Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Beach Haven’s best subject grades are an A for walkability, health, and the outdoors; its weakest is a D− for cost of living. 42% of residents are 65 or older in Beach Haven, above both New Jersey’s towns (18%) and U.S. towns (18%). Only 31 of New Jersey’s 530 towns score lower on hazard risk. Beach Haven has 4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Beach Haven Historic District and Converse Cottage. Beach Haven's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 86% of U.S. towns. The biggest park or preserve is Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve, at 922 acres. Beach Haven has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Beach Haven beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| Widest gap | Beach Haven | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 5.2% | 12.3% |
Coastal flooding makes up 43% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Jersey), ordered by how far Beach Haven is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 239 in 1900, a peak of 1,714 in 1980, 1,027 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1898 and 5 maps from 1888 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Beach Haven, 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 Beach Haven.
The typical Beach Haven home is worth about $1,795,000, up 15.8% in a year, 3 times the New Jersey typical home. At $2,071 a month, Beach Haven’s median rent is above both the New Jersey town median ($1,778 a month) and the median of U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). 89% of households own their home in Beach Haven.
| Beach Haven | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,071 a month | $1,778 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 89% | 77% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Beach Haven School District. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beach Haven SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 56 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
25% of Beach Haven adults feel lonely. Among 469 New Jersey towns, just 9 have a lower share of adults who report frequent mental distress than Beach Haven. 13% of Beach Haven adults say their health is fair or poor.
| Beach Haven | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 32% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 15% | 17% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 23% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 16% |
| What stands out | Beach Haven | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 5.2% | 12.3% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.1% | 14.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 12.9% | 7.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 87% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 2,192 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Beach Haven.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Beach Haven has chilly winters and warm summers. Beach Haven’s July high is 84°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Beach Haven for work: only 15% work in town. The average trip to work in Beach Haven is 41 minutes. The top destinations are Long Beach Township (5%), Stafford Township (4%) and Trenton (3%).
| Beach Haven | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 41 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $144,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 15% | 6.3% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 3.7% | 6.1% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Of the 395 New Jersey towns we compare, none has a higher property crime rate than Beach Haven. Beach Haven's reported crime rate is well above New Jersey's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts.
| Beach Haven | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 115 per 1,000 residents | 7.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
0.9 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves.
| Beach Haven | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 3% | 11% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve | 0.1 mi | 922 |
| 2. Parker's Island Bird Sanctuary | — | 12 |
| 3. Walsh Field | — | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Beach Haven. Close and well known come first.
Big draw29 mi Park & preservePine Barrens8 mi BeachLong Beach Island
18 mi Stadium & arenaBoardwalk Hall
22 mi LandmarkLucy the Elephant
17 mi Theme parkSteel Pier
16 mi LighthouseBarnegat LighthousePine Barrens: Famartin, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Boardwalk Hall: Jack Boucher, Public domain · Lucy the Elephant: User:dtcdthingy 3:30 pm 30th July 2004 (Minolta Dimage X20), Public domain · Steel Pier: Make Lemons, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Barnegat Lighthouse: L'Aquatique, CC BY-SA 3.0
None within 15 miles of Beach Haven; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Beach Haven residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Jersey.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
4 places in Beach Haven on the National Register of Historic Places.
Borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, US
Beach Haven is a borough situated on the Jersey Shore in southern Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The borough is located on Long Beach Island (LBI) and borders the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 1,027, a decrease of 143 (−12.2%) from the 2010 census count of 1,170, which in turn reflected a decline of 108 (−8.5%) from the 1,278 counted in the 2000 census. Beach Haven was incorporated as a Borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on November 11, 1890, from portions of Eagleswood Township, based on the results of a referendum held five days earlier.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes. That is 18.1 years of the area's median household income ($99,155 across the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D−.
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