Best PlacesMonmouth County, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Monmouth County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Monmouth County ranks 188th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $140,963, wages outrun the cost of living, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are state finances, childcare costs, and property taxes.
The best neighborhoods in Monmouth County
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.
The best areas in Monmouth County
The parts of Monmouth County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Englishtown, Freehold & Marlboro
Local pay stretches further, incomes run higher, and prices have run up less.
Morganville, Matawan & Keyport
Fewer homes sit empty, though commutes are longer.
Rumson, Atlantic Highlands & Fair Haven
It is quieter, though disaster risk is higher.
Howell
Streets are more car-dependent and biking is worse.
Belmar, Neptune & Manasquan
Tree cover is thicker and crime runs lower.
Middletown, Red Bank & Keansburg
Advertised internet is slower.
Tinton Falls & Eatontown
Fewer households have young kids.
Spring Lake Heights, Bradley Beach & Neptune City
Schools score lower and fewer residents vote.
Long Branch, Asbury Park & West Long Branch
Fewer adults hold degrees and health care is harder to reach.
Monmouth County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 9% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Monmouth County's strengths and weaknesses
Monmouth County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. Big-city access is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. High incomes and an educated workforce follow.
The one real hole is state finances, near the bottom of the country. Childcare costs and property taxes also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Monmouth County ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 99% of counties
- Household income$140,963 median, better than 99% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 97% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than 97% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than 96% of counties
Where Monmouth County ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,493 a month, better than only 3% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 5% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 7% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 63 pleasant days a year, better than only 9% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Monmouth County
A household needs to earn about $189,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Monmouth County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $140,963, 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 Monmouth County's effective rate of 1.64%, 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 Monmouth County
Monmouth County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Monmouth County.
Who works in Monmouth County, and how
Work in Monmouth County centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 71%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in Monmouth County
Monmouth County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 80% of counties. The coast is about 9 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Monmouth County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Monmouth County growing, and who is moving in?
Monmouth County has grown about 4% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the New York, NY metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Monmouth County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Monmouth County, month by month
Monmouth County sees roughly 63 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 34° | 26° |
| April | 64° | 53° | 42° |
| July | 88° | 77° | 68° |
| October | 70° | 59° | 49° |
Flying in and out of Monmouth County
Newark Liberty International sits about 28 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 23.5 million passengers in 2025, with 242 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Monmouth County
Schools across Monmouth County average a C+, better than 44% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Ps 100 Coney Island School (the)A+ · 80% proficient
- Point Road SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Village SchoolA · 68% proficient
Top middle schools
- Forrestdale SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Indian Hill SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Markham Place SchoolA · 60% proficient
Top high schools
- Leon M Goldstein High School For The SciencesA+ · 98% proficient
- Monmouth County Academy Of Allied Health And ScienceA+ · 95% proficient
- Communications High SchoolA+ · 93% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Monmouth County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Monmouth County 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 Monmouth County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Monmouth County suits
Families
Schools land around the 44th percentile and crime safety beats 88%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 96% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 19% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Monmouth County
Is Monmouth County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Monmouth County ranks 188th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on big-city access, high incomes, and an educated workforce, and lowest on state finances and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Monmouth County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $648,461. The overall cost of living runs about 24% above the national average. Set against a $140,963 median income, cost of living beats 96% of counties.
Is Monmouth County safe?
Yes, Monmouth County is safer than 88% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $173 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Monmouth County?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 44 with lows near 26. That works out to about 63 pleasant days a year, more than 9% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Monmouth County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Englishtown, Freehold & Marlboro, Morganville, Matawan & Keyport, and Rumson, Atlantic Highlands & Fair Haven. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Monmouth County good for families?
Schools beat 44% of counties, crime safety beats 88%, and childcare runs $1,493 a month.
Is Monmouth County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 96% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 94% of counties. About 19% of workers already work from home.
Compare Monmouth County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Monmouth County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Monmouth County 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.
Monmouth County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Monmouth County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Monmouth County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Monmouth County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Monmouth County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Monmouth County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.