Hazlet, NJ: Community Guide
Local Knowledge. Shore Results. Updated October 2026The Cinemark Hazlet 12 on Route 35 sits where the Route 35 Drive-In used to be. When the drive-in closed in September 1991, it was the last one left in New Jersey. It opened in 1956 with John Wayne on the screen and room for 1,400 cars. For longtime residents, the multiplex that replaced it still carries a little of that memory. One era built over another: that's a fair summary of Hazlet.
The township wasn't always called Hazlet. It was incorporated as Raritan Township in 1848, carved out of Middletown Township. Over the following decades it gave up land to form Holmdel Township, Matawan Township (today's Aberdeen Township), Keyport, Keansburg and Union Beach. What was left was renamed Hazlet in 1967, largely to end the confusion with other New Jersey towns that shared the old name. The new name honors Dr. John Hazlett, an early settler whose estate sat along what's now Holmdel Road. Today Hazlet is a central Bayshore community of just over 20,000 people. Locals know it for a train station that gets commuters into Manhattan, a swim club that's a true summer institution, and a lot of well-kept homes.
I'm Matt Quinn. I was born and raised in Ocean County, and I went to Monmouth University, living in Long Branch and Elberon during college. Before real estate I worked construction, served as a police officer, worked as a health inspector, and spent more than ten years as Manchester Township's Chief Code Enforcement Officer. I also hold a zoning officer certification. I've seen what's behind the walls of a lot of shore houses. I'll tell you what a town is really like, and I'll tell you if it's the wrong fit for you.
On This Page
- Hazlet at a Glance
- What Makes Hazlet Different
- Is Hazlet the Right Fit for You?
- What It's Really Like to Live in Hazlet
- Schools & Everyday Life
- What to Know Before Making the Move
- Common Questions About Living in Hazlet
- A Local Perspective on Living Here
- Thinking About Moving to Hazlet?
- Homes, Market Report & Nearby Towns
Hazlet at a Glance
Hazlet covers about 5.6 square miles in the Bayshore region of central Monmouth County. It had 20,091 residents in the 2020 census, and the median household income is around $122,000, comfortably above both the county and state averages. It borders Holmdel, Middletown, Keyport, Union Beach and Aberdeen Township. Aberdeen was once part of Hazlet too, before it split off as Matawan Township in 1857.
The first thing buyers should know: this is an established, mostly built-out suburb. You won't find much new construction. Average home values run around $620,000, and recent median sale prices have been closer to $555,000 to $580,000, depending on the month and the source. More than 60 percent of the housing stock is over 50 years old. That's a big enough share that the township designated itself an "Area in Need of Rehabilitation" in 2014, which opens up redevelopment tools like long-term tax exemptions.
What Makes Hazlet Different
Landmarks: Veterans Park is a roughly 24-acre township hub off Union Avenue. It has woods, playgrounds and a pond with a spray fountain, along with Town Hall, the James J. Cullen Community Center and the Hazlet Swim & Tennis Club. The swim club has four pools, including an Olympic-size main pool and a dive tank with a rock wall and water slide, plus newly resurfaced pickleball and tennis courts. The Aumack family burial ground, a small cemetery tucked between homes off Virginia Avenue, holds the graves of a Revolutionary War militiaman, two War of 1812 veterans and a Civil War soldier who died at Antietam. In 2020 a local Eagle Scout found the overgrown site and helped start restoring and flagging the graves. Hazlet is also the hometown of celebrity chef David Burke, whose restaurants have spanned the Jersey Shore. Keansburg Amusement Park and Runaway Rapids Waterpark are a short drive away.
Most desirable pockets: Sterling Meadows, a small enclave of midsize colonials built mostly in the mid-1990s off Bethany Road, sits close to Hazlet station. It draws buyers who want newer construction in an older town. Village Green, near the Route 35 and Garden State Parkway interchange, is a close-knit community of multi-family homes. Raritan Ridge rounds out the newer-built side of the township.
Defining character: Hazlet is practical. It has a central Bayshore location, a direct train line to Manhattan, established homes that reward buyers willing to update, and community institutions residents actually use: the swim club, the parks and the schools.
Is Hazlet the Right Fit for You?
Hazlet works if you want a central, well-connected Bayshore location, a direct train to New York, and a lower price point than Monmouth County's riverfront and oceanfront towns. You still get parks, a community pool, and the amusement and water parks in neighboring Keansburg.
It's a harder fit if you're set on new construction. With more than 60 percent of the homes over 50 years old, most of what comes on the market will need some updating. Budget for a thorough inspection and don't assume move-in-ready condition.
What It's Really Like to Live in Hazlet
For a lot of people, daily life runs through Hazlet station on NJ Transit's North Jersey Coast Line. There's hourly direct service to New York Penn Station, and the average ride is just over an hour. Weekends stay local: the Hazlet Swim & Tennis Club in summer, Veterans Park for a walk or a pickleball game, and a short drive into Keansburg for Runaway Rapids or the boardwalk-style rides at Keansburg Amusement Park.
Longtime residents still bring up the old Route 35 Drive-In when the Cinemark comes up. It's a small sign of how much local memory sticks around in a town that's changed its name, its borders and its landscape more than once.
Schools & Everyday Life
Hazlet Township Public Schools is one self-contained district covering pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. I see that as an advantage over towns that send students to a separate regional high school district. Students move through several elementary schools, including Cove Road School for grades 5 and 6, and then on to Raritan High School on Middle Road, home of the "Raritan Rockets." The high school offers a Pre-Engineering Academy and a Performing Arts Academy alongside its traditional curriculum.
What to Know Before Making the Move
Check the age and condition of any home before you fall for the price. Most of Hazlet's homes are over 50 years old, and the township is formally designated an Area in Need of Rehabilitation, so a thorough inspection matters more here than in newer markets. With my construction background, I'd budget for updates to major systems on anything that hasn't been renovated recently.
The commute works, but it takes time. Hazlet station gets you to New York Penn Station in a bit over an hour on average, with hourly direct North Jersey Coast Line service. That's workable every day, but build it into your routine.
Newer-construction pockets exist, but they're the exception. Sterling Meadows and Raritan Ridge have 1990s-era colonials in a township where most homes are much older. If build year matters to you, confirm it on each house.
Hazlet's borders have shifted over time. Aberdeen, Keyport, Keansburg, Union Beach and Holmdel were all once part of the same township. If you're cross-shopping the area, that history helps explain how these towns relate.
Common Questions About Living in Hazlet
Is Hazlet on the water?
Not directly. It borders the Bayshore towns of Union Beach and Keansburg, though, so Raritan Bay beaches and Keansburg's amusement and water parks are a short drive away.
How's the commute to New York?
Direct and workable. Hazlet station on the North Jersey Coast Line has hourly trains to New York Penn Station, averaging a bit over an hour with no transfer.
Is Hazlet the same place as Raritan Township?
Historically, yes. Hazlet was incorporated as Raritan Township in 1848 and renamed Hazlet in 1967 after early settler Dr. John Hazlett.
Is the housing stock old?
Mostly, yes. More than 60 percent of homes are over 50 years old, which led the township to designate itself an Area in Need of Rehabilitation in 2014. Newer pockets like Sterling Meadows and Raritan Ridge are the exception.
A Local Perspective on Living Here
What stands out about Hazlet is how much local memory survives change. A family burial ground that sat forgotten between houses for decades got attention again because a teenager working toward Eagle Scout went looking for veterans' graves. A drive-in that closed in 1991 still comes up when people talk about the theater that replaced it. A township that changed its name and gave up more than half its original land still has residents who know exactly where the old borders used to run. People stay connected to this town.
Thinking About Moving to Hazlet?
If you like Hazlet's central location and train access but want to be closer to the water, look at neighboring Union Beach and Keansburg, right on the Bayshore. Holmdel and Middletown Township, next door, are more spread-out suburban options.
Hazlet gets overlooked next to the better-known shore towns. The value case still holds up: an established community, a real commuter rail line, and prices well below the riverfront towns. Ask me to run those numbers against a riverfront town and see for yourself.
Homes, Market Report & Nearby Towns
Want to see how Hazlet compares to another town? Run the comparison yourself