Freehold Township is a township in western Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Crisscrossed by several major highways, the township is a commercial hub for Central New Jersey (home to the Freehold Raceway and Freehold Raceway Mall) and is a suburban bedroom community of New York City, located within the Raritan Valley Region of the much larger New York Area. The township is located roughly 38 miles (61 km) away from Manhattan and about 20 miles (32 km) away from Staten Island. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 35,369, a decrease of 815 (−2.3%) from the 36,184 recorded at the 2010 census, which in turn reflected an increase of 4,647 (+14.7%) from the 31,537 counted in the 2000 census.
Freehold Township was first formed on October 31, 1693, and was incorporated as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1798. Portions of Freehold Township were taken to form Upper Freehold Township (c. 1731), so some wills and official records following the split referred to "Lower Freehold Township" although the official name has always been Freehold Township. Additional portions formed Millstone Township (February 28, 1844), Jackson Township (March 6, 1844), Atlantic Township (February 18, 1847; now Colts Neck Township), Marlboro Township (February 17, 1848) and Manalapan Township (March 9, 1848). Freehold Borough was originally formed as a town within the township on March 25, 1869, and formally separated when it was reconstituted as a borough on April 15, 1919, including additional portions of the township.
