The township is the largest municipality in the county by total area, comprising about 61.21 square miles (158.5 km2).

[29] Some scenes for the War of the Worlds 2005 remake were filmed here, and a neighborhood called Ardena Acres was recreated as a set and left standing in Universal Studios Hollywood.

[30] In June 2017, two separate tornadoes, both rated EF0 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, struck minutes and miles apart.

The first one struck the Fort Plains area, damaging a Home Depot, Chase Bank, a strip mall, and a local ice cream parlor.

[31] Roughly six years later in April 2023, a tornado rated EF-2 struck Howell and neighboring Jackson Township near the Aldrich Road area.

[32] The National Weather Service confirmed that the tornado was 50 yards wide and 1.4 miles in length.

[1][2] Howell was formed from territory taken from Shrewsbury Township under an act of the New Jersey General Assembly passed February 23, 1801.

[34] Ramtown (with a 2010 Census population of 6,242[35]) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Howell Township.

[36][20] Other unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Adelphia, Ardena, Ardmore Estates, Bergerville, Candlewood, Collingwood Park, Fairfield, Fort Plains, Freewood Acres, Jerseyville, Lake Club, Land of Pines,[citation needed] Larrabees, Lippencotts Corner, Lower Squankum, Matthews, Maxim, Oak Glen, Parkway Pines,[citation needed] Salem Hill, Shacks Corner, Southard, Squankum, West Farms, Winston Park, Wyckoff Mills and Yellow Brook.

[44][45][46][47] As such, northern sections of the township fall within the hillier terrain and fertile soil found in the Inner coastal plain, while southern sections of the township fall within the more flat terrain and sandier soil found in the Outer coastal plain.

[67] The township is also home to a small, but notable, Kalmyk American community located in the Freewood Acres neighborhood.

[65][66] The most common first ancestry group cited by Howell residents in the 2000 Census was German (17.7%), English (12.7%), Irish (11.5%), United States or American (9.9%), Polish (6.6%), French (except Basque) (4.0%) and Italian (2.7%).

Nearby Asbury Park (on the shore) and Freehold Borough (the county seat) are also regional 'downtowns' for the township.

[85] Manasquan Reservoir offers nature and exercise related activities such as fishing, bird watching, jogging, biking, dog walking.

[87] Parts of Allaire State Park and the Edgar Felix Bikeway are found in Howell Township.

[88] The governing body is comprised of the Mayor and the four-member Township Council, whose members are chosen in partisan voting to four-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with elections held in even-numbered years as part of the November general election.

[6][89][90][91] As of 2025[update], the Mayor of Howell Township is Republican John Leggio, whose term of office ends December 31, 2028.

[98][99][100] For the 119th United States Congress, New Jersey's 4th congressional district is represented by Chris Smith (R, Manchester Township).

[129] The Howell Township Public Schools serve students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade.

[150][151] Students from Howell can apply to participate in one of the Freehold Regional Learning Center programs within these six schools.

The FRHSD board of education has nine members, who are elected to three-year terms from each of the constituent districts.

[167] The Garden State Parkway passes through neighboring Wall Township and is accessible with Interstate 195 and Route 33 at interchanges 98 and 100.

Other nearby train stations include Aberdeen-Matawan, Asbury Park, Hamilton, and Long Branch.

Monmouth Executive Airport in Farmingdale supplies short-distance flights to surrounding areas and is the closest air transportation service.

[176] The nearest major commercial airports are Trenton-Mercer Airport, which serves several domestic destinations via Frontier Airlines and located 28 miles (45 km) west (about 36 minutes drive); and Newark Liberty International Airport, which serves as a major hub for United Airlines and located 40 miles (64 km) north (about 56 minutes drive) from the center of Howell Township.

[177][178] Cycleways, including the Edgar Felix Bikeway, connect to Manasquan and the beach, as well as other points of interest.

The main 287-bed hospital campus is located in neighboring Freehold Township and services the central New Jersey region.

The next closest major hospitals to the township are Monmouth Medical Center's Southern Campus in nearby Lakewood, Jersey Shore University Medical Center in nearby Neptune, and the Hamilton division of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.