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Beach Haven, New Jersey

Beach Haven is a suburb of about 1,100 people in Ocean County, New Jersey, in the New York area. It has grown about 3% since 2020. A typical home costs about 10.2 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Philadelphia, is about 56 miles away as the crow flies.

Tourist townSuburb of New York

Population
1,066
up 2.8% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$1,472,200
Ocean County prices up 26% since 2022
Household income
$144,167
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, New York area
112.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
10 miles
Manahawkin, NJ
To Philadelphia
56 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 12.6% above the U.S. average in the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 10.2 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood0 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 115 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Pinelands Regional High School, about 6 miles away.
  • A hospital close bySouthern Ocean Medical Center in Manahawkin, about 10 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityPhiladelphia is about 56 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Beach Haven meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Beach Haven runs into the built-up area around New York (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

Tourist town. About 79% of homes are vacation or seasonal homes, a sign of a visitor economy. More restaurants, shops and weekend events than locals alone could support, with the small-town basics intact.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$1,472,200U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 26%Ocean County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$2,071 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$144,167U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
89%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$10,000 or more a yearNew Jersey: $9,590
Homes built before 1940
11%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
7%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
79%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
112.6U.S. average = 100 (the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 26% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area, not Beach Haven alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
1,0662020: 1,037
Median age
62 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
42%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
9%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
65%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
9%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Finance, insurance and real estate (20%); professional and business services (16%); schools, health care and social services (16%)
Unemployment rate
2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
41 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
35%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
4%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Southern Ocean Medical Center, Manahawkin, NJ, about 10 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

1 public school in Beach Haven, run by Beach Haven School District. The nearest public high school is Pinelands Regional High School, about 6 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on New Jersey's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
81%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
94%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
27°F
July average high
84°F
Days 90°F or hotter
10 a year
Nights at or below freezing
71 a year
Rain and melted snow
41 inches a year
Snow
10 inches a year
Elevation
2 feet

Weather station: Brant Beach-beach Haven (1 mile away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Southern Ocean Medical Center, Vineland, Philadelphia.

Ocean County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Beach Haven Historic District and Beach Haven Historic District (Boundary Increase and Additional Documentation).

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Independence National Historical Park54 miles
  • Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial54 miles
  • Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site55 miles
  • Gateway National Recreation Area58 miles

Read about Beach Haven's history on Wikipedia.

Know Beach Haven?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • North Beach Haven, NJ (unincorporated)2,277 people, 3 miles
  • Manahawkin, NJ (unincorporated)2,392 people, 8 miles
  • Harvey Cedars, NJ404 people, 10 miles
  • New Gretna, NJ (unincorporated)314 people, 11 miles
  • Oceanville, NJ (unincorporated)631 people, 13 miles
  • Barnegat Light, NJ641 people, 14 miles
  • Absecon Highlands, NJ (unincorporated)1,288 people, 15 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.