehurst Naval Air Station, the site of the infamous Hindenburg disaster of May 6, 1937.

[1][2] Cedar Glen Lakes (with a 2010 Census population of 1,421[24]), Cedar Glen West (1,267[25]), Crestwood Village (7,907[26]), Leisure Knoll (2,490[27]), Leisure Village West (3,493[28]), Pine Lake Park (8,707[29]) and Pine Ridge at Crestwood (2,369[30]) are all unincorporated communities and census-designated places (CDPs) located within Manchester Township.

[31][32][33] Leisure Village West-Pine Lake Park had been a combined CDP through the 2000 United States Census and was split as of the 2010 enumeration.

[33] Other unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Beckerville, Boyds Hotel, Brainards, Brick Yards, Buckingham, Giberson, Goose Pond, Horican, Keswick Grove, Old Halfway, Pasadena, Pine Lake Park Estates, Ridgeway, Roosevelt City and Whiting.

[34] Cedar Glen Lakes, Cedar Glen West, Crestwood Village, Pine Ridge, Fox Hollow, Lakewood Heights, Keswick Grove, Winwood, Timbergreen, and Roosevelt City are all within Whiting which makes up the largest territory in Manchester in geography and demographics with 33,180 out of 45,115 people.

[59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66] in February 2023, former councilmember Crag Wallis was appointed to fill the seat expiring in December 2024 that had been held by Samuel F. Fusaro until he resigned from office after moving out of the township.

[63] The Township Council appointed Robert Hudak in June 2021 to fill the seat as mayor expiring in December 2022 that became vacant after Kenneth Palmer stepped down to take a seat as a judge on the New Jersey Superior Court.

[68] In turn, Michele Zolezi was appointed to fill the council seat expiring in December 2024 that was vacated by Robert Hudak.

[65] In May 2019, the Township Council appointed Robert Hudak to fill the seat expiring in December 2020 that had been held by Charles Frattini Sr. until he resigned from office the previous month.

[71] In March 2017, Joan Brush was selected by the township council to fill the seat expiring in 2018 that had been held by Brendan Weiner, who was moving out of the township; Brush will serve on an interim basis until the November 2017 general election, when voters will select a candidate to serve the balance of the term.

[76][77][78] For the 119th United States Congress, New Jersey's 4th congressional district is represented by Chris Smith (R, Manchester Township).

[88][89][90] Constitutional officers elected on a countywide basis are: Clerk Scott M. Colabella (R, 2025, Barnegat Light),[91][92] Sheriff Michael G. Mastronardy (R, 2025; Toms River)[93][94] and Surrogate Jeffrey Moran (R, 2028, Beachwood).

[98] Among the township's 2010 Census population, 72.9% (vs. 63.2% in Ocean County) were registered to vote, including 81.2% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 82.6% countywide).

[111] The Manchester Township School District serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade.

[123] As of 2012, Lakehurst has been considering the possibility of sending its students to Jackson Liberty High School, as part of a prospective agreement with the Jackson School District under which students would gain access to a broader range of academic programs and which could result in annual savings of $400,000 per year off of the $2 million that the Lakehurst district spends annually for the 150 students it sends to the Manchester district.

[124][125] St. Mary Academy in Manahawkin, a K–8 school of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton, is in the area.

[126] In 2019 St. Mary Church in Barnegat took entire control of the school, which remained on the same Manahawkin campus, and changed its name.

[127] The Asbury Park Press provides daily news coverage of the township, as does WOBM-FM radio.

The township provides materials and commentary to The Manchester Times, which also covers Lakehurst as one of seven weekly papers from Micromedia Publications.

No limited access roads run through the municipality, but the closest ones are accessible in neighboring communities such as the Garden State Parkway in Toms River, Berkeley and Lacey townships and Interstate 195 in Jackson Township.