Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
33% of residents are 65 or older in Bay Head, above both New Jersey’s towns (18%) and U.S. towns (18%). Of the 348 New Jersey towns we compare, none has a higher value of a typical home than Bay Head. Bay Head has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Bay Head Historic District. Bay Head has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
Where Bay Head beats most towns.
Coastal flooding makes up 32% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1971.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bay Head. Close and well known come first.
Big draw35 mi BeachConey Island
Big draw21 mi Theme parkSix Flags Great Adventure2.2M visitors a year
36 mi LandmarkVanderbilt Family Cemetery and Mausoleum
37 mi Park & preserveFloyd Bennett Field
40 mi Park & preserveSunset Park
38 mi Stadium & arenaSHI StadiumConey Island: OptimumPx, Public domain · Six Flags Great Adventure: Unknown, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Vanderbilt Family Cemetery and Mausoleum: Vanderbilt_Mausoleum.jpg: Staten Island post cards / Bridges derivative work: Jb, Public domain · Floyd Bennett Field: Ad Meskens, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Sunset Park: GK tramrunner229, CC BY 3.0 · SHI Stadium: Zeete, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bay Head, 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 Bay Head.
Bay Head’s median rent stands at $1,424 a month, against $1,778 a month in New Jersey’s towns and $1,185 a month across U.S. towns. Home values are up 23% over the year to September 2026. For households locally, the share who live in a home they own is 86%.
| Bay Head | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 86% | 77% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,424 a month | $1,778 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its one school is below. The public schools here belong to the Bay Head Borough School District. The town’s only public school teaches 125 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bay Head ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 125 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts
For most workers, Bay Head is a place to come home to: only 5% work in town. Since 2013, Bay Head has added 281 jobs, to 465 in 2023. The town’s median household income stands at $182,000. Half commute less than 18 miles.
| Bay Head | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $182,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 5.5% | 6.1% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.5% | 6.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
FEMA puts half of Bay Head’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 32% to coastal flooding. Expected damage from storms and floods is higher here than in 87% of U.S. communities. Paid flood insurance claims locally since 1978: 740.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
July afternoons reach 85° and January nights drop to 26°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
In a town this small, a few incidents move the numbers a lot, so rates aren't shown.
Bay Head is small, so we show counts rather than rates.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Among adults in Bay Head, 24% feel lonely and 13% have been diagnosed with depression. Only 4 of the 469 New Jersey towns we compare have a lower share of adults who worry about having enough food than Bay Head. Bay Head: just over one in ten adults say their health is fair or poor. Also worth knowing: of 32 CDC measures, Bay Head beats the New Jersey average on 21 and trails it on 5.
| Bay Head | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 15% | 17% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 32% | 33% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 23% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 36% | 36% |
| What stands out | Bay Head | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 4.5% | 14.3% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 4.1% | 12.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 14.2% | 7.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
In 1 park or preserve, walkers have 0.2 miles of trail. Bay Head’s trail density comes in at 0.3 miles per square mile.
| Bay Head | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 5.7% | 11% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Centennial Park | 0.1 mi | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
22 within 15 miles of the center of Bay Head
About 5 of every 100 Bay Head residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Jersey.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
2 places in Bay Head on the National Register of Historic Places.
Borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, US
Bay Head is a borough situated on the Jersey Shore in northern Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 930, a decrease of 38 (−3.9%) from the 2010 census count of 968, which in turn reflected a decline of 270 (−21.8%) from the 1,238 counted in the 2000 census. Bay Head is situated on the Barnegat Peninsula, also known as Barnegat Bay Island, a long, narrow barrier island that separates Barnegat Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. Together with Mantoloking, Bay Head is considered part of the Jersey Shore's "Gold Coast". Bay Head was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on June 15, 1886, from portio…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Bay Head has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
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