Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Point Pleasant Beach grades B overall, 261st among New Jersey's 466 graded towns. It is among the most walkable places in the country. It is healthier than 89% of U.S. towns and the median household earns $142K. The trade-off is money: homes are expensive, about $1.1 million for a typical one and 11.5 times the New York metro’s $99K median household income. Point Pleasant Beach’s typical home value is $1,138,000, against $602,000 in New Jersey’s towns and $332,000 across U.S. towns. Old Coast Guard Station Manasquan Inlet is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Point Pleasant Beach beats most towns.
Coastal flooding makes up 22% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
28.1% 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 Point Pleasant Beach is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 99% of comparable towns) to D− for cost of living (better than 4%), so the B overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 746 in 1900, 4,766 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 2005 and 8 maps from 1888 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Point Pleasant Beach. Close and well known come first.
Big draw34 mi BeachConey Island
Big draw21 mi Theme parkSix Flags Great Adventure2.2M visitors a year
34 mi LandmarkVanderbilt Family Cemetery and Mausoleum
40 mi GardenProspect Park
35 mi Park & preserveFloyd Bennett Field
38 mi Park & preserveSunset ParkConey 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 · Prospect Park: Unknown, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Floyd Bennett Field: Ad Meskens, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Sunset Park: GK tramrunner229, CC BY 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Point Pleasant Beach, 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 Beach.
Point Pleasant Beach draws workers from Brick Township and beyond, but it reports more crime than Manasquan and its other graded neighbors and has homes that cost more against local pay than most of New Jersey.
At 11.5 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income, the typical home (about $1.14M) costs more against local pay than in 93% of New Jersey towns; that ratio is one input to its D− for cost of living.
Typical home values rose 14% in the year to September 2026. Point Pleasant Beach’s median rent is $1,820 a month. The typical Point Pleasant Beach home is worth about $1,138,000, up 14.5% in a year, 98% above the New Jersey typical home.
| Point Pleasant Beach | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,820 a month | $1,778 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 76% | 77% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Point Pleasant Beach School District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Point Pleasant Beach High School, with 331 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| G. Harold Antrim Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 302 | B+ |
| Point Pleasant Beach High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 331 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
3,092 jobs are based in Point Pleasant Beach, 1.8 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
Most working residents leave Point Pleasant Beach for work: only 17% work in town. Jobs based in Point Pleasant Beach grew to 3,092 in 2023, 219 more than in 2013. The average trip to work in Point Pleasant Beach is 30 minutes.
| Point Pleasant Beach | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $142,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 17% | 6.3% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 5.2% | 6.1% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Within New Jersey it is healthier than 54% of the 468 graded towns: New Jersey sets a high bar. Its widest gap with New Jersey is food insecurity: 8.6% of its 4,043 adults worry about having enough food, against 14.3% statewide.
27% of adults feel lonely in Point Pleasant Beach. Point Pleasant Beach beats the New Jersey average on 13 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 16% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Point Pleasant Beach.
| Point Pleasant Beach | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 32% | 33% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 16% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 15% | 17% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 36% | 36% |
| What stands out | Point Pleasant Beach | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.6% | 14.3% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 7.4% | 12.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.1% | 7.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
| Point Pleasant Beach | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 8.1% | 11% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Pleasure Park | 0.2 mi | 9 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Each of the 3 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from Manasquan (B+) to Brielle (A).
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Point Pleasant Beach 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
1,707 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 87 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 67% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 1,707 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Point Pleasant Beach.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
22 within 15 miles of the center of Point Pleasant Beach
About 8 of every 100 Point Pleasant Beach residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Jersey.
Where Point Pleasant Beach’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
4 notable people were born in Point Pleasant Beach.
Borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, US
Point Pleasant Beach is a coastal borough situated on the Jersey Shore, and the northernmost community directly facing the Atlantic Ocean within Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It lies at the northern end of the Barnegat Peninsula, which serves as a barrier island separating Barnegat Bay from the open Atlantic Ocean. The borough's name is derived from its location. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 4,766, an increase of 101 (+2.2%) from the 2010 census count of 4,665, which in turn reflected a decline of 649 (−12.2%) from the 5,314 counted in the 2000 census. Point Pleasant Beach was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legisla…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Point Pleasant Beach.
All 3 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its B; Manasquan (A−) is closest.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Point Pleasant Beach | #261 | B | D− | C− | A− | A |
| Brielle | #30 | A+ | D− | A | A | A+ |
| Point Pleasant | #88 | A | D− | A | A− | A |
| Manasquan | #143 | A− | D− | B+ | B+ | A+ |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Point Pleasant Beach grades B overall, better than 55% of U.S. towns and #261 of 466 in New Jersey. It grades A for health, C− 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−.
4 notable people were born here, including Michael Pinnella and Dickie Harris.
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