Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 15% of U.S. towns · #455 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Below: maps from 1888 on and the census since 1930.
Union Beach dates its founding to 1925 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1930.
More historic than 15% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Union Beach is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns, #455 of 468 in New Jersey. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
New Jersey towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New Jersey town has 3.7 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Union Beach’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (12% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Union Beach’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Union Beach. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Union Beach.
From Wikipedia’s history of Union Beach.
On October 28, 2012, at 4:00pm, the mayor issued a mandatory evacuation for the borough in preparation for Hurricane Sandy—the second-costliest hurricane in United States history. When the hurricane arrived, approximately one third of the borough's 6,200 residents had left.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
2025Union Beach, NJ dunes looking west, Aug. 2025
2025Union Beach, NJ along Front Street, Aug. 2025
2025Union Beach, NJ Municipal Complex, Aug. 2025
2025Union Beach, NJ Memorial Library, Aug. 2025
2025Flat Creek from CR 39, Union Beach, NJ, Aug. 2025
2025Ellison Park, Union Beach, NJ, Aug. 2025
2025Beach of Union Beach, NJ (2), Aug. 2025
2025Beach of Union Beach, NJ (1), Aug. 2025
2025American Legion Post 321, Union Beach, NJ, Aug. 2025
2019Union Beach, NJ war memorial
2012Sandy damage
2012927 FiremanBetween 1,893 and 6,649 people in every census since 1930.
10 censuses, 1930–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Union Beach’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Union Beach itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1925, according to Wikidata. the census of 1930 counted 1,893 people here.
Union Beach is more historic than 15% of U.S. towns, #455 of 468 in New Jersey. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
10% of Union Beach’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.1 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1963.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (12), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
