This county is part of the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area. It is located south of Philadelphia and northwest of Atlantic City.
The primary newspaper is the Gloucester County Times, distributed daily and based in Woodbury.
As of the census of 2000, there were 254,673 people, 90,717 households, and 67,221 families residing in the county. The population density was 784 people per square mile (303/km²). There were 95,054 housing units at an average density of 293 per square mile (113/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 87.07% White, 9.06% Black or African American, 0.19% Native American, 1.49% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.85% from other races, and 1.30% from two or more races. 2.58% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 23.8% were of Italian, 19.3% Irish, 15.8% German and 7.6% English ancestry according to Census 2000.
In the county the population was spread out with 26.40% under the age of 18, 8.90% from 18 to 24, 30.40% from 25 to 44, 22.60% from 45 to 64, and 11.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 93.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.20 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $54,273, and the median income for a family was $62,482 (these figures had risen to $69,990 and $82,556 respectively as of a 2007 estimate). Males had a median income of $43,825 versus $31,077 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,708. About 4.30% of families and 6.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.60% of those under age 18 and 7.00% of those age 65 or over.