Laurence Harbor is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located along Raritan Bay within Old Bridge Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the CDP's population was 6,635, which in turn reflected an increase of 309 (+5.0%) from the 6,227 counted in the 2000 census.
European settlement of the area was linked to commerce passing through the Amboys along the Raritan River. From a military perspective, the area was useful for its high bayside cliffs, which allowed strategic observation of ships traveling between New York Harbor and the Atlantic Ocean.
Laurence Harbor is named after land developer Laurence Lamb, who bought property in what was then known as Madison Township at the turn of the 20th century and subdivided it into bungalow-sized lots.
Demographics
Laurence Harbor first appeared as an unincorporated community in the 1970 U.S. census;
!Pop 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |Pop 2020
!% 2000
!% 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020
|-
|White alone (NH)
|5,359
|4,809
|style='background: #ffffe6; |4,354
|86.06%
|73.58%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |65.62%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|197
|359
|style='background: #ffffe6; |468
|3.16%
|5.49%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |7.05%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|13
|13
|style='background: #ffffe6; |13
|0.21%
|0.20%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.20%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|135
|523
|style='background: #ffffe6; |500
|2.17%
|8.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |7.54%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|3
|0
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0
|0.05%
|0.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|19
|23
|style='background: #ffffe6; |39
|0.31%
|0.35%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.59%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|74
|88
|style='background: #ffffe6; |226
|1.19%
|1.35%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.41%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|427
|721
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,035
|6.86%
|11.03%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |15.60%
|-
|Total
|6,227
|6,536
|style='background: #ffffe6; |6,635
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Laurence Harbor had a population of 6,635. The median age was 42.5 years. 18.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 15.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 100.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 98.2 males age 18 and over.
96.7% of residents lived in urban areas, while 3.3% lived in rural areas.
There were 2,625 households in Laurence Harbor, of which 26.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 46.9% were married-couple households, 20.6% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 24.2% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 26.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 2,286 households, out of which 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.6% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.5% were non-families. 22.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.25. Additionally, the same slag was used to build an entire jetty on the northern end of Morgan Bridge in Morgan. The slag comes in the form of about 20" diameter discs similar in shape to tire hubs and some are disc halves. The slag was a byproduct from the lead refining process that contains mostly steel with small percentages of lead and other heavy metals. The slag does not significantly affect the water quality due to dilution from ocean water that continuously comes in and out of the bay. Testing showed that the sand under the slag has lead particulates that have separated over time and there are traces of lead particulates in the sand below the tidal line. Once the slag is removed or contained the beach will be reopened.