Waretown is an unincorporated community and census-designated place within Ocean Township, in southern Ocean County, New Jersey. It lies along the western shore of Barnegat Bay, roughly midway between the communities of Manahawkin to the south and Barnegat to the north, on a stretch of the Jersey Shore known for its bayfront, marinas, and access to Barnegat Inlet. The 2020 census counted about 1,480 residents in the CDP. The community's history is tied to the bay and the surrounding Pine Barrens, with a heritage of shipbuilding, clamming, and maritime trades that later gave way to residential and recreational waterfront development. The Waretown Historical Society preserves this past at the Little Red Schoolhouse Museum, a restored one-room schoolhouse along Wells Mills Road. The name and character of the area remain closely linked to the water and to the wooded Pinelands that frame its western edge. Today Waretown functions as a quiet shore community, with homes ranging from bayfront and lagoon-front properties to inland subdivisions and wooded lots. It is home to a number of marinas and boatyards, reinforcing its role as a center for recreational boating on the central bay. The community is bordered to the west by the expansive Wells Mills County Park, one of the largest parks in the Ocean County system, which offers hiking trails and a lake in a Pine Barrens setting. To the east, Barnegat Bay and the nearby inlet provide boating, fishing, and crabbing. Waretown's central position in southern Ocean County places it within easy reach of the beaches of Long Beach Island, the services of Manahawkin, and the Garden State Parkway.