Best PlacesOcean County, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Ocean County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Distance to the water drives a lot of the difference between one part and the next. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Ocean County ranks 1,041st of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. The coast is about 14 minutes away. Its strengths are big-city access and low crime. The cost shows up in state finances, an overheated housing market, and childcare costs.
The best neighborhoods in Ocean 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 Ocean County
The parts of Ocean 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.
Jackson
More households have young kids, tree cover is thicker, and local pay stretches further.
Toms River
Incomes run higher, though it is noisier.
Brick & Point Pleasant
Health care is easier to reach and more adults hold degrees.
Ocean Acres, Tuckerton & Barnegat
Crime runs lower, though heat risk is higher.
Forked River, Bayville & Waretown
More homes sit empty and disaster risk is higher.
Seaside Heights & Island Heights
Lakewood
Prices have run up more and homes cost more.
Whiting, Holiday City-Berkeley & Crestwood Village
Health outcomes score lower and transit reaches fewer jobs.
Ocean County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 2% of the country and others in the top 8%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Ocean County's strengths and weaknesses
Ocean County lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Big-city access is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. Low crime and high incomes follow.
The one real hole is state finances, near the bottom of the country. An overheated housing market and childcare costs also cost it ground. The detail is below, and the map is where it turns into a choice of neighborhood rather than just a place.
Where Ocean County ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 99% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 97% of counties
- Household income$98,068 median, better than 91% of counties
- TransitBetter than 91% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than 90% of counties
Where Ocean County ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 3% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,478 a month, better than only 3% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 58 pleasant days a year, better than only 4% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 7% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Ocean County
A household needs to earn about $134,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Ocean County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $98,068, 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 Ocean County's effective rate of 1.50%, 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 Ocean County
Ocean County's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Ocean County.
Who works in Ocean County, and how
Work in Ocean County centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Ocean County
The coast is about 14 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Ocean County, which the map shows.
Is Ocean County growing, and who is moving in?
Ocean County has grown about 14% 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 Ocean County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Ocean County, month by month
Ocean County sees roughly 58 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 Ocean County
The nearest airport, Trenton Mercer, is about 38 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Newark Liberty International, about 49 miles away.
The best schools in and around Ocean County
Schools across Ocean County average a C−, better than 18% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Beach Haven SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Bay Head ElementaryB− · 43% proficient
- Mckinley Avenue Elementary SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
Top middle schools
- Memorial Middle SchoolB · 44% proficient
- New Egypt Middle SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Carl W. Goetz Middle SchoolC · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- Marine Academy Of Technology And Environmental ScienceA+ · 98% proficient
- Ocean County Vocational Technical School Waretown CenterB− · 40% proficient
- Point Pleasant Beach High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Ocean County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Ocean 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 Ocean County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Ocean County suits
Families
Schools land around the 18th percentile and crime safety beats 97%.
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 13% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Ocean County
Is Ocean County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Ocean County ranks 1,041st of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on big-city access, low crime, and high incomes, and lowest on state finances and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Ocean County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $469,468. The overall cost of living runs about 13% above the national average. Set against a $98,068 median income, cost of living beats 65% of counties.
Is Ocean County safe?
Yes, Ocean County is safer than 97% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $141 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Ocean County?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 22. That works out to about 58 pleasant days a year, more than 4% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Ocean County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Jackson, Toms River, and Brick & Point Pleasant. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Ocean County good for families?
Schools beat 18% of counties, crime safety beats 97%, and childcare runs $1,478 a month.
Is Ocean County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 65% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 84% of counties. About 13% of workers already work from home.
Compare Ocean County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Ocean County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Ocean 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.
Ocean County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Ocean County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Ocean County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Ocean County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Ocean County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Ocean 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.