Best PlacesIsland Heights, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Island Heights, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Island Heights ranks 10,165th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on big-city access by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Island Heights
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Island Heights' strengths and weaknesses
Where Island Heights ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 98% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than 97% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than 95% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than 93% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than 93% of towns
Where Island Heights ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 51 pleasant days a year, better than only 1% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,478 a month, better than only 4% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 10% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 11% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Island Heights
A household needs to earn about $151,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Island Heights home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $101,808, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Island Heights' effective rate of 1.46%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Island Heights
Island Heights runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Island Heights.
Who works in Island Heights, and how
Work in Island Heights centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Island Heights
The coast is about 7 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Island Heights, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Island Heights, month by month
Island Heights sees roughly 51 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 32° | 22° |
| April | 65° | 51° | 39° |
| July | 90° | 77° | 65° |
| October | 71° | 58° | 46° |
Flying in and out of Island Heights
The nearest airport, Atlantic City International, is about 41 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Newark Liberty International, about 52 miles away.
The best schools in and around Island Heights
Schools across Island Heights average a C−, better than 23% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Island Heights Elementary SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Washington Street Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Central Regional Middle SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Toms River Intermediate School SouthD · 23% proficient
Top high schools
- Toms River High School SouthC− · 27% proficient
- Central Regional High SchoolD · 23% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Island Heights school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Island Heights measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Island Heights against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Island Heights
Is Island Heights a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Island Heights ranks 10,165th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on big-city access, health care access, and cell coverage, and lowest on state finances and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Island Heights expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $531,325. The overall cost of living runs about 17% above the national average. Set against a $101,808 median income, cost of living beats 67% of towns.
Is Island Heights safe?
Yes, Island Heights is safer than 92% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $117 per resident a year.
Compare Island Heights with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Island Heights. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Island Heights represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Island Heights detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Island Heights: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Island Heights: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Island Heights: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Island Heights: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Island Heights detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.