Living in Seaside Park, New Jersey: homes, schools and costs

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 neighborhood3 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1.3 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 0 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is Toms River High School East, about 4 miles away.
A hospital close byCommunity Medical Center in Toms River, about 8 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityNew York is about 51 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 Seaside Park 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

Seaside Park 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 64% 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.

Boom town. The population is up 48% since 2020. Growing fast, with rising home values. Watch for chain stores and big apartment complexes: the small-town feel may not last.

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: $860,200U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 26%Ocean County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,660 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $84,375U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill: $10,000 or more a yearNew Jersey: $9,590
Homes built before 1940: 28%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 10%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 64%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 Seaside Park 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: 2,1352020: 1,445
Median age: 60.9 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 41%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 10%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 54%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: Schools, health care and social services (23%); finance, insurance and real estate (16%); retail (11%)
Unemployment rate: 5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 31 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 15%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 10%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Community Medical Center, Toms River, NJ, about 8 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 1 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

There are no public schools inside Seaside Park itself. The nearest public high school is Toms River High School East, about 4 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%

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: 22°F
July average high: 86°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 24 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 116 a year
Rain and melted snow: 41 inches a year
Snow: 10 inches a year
Elevation: 4 feet

Weather stations: Toms River (7 miles away) and Brant Beach-beach Haven (26 miles away, rain and snow). 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

Community Medical CenterEmergency room8

Trenton, NJCity of 92,00042

New York, NYMetro of 20.1 million51

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: Community Medical Center, Trenton, New York.

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

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Gateway National Recreation Area33 miles
Statue of Liberty National Monument53 miles
Governors Island National Monument53 miles
Castle Clinton National Monument54 miles
Federal Hall National Memorial54 miles

Read about Seaside Park's history on Wikipedia.

Know Seaside Park?

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

Seaside Heights, NJ2,500 people, 1 miles
Ocean Gate, NJ2,000 people, 3 miles
Lavallette, NJ1,900 people, 3 miles
Island Heights, NJ1,700 people, 4 miles
Pine Beach, NJ2,200 people, 5 miles
Beachwood, NJ11,300 people, 7 miles

Smaller places

Dover Beaches South, NJ (unincorporated)1,601 people, 2 miles
Dover Beaches North, NJ (unincorporated)1,586 people, 5 miles
Silver Ridge, NJ (unincorporated)1,279 people, 9 miles
Mantoloking, NJ341 people, 9 miles
Holiday Heights, NJ (unincorporated)2,121 people, 10 miles
Bay Head, NJ968 people, 10 miles
Waretown, NJ (unincorporated)2,076 people, 11 miles
Barnegat Light, NJ641 people, 12 miles

Sources

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.