Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Barnegat Township's standout: it has 51 miles of trail and 41% conserved land. Overall it grades B−, ranked 310th of 466 in New Jersey. It reports less crime per resident than 89% of U.S. towns. Its weakest subject is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $508K, 5.1 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income. 41% of the land in Barnegat Township is conserved, where New Jersey’s towns sit at 11% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. The biggest place to walk is Greenwood Forest Wildlife Management Area, 5,222 acres with 19.5 miles of trail.
Where Barnegat Township beats most towns.
41.2% of the town is conserved land, across 7 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Jersey), ordered by how far Barnegat Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,759 in 1850, a low of 803 in 1920, 24,296 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1829 and 4 maps from 1884 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Barnegat Township, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Barnegat Township.
Barnegat Township keeps more of its land conserved than most of New Jersey and is healthy by national standards but behind most towns in New Jersey; it also has a long record of flood insurance claims.
Its 10,659 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 94% of New Jersey towns. Its A+ for the outdoors ranks #11 of 468 in New Jersey.
51 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves. At 1.3 miles per square mile, Barnegat Township’s trail density is against 0.7 in New Jersey’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Greenwood Forest Wildlife Management Area | 19.5 mi | 5,222 |
| 2. Bass River State Forest | 10.1 mi | 1,697 |
| 3. Lochiel Creek County Park | 2.2 mi | 206 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Barnegat Township School District. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Barnegat High School, with 1,003 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cecil S. Collins ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–2 | Grades K–2 | 744 | – |
| Barnegat High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,003 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
Barnegat Township’s property crime rate is 2.9 per 1,000 residents.
| Barnegat Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.9 per 1,000 residents | 7.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.3 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Jobs based here grew from 2,400 in 2013 to 3,148.
Most working residents leave Barnegat Township for work: only 7% work in town. Since 2013, Barnegat Township has added 748 jobs, to 3,148 in 2023. The median household income in Barnegat Township is $92,000.
| Barnegat Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $92,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 7.5% | 6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Within New Jersey it is less healthy than 71% of the 468 graded towns: New Jersey sets a high bar.
Barnegat Township beats the New Jersey average on 7 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 9. 14% of Barnegat Township adults binge drink.
| Barnegat Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 16% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 16% | 23% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 32% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 15% | 17% |
| What stands out | Barnegat Township | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 9% | 12.3% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.8% | 14.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.1% | 7.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Barnegat Township has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 25° and about 10 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
88% of households own their home in Barnegat Township. Typical home values rose 4.6% in the year to September 2026.
| Barnegat Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 88% | 77% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,752 a month | $1,780 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
239 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 15 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 57% of U.S. communities. Since 1981, 239 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Barnegat Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Barnegat Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw25 mi Park & preservePine Barrens
Big draw27 mi Theme parkSix Flags Great Adventure2.2M visitors a year9 mi BeachLong Beach Island
30 mi Stadium & arenaBoardwalk Hall
33 mi LandmarkLucy the Elephant
9 mi LighthouseBarnegat LighthousePine Barrens: Famartin, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Six Flags Great Adventure: Unknown, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Boardwalk Hall: Jack Boucher, Public domain · Lucy the Elephant: User:dtcdthingy 3:30 pm 30th July 2004 (Minolta Dimage X20), Public domain · Barnegat Lighthouse: L'Aquatique, CC BY-SA 3.0
None within 15 miles of Barnegat Township; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Barnegat Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Jersey.
20,936 counted in 2010 and 24,296 in 2020; an estimated 26,151 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 7.6% since 2020, after 16% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
3 notable people were born in Barnegat Township.
Township in Ocean County, New Jersey, US
Barnegat Township (pronounced "BAR-nuh-git") is a township in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 24,296, the highest ever count at a decennial census and an increase of 3,360 (+16.0%) from the 2010 census count of 20,936, which in turn reflected an increase of 5,666 (+37.1%) from the 15,270 counted in the 2000 census. What is now Barnegat Township was originally incorporated as Union Township on March 10, 1846, from portions of both Dover Township (now Toms River Township) and Stafford Township, while the area was still part of Monmouth County. It became part of the newly formed Ocean County on February 15, 1850.…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Barnegat Township.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barnegat Township | #310 | B− | D | A | C+ | B+ |
| Stafford Township | #241 | B | C− | B+ | B− | A− |
| Ocean Township | #245 | B | C− | A+ | C | A− |
| Lacey Township | #295 | B− | D | B+ | C+ | A− |
| Harvey Cedars | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Long Beach Township | #336 | C+ | D− | B− | C+ | A |
| Woodland Township | — | — | C | — | B− | B− |
Woodland Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Woodland Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. Harvey Cedars isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Barnegat Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Barnegat Township grades B− overall, better than 46% of U.S. towns and #310 of 466 in New Jersey. It grades B+ for health, A for safety and C+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
3 notable people were born here, including Frank Molinaro and Henry R. Tilton.
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