Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 5,954, settled in 1819.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Manasquan grades A− overall, 143rd of 466 graded towns in New Jersey. It is among the healthiest towns in the country on CDC estimates. The median household earns $143K. The trade-off is money: homes are expensive, about $1.2 million for a typical one and 12.5 times the New York metro’s $99K median household income. Manasquan’s typical home value is $1,243,000, above both New Jersey’s towns ($602,000) and U.S. towns ($332,000). Manasquan is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns. Manasquan's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 84% of U.S. towns.
Where Manasquan beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Manasquan | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 5.3% | 14.3% |
Coastal flooding makes up 36% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
18.7% of homes are seasonal or vacation homes, so the town is fuller in summer than its census count suggests.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Jersey), ordered by how far Manasquan is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,506 in 1890, 5,938 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 2006 and 3 maps from 1888 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Manasquan. Close and well known come first.
Big draw32 mi BeachConey Island
Big draw21 mi Theme parkSix Flags Great Adventure2.2M visitors a year
Big draw40 mi Stadium & arenaBarclays Center
33 mi LandmarkVanderbilt Family Cemetery and Mausoleum
38 mi GardenProspect Park
34 mi Park & preserveFloyd Bennett FieldConey Island: OptimumPx, Public domain · Six Flags Great Adventure: Unknown, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Barclays Center: Ajay Suresh from New York, NY, USA, CC BY 2.0 · Vanderbilt Family Cemetery and Mausoleum: Vanderbilt_Mausoleum.jpg: Staten Island post cards / Bridges derivative work: Jb, Public domain · Prospect Park: Unknown, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Floyd Bennett Field: Ad Meskens, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Manasquan, 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 Manasquan.
Manasquan has less food insecurity than most of New Jersey and is safe by national standards but not by New Jersey’s; it also has homes that cost more against local pay than most of New Jersey.
At 12.5 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income, the typical home (about $1.24M) costs more against local pay than in 95% of New Jersey towns; that ratio is one input to its D− for cost of living.
The median rent in Manasquan is $2,030 a month. Typical home values rose 14% in the year to September 2026. The typical Manasquan home is worth about $1,243,000, up 14.1% in a year, about twice the New Jersey typical home.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Manasquan School District. Its two schools are below. The largest public high school is Manasquan High School, with 917 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manasquan Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 475 | A− |
| Manasquan High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 917 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with New Jersey is food insecurity: 5.3% of its 4,865 adults worry about having enough food, against 14.3% statewide.
25% of Manasquan adults feel lonely. Manasquan beats the New Jersey average on 21 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 12% of Manasquan adults report frequent mental distress.
| Manasquan | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 32% | 33% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 36% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 15% | 17% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 23% |
| What stands out | Manasquan | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 5.3% | 14.3% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 5.2% | 12.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.4% | 7.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
2,019 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 148 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 80% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 2,019 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Manasquan.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Most working residents leave Manasquan for work: only 9% work in town. Manasquan’s average trip to work is 34 minutes. Jobs based in Manasquan grew to 1,687 in 2023, 206 more than in 2013.
| Manasquan | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $143,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 34 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 3% | 6.1% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 9% | 6.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 11.3 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 55% of New Jersey’s graded towns. Violent crime is rare: 1 reported in 2025, 0.2 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
| Manasquan | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 8.1% | 11% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Manasquan Brielle Little League & Park | 0.2 mi | 8 |
| 2. Indian Hill Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Manasquan has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 85° and January nights drop to 26°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
22 within 15 miles of the center of Manasquan
About 8 of every 100 Manasquan residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Jersey.
Where Manasquan’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
2 places in Manasquan on the National Register of Historic Places.
Borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, US
Manasquan (, man-ə-SKWAHN) is a borough in southern Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, on the Jersey Shore. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 5,938, an increase of 41 (+0.7%) from the 2010 census count of 5,897, which in turn reflected a decline of 413 (−6.5%) from the 6,310 counted in the 2000 census. The borough's name is of Lenape Native American origin, deriving from "Mënàskunk" meaning "Place to Gather Grass or Reeds". The borough's name has also been described as deriving from "Man-A-Squaw-Han" meaning "stream of the island of squaws", "an island with enclosure for squans", "island door" or "point" / "top". Manasquan, Maniquan, Mannisquan…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Manasquan.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manasquan | #143 | A− | D− | B+ | B+ | A+ |
| Brielle | #30 | A+ | D− | A | A | A+ |
| Sea Girt | — | — | D | A | A+ | A+ |
| Wall Township | #198 | B+ | D | B | B | A |
| Point Pleasant Beach | #261 | B | D− | C− | A− | A |
Sea Girt has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Compare Manasquan with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Manasquan grades A− overall, better than 83% of U.S. towns and #143 of 466 in New Jersey. It grades A+ for health, B+ for safety and B+ 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−.
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