Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Beachwood grades B overall, ranked 253rd of 466 in New Jersey. It has 7 miles of trail and 28% conserved land. The median household earns $107K and CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 80% of the country. The trade-off is money: homes are expensive, about $472K for a typical one and 4.8 times the New York metro’s $99K median household income. Beachwood’s trail density is 2.6 miles per square mile, above both the New Jersey town median (0.7) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). On history, just 10 of New Jersey’s 530 towns do worse. Jakes Branch County Park, at 409 acres with 7.2 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
Where Beachwood beats most towns.
Where Beachwood’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Jersey), ordered by how far Beachwood is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 20 in 1920, 10,859 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2008 and 8 maps from 1888 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Beachwood. Close and well known come first.
Big draw19 mi Theme parkSix Flags Great Adventure2.2M visitors a year
Big draw32 mi Park & preservePine Barrens19 mi BeachLong Beach Island
7 mi Theme parkCasino Pier
12 mi LighthouseBarnegat Lighthouse
7 mi State parkIsland Beach State ParkSix Flags Great Adventure: Unknown, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Pine Barrens: Famartin, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Casino Pier: User:Jimmypitt1234, Public domain · Barnegat Lighthouse: L'Aquatique, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Island Beach State Park: Famartin, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Beachwood, 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 Beachwood.
Beachwood is one of New Jersey’s best towns for the outdoors, is safe by national standards but not by New Jersey’s and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in New Jersey.
Its A+ for the outdoors ranks #14 of 468 in New Jersey.
7.4 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Jakes Branch County Park | 7.2 mi | 409 |
| 2. Mayo Park | — | 8 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Toms River Regional School District. One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toms River Intermediate School SouthLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,044 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
Within New Jersey it is less healthy than 62% of the 468 graded towns: New Jersey sets a high bar.
75% of Beachwood adults had a checkup this year, against 78% in New Jersey’s towns and 79% across U.S. towns. 29% of Beachwood adults have high blood pressure. Beachwood beats the New Jersey average on 9 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2.
| Beachwood | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 75% | 78% | 79% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 32% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 16% | 23% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8.8% | 9.7% | 12% |
| What stands out | Beachwood | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11.3% | 14.3% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 9.1% | 11.3% |
| More smokers | 13.6% | 10.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Beachwood has 888 jobs for its 5,107 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Most working residents leave Beachwood for work: only 3% work in town. 7.5% of workers work from home in Beachwood. Jobs based in Beachwood grew to 888 in 2023, 67 more than in 2013.
| Beachwood | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 7.5% | 17% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 4.5% | 6.1% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $107,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 11.2 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 56% of New Jersey’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 132 to 69 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Beachwood’s property crime rate is 5.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Beachwood | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.4 per 1,000 residents | 7.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.7 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Beachwood has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 85° and January nights drop to 25°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The median rent in Beachwood is $2,335 a month. Typical home values rose 4.9% in the year to September 2026.
| Beachwood | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,335 a month | $1,778 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 93% | 77% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 56% of U.S. communities. Since 1984, 29 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Beachwood.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
20 within 15 miles of the center of Beachwood
About 5 of every 100 Beachwood residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Jersey.
Borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, US
Beachwood is a borough situated in the Jersey Shore region, within Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 10,859, a decrease of 186 (−1.7%) from the 2010 census count of 11,045, which in turn reflected an increase of 670 (+6.5%) from the 10,375 counted in the 2000 census. Beachwood was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 22, 1917, from portions of Berkeley Township, based on the results of a referendum held on April 12, 1917.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Beachwood.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beachwood | #253 | B | D | B+ | C+ | A− |
| South Toms River | #326 | C+ | C− | B | C+ | B |
| Berkeley Township | #354 | C | C | B+ | C | B+ |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Beachwood grades B overall, better than 57% of U.S. towns and #253 of 466 in New Jersey. It grades A− for health, B+ 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.
