Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Berkeley Township's standout: it has 70 miles of trail and 37% conserved land. Overall it grades C, 354th of 466 graded towns in New Jersey. It also does better than most on safety: it reports less crime per resident than 67% of U.S. towns. Its lowest everyday mark is in cost of living: homes are expensive, about $310K for a typical one and 3.1 times the New York metro’s $99K median household income. 43% of residents are 65 or older in Berkeley Township, above both the New Jersey town median (18%) and the median of U.S. towns (18%). Double Trouble State Park, at 4,211 acres with 12.1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Among 468 New Jersey towns, just 4 have a higher median age than Berkeley Township.
Where Berkeley Township beats most towns.
36.9% of the town is conserved land, across 11 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Jersey), ordered by how far Berkeley Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 683 in 1880, 43,754 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1933 and 8 maps from 1888 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Berkeley Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw20 mi Theme parkSix Flags Great Adventure2.2M visitors a year
Big draw32 mi Park & preservePine Barrens18 mi BeachLong Beach Island
in town State parkIsland Beach State Park
7 mi Theme parkCasino Pier
11 mi LighthouseBarnegat LighthouseSix Flags Great Adventure: Unknown, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Pine Barrens: Famartin, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Island Beach State Park: Famartin, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Casino Pier: User:Jimmypitt1234, Public domain · Barnegat Lighthouse: L'Aquatique, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Berkeley 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 Berkeley Township.
Berkeley Township keeps more of its land conserved than most of New Jersey, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and is safe by national standards but not by New Jersey’s.
Its public schools are run by the Berkeley Township School District. Two of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Central Regional High School, with 1,489 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Regional Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 680 | C+ |
| Central Regional High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,489 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
Its 12,758 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 92% of New Jersey towns.
70 miles of trail in 11 parks and preserves. Berkeley Township’s trail density is 1.3 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Island Beach State Park | 14.7 mi | 1,897 |
| 2. Double Trouble State Park | 12.1 mi | 4,211 |
| 3. Greenwood Forest Wildlife Management Area | 1.6 mi | 568 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Most working residents leave Berkeley Township for work: only 8% work in town. The average trip to work in Berkeley Township is 34 minutes. Jobs based in Berkeley Township grew to 5,520 in 2023, 707 more than in 2013.
| Berkeley Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 34 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $66,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 11% | 17% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 8% | 6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 12.2 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 51% of New Jersey’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 513 to 305 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Berkeley Township has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 25° and about 10 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 10,095 U.S. towns with household incomes like Berkeley Township’s, it is healthier than 86%, so its B+ isn’t only a matter of income. Within New Jersey it is less healthy than 78% of the 468 graded towns: New Jersey sets a high bar.
Berkeley Township beats the New Jersey average on 7 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 9. 14% of adults binge drink in Berkeley Township.
| Berkeley 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 physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Berkeley Township | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 9.1% | 12.3% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11.1% | 14.3% |
| More adults with COPD | 7.5% | 5.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1,689 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 42 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 63% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 1,689 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Berkeley Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
20 within 15 miles of the center of Berkeley Township
About 3 of every 100 Berkeley Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Jersey.
Where Berkeley Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
2 places in Berkeley Township on the National Register of Historic Places.
Township in Ocean County, New Jersey, US
Berkeley Township is a township in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, extending from the Jersey Shore westward into the New Jersey Pine Barrens. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 43,754, the highest ever in any decennial count and an increase of 2,499 (+6.1%) from the 2010 census count of 41,255, which in turn reflected an increase of 1,264 (+3.2%) from the 39,991 counted in the 2000 census. Berkeley Township was incorporated as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 31, 1875, from portions of Dover Township (now Toms River Township). Sections of the township were taken to form Seaside Park (March 3, 1898), Seaside Heights (F…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
10 towns share a border with Berkeley Township.
All 4 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its C; Toms River Township (C+) is closest.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berkeley Township | #354 | C | C | B+ | C | B+ |
| Lacey Township | #295 | B− | D | B+ | C+ | A− |
| Ocean Township | #245 | B | C− | A+ | C | A− |
| Pine Beach | — | — | C | — | C+ | A |
| Toms River Township | #317 | C+ | D | B | C+ | A− |
| Beachwood | #253 | B | D | B+ | C+ | A− |
| Holiday City South | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Seaside Park | — | — | D | A | C | A− |
Pine Beach and Seaside Park have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Pine Beach reports no FBI crime data of its own. Holiday City South isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Berkeley Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Berkeley Township grades C overall, better than 33% of U.S. towns and #354 of 466 in New Jersey. It grades B+ for health, B+ for safety and C for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
