Street numbering system

How do Ocean City street numbers work?

Ocean City's street numbering runs from the south end north: 1st Street sits just north of the downtown grid, and the numbers climb to 146th Street at the Delaware line. South of 1st Street, downtown uses names drawn from Maryland counties and towns rather than numbers. Because the island is one long block wide in places, a street number plus "bayside" or "oceanside" is a complete address, and locals give directions that way rather than by street name or business.

Also called: numbered streets, street numbers.

Translating a number into a district

The scale is simple. Named streets and low numbers are downtown, the 30s through the 80s are midtown, and 90th Street north is uptown. Once you can place a number on that scale, a listing, a restaurant address, or a bus stop instantly tells you how far you are from the Boardwalk and how quiet the block is likely to be at night.

Estimating distance

Blocks here are short. Ten of them is a manageable walk and forty is not. This is the fastest way to sanity-check a plan: subtract the street numbers. It also explains why "we are only twenty blocks from the Boardwalk" means a bus ride, not a stroll, with beach chairs and children.

The Delaware line

Maryland ends at 146th Street. Fenwick Island, Delaware begins there, with its own beach rules, alcohol rules, and sales tax. The road and the beach continue without any obvious change, which is why visitors regularly cross without noticing. If a rule matters to your plan, confirm which state you are standing in.

Reading an Ocean City address

Current source: Visit Maryland Ocean City overview. Fees, hours, posted rules: all of it moves without much notice, so confirm anything time-sensitive on the day you go.

Related terms in this glossary

Street numbering system rarely settles a plan on its own. These come up in the same decision, and each one has its own page, so open whichever part you're still unsure about.