Local Knowledge. Shore Results.
Point Pleasant Beach has the ocean and the boardwalk, and its median runs about $460,000 higher. Point Pleasant is the bigger mainland town at a lower price.
Point Pleasant and Point Pleasant Beach are two separate Ocean County municipalities that share almost the same name, sit right next to each other, and get mixed up by buyers constantly. They are not the same market. Point Pleasant's median list price right now is $989,500. Point Pleasant Beach is $1,449,450. That gap exists for one simple reason: one town has the boardwalk and the ocean, the other doesn't.
If you've been searching "Point Pleasant homes for sale" and getting confused by two different towns showing up, here's the actual difference.
Same Name, Different Water
Point Pleasant has 54 active listings right now, from $479,000 to $4,000,000, median $989,500. Point Pleasant Beach has 16 active listings, from $405,000 to $2,895,000, median $1,449,450. Point Pleasant Beach has far less inventory and a meaningfully higher median, which tracks with it being the smaller, more in-demand oceanfront town of the two.
Point Pleasant: The Larger Mainland Borough
Point Pleasant proper covers 3.49 square miles and is home to just under 19,000 residents, making it the bigger of the two towns by both population and land. Most of the borough sits on the mainland, and the Point Pleasant Canal cuts right through it, with two lift bridges that can open as many as 300 times a day in summer to let boat traffic through.
Despite its resort-town reputation, the borough is quick to point out it's a year-round community, not a seasonal one. It runs its own K-12 district across four schools with about 2,650 students, and Saint Peter School, a private Blue Ribbon school, has been educating kids there since 1923.
Point Pleasant Beach has the boardwalk and the ocean. Point Pleasant has more homes at a lower price.
Point Pleasant Beach: The Boardwalk Town
Point Pleasant Beach is much smaller, just 1.42 square miles and under 5,000 residents, but it's the one with the actual boardwalk. Jenkinson's Boardwalk runs about a mile along the ocean with an aquarium, arcades, amusement rides, and restaurants, and the beach itself was ranked eighth-best in New Jersey in a 2008 contest.
Hurricane Sandy destroyed nearly 2,800 feet of that boardwalk in 2012, and the town rebuilt with a seawall for future storm protection. The borough runs its own K-12 district too, just two schools and about 650 students, reflecting how much smaller the year-round population is compared to its neighbor.
The Tax Bill
Point Pleasant's effective tax rate is 1.437%, with an average bill of $9,767. Point Pleasant Beach's effective rate is lower at 1.095%, but the average bill is a bit higher at $10,430, because home values there run higher across the board.
Want the median price, tax rate, and full data table side by side? Compare Point Pleasant and Point Pleasant Beach, or run the numbers on any two towns.
Read the full Point Pleasant guide | Read the full Point Pleasant Beach guide
If you've been searching both these towns and aren't sure which one actually has what you're picturing, I can walk you through current listings in both and clear up the confusion fast.
Matthew Quinn, United Real Estate Associates
(609) 709-2742
matt@mattquinnsellshomes.com