Dorchester is an unincorporated community located within Maurice River Township, in Cumberland County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The area is served as United States Postal Service ZIP Code 08316. As of the 2000 United States census, the population for ZIP Code Tabulation Area 08316 was 283. Shipbuilding has always been the principal industry in Dorchester, and the A.J. Meerwald, the state ship of New Jersey, was built here.