The Town Files

The 25 Best Vacation-Home Small Towns in New Jersey

Ranked on The Town Files lifestyle rankings among 352 towns of 2,500–10,000 people in New Jersey. #1 is Monmouth Beach, NJ.

Map of the 25 towns12345678910111213141516171819202122232425
Numbers match the ranking.
The 25 Best Vacation-Home Small Towns in New Jersey1. Monmouth Beach100th pct2. Spring Lake100th pct3. Margate City99th pct4. Beach Haven West99th pct5. Brigantine98th pct6. Belmar98th pct7. Rutgers University-Busch C…98th pct8. Bradley Beach98th pct9. Palermo98th pct10. Long Beach98th pct11. Point Pleasant Beach97th pct12. Ventnor City96th pct13. North Cape May96th pct14. Wildwood Crest96th pct15. Villas95th pct16. Stillwater95th pct17. Tuckerton95th pct18. Cape May95th pct19. Forked River94th pct20. Highland Lakes94th pct21. North Wildwood94th pct22. Wildwood93rd pct23. Barnegat93rd pct24. Rio Grande93rd pct25. Ocean92nd pct
  1. 25Ocean, New Jersey

    Better for a vacation home than 92% of New Jersey towns

    8,835 people · Ocean County · median home $475,200 · income $100,524 · Jan low 22°F · 10 in snow

  2. 24Rio Grande, New Jersey

    Better for a vacation home than 93% of New Jersey towns

    3,610 people · Cape May County · median home $317,400 · income $76,250 · Jan low 29°F · 15 in snow

  3. 23Barnegat, New Jersey

    Better for a vacation home than 93% of New Jersey towns

    3,894 people · Ocean County · median home $481,600 · income $108,664 · Jan low 27°F · 10 in snow

  4. 22Wildwood, New Jersey

    Better for a vacation home than 93% of New Jersey towns

    5,157 people · Cape May County · median home $391,300 · income $75,222 · Jan low 29°F · 15 in snow

  5. 21North Wildwood, New Jersey

    Better for a vacation home than 94% of New Jersey towns

    3,621 people · Cape May County · median home $459,900 · income $90,833 · Jan low 29°F · 15 in snow

  6. 20Highland Lakes, New Jersey

    Better for a vacation home than 94% of New Jersey towns

    4,816 people · Sussex County · median home $295,300 · income $109,000 · Jan low 18°F · 35 in snow

  7. 19Forked River, New Jersey

    Better for a vacation home than 94% of New Jersey towns

    5,274 people · Ocean County · median home $437,000 · income $91,493 · Jan low 22°F · 10 in snow

  8. 18Cape May, New Jersey

    Better for a vacation home than 95% of New Jersey towns

    2,768 people · Cape May County · median home $863,900 · income $62,576 · Jan low 29°F · 15 in snow

  9. 17Tuckerton, New Jersey

    Better for a vacation home than 95% of New Jersey towns

    3,577 people · Ocean County · median home $349,300 · income $88,892 · Jan low 27°F · 10 in snow

  10. 16Stillwater, New Jersey

    Better for a vacation home than 95% of New Jersey towns

    4,004 people · Sussex County · median home $343,100 · income $123,134 · Jan low 19°F · 34 in snow

  11. 15Villas, New Jersey

    Better for a vacation home than 95% of New Jersey towns

    9,134 people · Cape May County · median home $301,600 · income $80,974 · Jan low 29°F · 15 in snow

  12. 14Wildwood Crest, New Jersey

    Better for a vacation home than 96% of New Jersey towns

    3,101 people · Cape May County · median home $590,900 · income $69,089 · Jan low 29°F · 15 in snow

  13. 13North Cape May, New Jersey

    Better for a vacation home than 96% of New Jersey towns

    4,007 people · Cape May County · median home $393,300 · income $86,962 · Jan low 29°F · 15 in snow

  14. 12Ventnor City, New Jersey

    Better for a vacation home than 96% of New Jersey towns

    9,210 people · Atlantic County · median home $363,000 · income $68,671 · Jan low 30°F · 17 in snow

  15. 11Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey

    Better for a vacation home than 97% of New Jersey towns

    4,766 people · Ocean County · median home $850,300 · income $141,716 · Jan low 22°F

  16. 10Long Beach, New Jersey

    Better for a vacation home than 98% of New Jersey towns

    3,153 people · Ocean County · median home $1,193,700 · income $113,224 · Jan low 27°F · 10 in snow

  17. 9Palermo, New Jersey

    Better for a vacation home than 98% of New Jersey towns

    3,183 people · Cape May County · median home $395,400 · income $101,005 · Jan low 23°F · 19 in snow

  18. 8Bradley Beach, New Jersey

    Better for a vacation home than 98% of New Jersey towns

    4,282 people · Monmouth County · median home $932,800 · income $97,005 · Jan low 25°F

  19. 7Rutgers University-Busch Campus, New Jersey

    Better for a vacation home than 98% of New Jersey towns

    4,586 people · Middlesex County · median home — · income — · Jan low 23°F · 29 in snow

  20. 6Belmar, New Jersey

    Better for a vacation home than 98% of New Jersey towns

    5,907 people · Monmouth County · median home $861,800 · income $93,573 · Jan low 25°F

  21. 5Brigantine, New Jersey

    Better for a vacation home than 98% of New Jersey towns

    7,716 people · Atlantic County · median home $524,800 · income $97,250 · Jan low 30°F · 15 in snow

  22. 4Beach Haven West, New Jersey

    Better for a vacation home than 99% of New Jersey towns

    4,143 people · Ocean County · median home $641,700 · income $119,394 · Jan low 27°F · 10 in snow

  23. 3Margate City, New Jersey

    Better for a vacation home than 99% of New Jersey towns

    5,317 people · Atlantic County · median home $708,800 · income $121,800 · Jan low 30°F · 17 in snow

  24. 2Spring Lake, New Jersey

    Better for a vacation home than 100% of New Jersey towns

    2,789 people · Monmouth County · median home $2,000,001 · income $215,625 · Jan low 25°F

  25. 1Monmouth Beach, New Jersey

    Better for a vacation home than 100% of New Jersey towns

    3,174 people · Monmouth County · median home $995,000 · income $150,188 · Jan low 25°F · 25 in snow

Price vs ranking

Median home value vs ranking, New Jersey towns0255075100$80K$328K$576K$824K$1073KMedian home valuePercentile
Orange squares are the 25 towns on this list; green dots are other towns on The Town Files in New Jersey.

More New Jersey rankings

Same ranking, other places

Methodology. We ranked 352 towns of 2,500–10,000 people in New Jersey (2020 Census population; towns with 2,500+ people have pages so far). Lifestyle measures are The Town Files lifestyle rankings, built from federal demographic, school, crime and housing data (2025), shown as percentiles. Only towns better than 60% of their peers on this measure qualify, so lists can be shorter than 25. Sources: