Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Point Pleasant grades A overall, 88th of 466 graded towns in New Jersey. It is healthier than 92% of U.S. towns and the median household earns $116K. The catch is cost: the typical home is worth about $767K, 7.7 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income. Point Pleasant reports less crime per resident than 85% of U.S. towns.
Where Point Pleasant beats most towns.
Where Point Pleasant’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 Point Pleasant is from typical.
Its grades run from A for walkability (better than 93% of comparable towns) to D− for cost of living (better than 4%), so the A overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,058 in 1930, 18,941 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1917 and 8 maps from 1888 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Point Pleasant. Close and well known come first.
Big draw35 mi BeachConey Island
Big draw20 mi Theme parkSix Flags Great Adventure2.2M visitors a year
35 mi LandmarkVanderbilt Family Cemetery and Mausoleum
37 mi Park & preserveFloyd Bennett Field
39 mi Park & preserveSunset Park
37 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 Point Pleasant, 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 Point Pleasant.
Point Pleasant is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in New Jersey; it also has homes that cost more against local pay than most of New Jersey and has a long record of flood insurance claims.
Within New Jersey it is healthier than 63% of the 468 graded towns: New Jersey sets a high bar. Its widest gap with New Jersey is food insecurity: 7.9% of its 15,053 adults worry about having enough food, against 14.3% statewide.
28% of Point Pleasant adults feel lonely, where New Jersey’s towns sit at 32% and U.S. towns at 33%. 16% of Point Pleasant adults have been diagnosed with depression. Point Pleasant beats the New Jersey average on 12 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2.
| Point Pleasant | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 32% | 33% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 16% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 15% | 17% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 15% | 19% |
| What stands out | Point Pleasant | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.9% | 14.3% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.6% | 11.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.4% | 7.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Point Pleasant Borough School District. Three of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Point Pleasant Borough High School, with 831 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nellie F. Bennett Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 706 | B+ |
| Point Pleasant Borough High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 831 | B+ |
| Memorial Middle SchoolTop results in townGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 634 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
Point Pleasant’s property crime rate is 3.8 per 1,000 residents, below both New Jersey’s towns (7.5) and U.S. towns (9.9).
| Point Pleasant | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.8 per 1,000 residents | 7.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.9 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Most working residents leave Point Pleasant for work: only 11% work in town. 4.5% of residents live below the poverty line in Point Pleasant. The top destinations are Brick Township (8%), Wall Township (7%) and Point Pleasant Beach (6%).
| Point Pleasant | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $116,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 4.5% | 6.1% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 11% | 6.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 7.7 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income, the typical home (about $767K) costs more against local pay than in 77% of New Jersey towns; that ratio is one input to its D− for cost of living.
The median rent in Point Pleasant is $1,930 a month. Typical home values rose 10% in the year to September 2026.
| Point Pleasant | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,930 a month | $1,778 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 82% | 77% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Point Pleasant 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
1.2 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. Point Pleasant’s trail density is 0.3 miles per square mile.
| Point Pleasant | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 2% | 11% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Community Park | 0.4 mi | 7 |
| 2. Riverfront Park | 0.4 mi | 4 |
| 3. Beaver Dam Creek County Park | 0.2 mi | 8 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1,125 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 34 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 59% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 1,125 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Point Pleasant.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Adults 35 to 64 are 44% of residents (40% statewide). Point Pleasant has grown 4% since 2020, to 19,712 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 50% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 44% across New Jersey.
| Point Pleasant | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 50% | 45% | 29% |
| Median age | 46.1 years | 42 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 19% | 21% | 22% |
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.7 points). Across New Jersey, 50.8% of residents are women. Median age: women 47.0, men 45.4.
| Point Pleasant | NJ | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.8% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4.8% | 8.4% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.6% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 15.1% | 12.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 18.2% | 13.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.1% | 10% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.4% | 7.2% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.3% | 9.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 20.8% | 25.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 17.6% | 15% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.3% | 6.7% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 31.9% | 26.1% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 18.1% | 17.6% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
22 within 15 miles of the center of Point Pleasant
About 6 of every 100 Point Pleasant residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Jersey.
16 notable people were born in Point Pleasant.
Borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, US
Point Pleasant 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 18,941, an increase of 549 (+3.0%) from the 2010 census count of 18,392, which in turn reflected a decline of 914 (−4.7%) from the 19,306 counted at the 2000 census. The borough is a Jersey Shore community situated on the Barnegat Peninsula, a long, narrow barrier peninsula that divides the Barnegat Bay from the Atlantic Ocean at the Manasquan Inlet; the borough derives its name from this location. Point Pleasant was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 21, 1920, from porti…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Point Pleasant.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Point Pleasant | #88 | A | D− | A | A− | A |
| Brick Township | #308 | B− | D | B− | C+ | A− |
| Point Pleasant Beach | #261 | B | D− | C− | A− | A |
| Brielle | #30 | A+ | D− | A | A | A+ |
| Bay Head | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Bay Head isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Point Pleasant with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Point Pleasant grades A overall, better than 90% of U.S. towns and #88 of 466 in New Jersey. It grades A for health, A for safety and A− 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−.
16 notable people were born here, including Kirsten Dunst and Diamond Dallas Page.
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