[36] Before Ocean City was established, local Native Americans set up camps on the island for fishing in the summer months.

During the 18th century, cattle grazers brought cows to the island, where plentiful trees, weeds, brush, and seagrass provided suitable conditions.

[42] Based on a referendum on April 30, 1884, the borough of Ocean City was formed from portions of Upper Township, following an act of the New Jersey Legislature on May 3, 1884.

[27] The ship Sindia joined other shipwrecks on the beach on December 15, 1901, on its way to New York City from Kobe, Japan, but has since sunk below the sand.

This led the city to move the boardwalk closer to the ocean, which resulted in a greater potential for damage from saltwater.

[45] As a result of its religious origins, the sale or public drinking of alcoholic beverages in Ocean City was prohibited.

[47] Promoting water instead of drinking alcohol, the Woman's Christian Temperance Union donated a public fountain, dedicated on Memorial Day in 1915.

[52] Additionally, a loophole in the law allows private dining clubs adjacent to restaurants to serve alcohol to members.

[54] Unincorporated communities, localities, and place names located partially or completely within the city include Peck Beach.

[59] Since 1992, the United States Army Corps of Engineers has handled responsibility for beach nourishment projects, periodically adding 1,100,000 cubic yards (840,000 m3), roughly every three years, using the shoal area about 5,000 feet (1,500 m) offshore the Great Egg Harbor Inlet.

[61] Across from the Ocean City Airport is the Howard Stainton Wildlife Refuge, a 16 acres (6.5 ha) area of wetlands established in 1997.

[63] At the southern end of the island is Corson's Inlet State Park, which was established in 1969 to preserve one of the last undeveloped tracts of land along the oceanfront.

[80] The Ocean City Music Pier partially opened one year later, with work completed in time for the 1929 season.

This replaced the concrete substructure from 1928 with wooden supports and pine decking, and included the removal of 12,000 cubic yards (9,200 m3) of sand.

The mayor, the chief executive of the community, is chosen at-large for a four-year term at the municipal election in May and serves part-time for a yearly salary.

[9][95] In September 2015, Councilman Michael Allegretto resigned from his seat expiring in December 2018 to take a position as the city's Director of Community Services.

[98] In August 2021, Terrence Crowley Jr. was appointed to fill the First Ward expiring in December 2024 that had been held by Michael DeVlieger until he had resigned from office.

[98][101][102][103][104] In August 2023, the city council appointed David Winslow to fill the Fourth Ward seat expiring in December 2024 that had been held by Bob Barr until he resigned from office to take a city on the Cape May Board of County Commissioners; Winslow will serve on an interim basis until the November 2023, when voters will select a candidate to serve the balance of the term of office.

[107][108][109] For the 119th United States Congress, New Jersey's 2nd congressional district is represented by Jeff Van Drew (R, Dennis Township).

[111] For the 2024-2025 session, the 1st legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Mike Testa (R, Vineland) and in the General Assembly by Antwan McClellan (R, Ocean City) and Erik K. Simonsen (R, Lower Township).

[112] Cape May County is governed by a five-person Board of County Commissioners whose members are elected at-large on a partisan basis to three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with either one or two seats coming up for election each year; At an annual reorganization held each January, the commissioners select one member to serve as director and another to serve as vice-director.

[153] In 2009, the Ocean City metropolitan statistical area (Cape May County) ranked as the sixth-highest in the United States for percentage of commuters who walked to work (8.4 percent).

The agency also provides seasonal service from the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan to Cape May via Ocean City and other coastal towns.

[165] Adjacent to the marshes of the Great Egg Harbor Bay is Ocean City Airport, officially known as Clarke Field.

[167] In 1880, one year after Ocean City was established as a Christian resort, regular steamboat service from Somers Point began.

[169] In 1884, the West Jersey and Seashore Railroad extended its rail line from Sea Isle to the Ocean City Tenth Street Station.

[171] Julia Lawlor of The New York Times wrote in 2004 that Christian heritage influenced Ocean City's conservative laws; prior to 1986, shops were not allowed to conduct business on Sundays.

The plant hardiness zone at Ocean City Beach is 7b with an average annual extreme minimum air temperature of 6.0 °F (−14.4 °C).

Former Hurricane Sandy struck 12 mi (19 km) north of the city on October 29, 2012, causing severe storm surge flooding and 70 mph (110 km/h) wind gusts.

The storm caused major to severe damage to 29% of the houses in Ocean City, incurring a financial loss of $15.5 million to the tax base.