Brick vs Point Pleasant, NJ: Which Fits Your Budget?
Local Knowledge. Shore Results. Updated October 2026Direct answer: Brick Township and Point Pleasant Borough are neighbors in northern Ocean County, and Point Pleasant sits right on Brick's eastern border. They're priced far apart. Brick's median active listing runs $569,000. Point Pleasant's runs $910,000. Brick is a big township with nearly every kind of shore waterfront and a wide range of price points. Point Pleasant is a smaller mainland borough split by the Point Pleasant Canal, with marinas lining the canal and the Manasquan River.
Quick Comparison
| Brick Township | Point Pleasant Borough | |
|---|---|---|
| County | Ocean | Ocean |
| Character | A large township, 73,620 residents in 2020 across about 32 square miles, with mainland suburbs, riverfront, lagoons and a separate barrier peninsula section | A smaller year-round borough, 18,941 residents in 2020, split in half by the Point Pleasant Canal |
| Known for | Windward Beach Park, the Brick Reservoir trail, Herbertsville, Lake Riviera | The canal lift bridges at Route 88 and Bridge Avenue, Johnson Brothers Boat Works and the New Jersey Museum of Boating, the Arnold Avenue downtown |
| Waterfront style | Oceanfront, Barnegat Bay lagoons, and riverfront on the Metedeconk and Manasquan Rivers | Canal-front and Manasquan River homes, including homes with private docks, with boat access to Barnegat Bay and the Atlantic through the Manasquan Inlet |
| Getting to the beach | Brick has its own ocean beaches on the barrier peninsula, across the bay from the mainland by bridge | No ocean frontage in the borough; the ocean is a short drive away in Point Pleasant Beach |
| Median list price | $569,000 (median active list price) | $910,000 (median active list price) |
| Property tax rate (effective) | 1.575% (avg. bill ~$8,093) | 1.437% (avg. bill ~$9,767) |
Pricing pulled from active MLS residential and condo listings, October 2026: 221 with Brick addresses (Brick Township) and 51 with Point Pleasant addresses (Point Pleasant Borough). Point Pleasant Beach and Bay Head listings carry their own MLS city names and are left out of the Point Pleasant figure. Tax rates are 2025 effective rates and 2025 average residential tax bills from the NJ Division of Taxation.
The Actual Tradeoff
Start with one question: how much do you want to pay to live in a marina town?
Point Pleasant is built around boating. The canal splits the borough, marinas line the canal and the Manasquan River, and from a dock here you can reach the Manasquan River, the Metedeconk River, Barnegat Bay and the Atlantic. Canal-front and river-access homes with private docks bring the clearest premium. Away from the water, the interior streets are mostly single-family homes built from the 1940s through the 1960s. That's a lot of what you're paying for in that higher median.
Brick gives you more choices at more price points. It's a much bigger township, with inland sections like Herbertsville and Lake Riviera that generally run lower, river communities along the Metedeconk such as Sandy Point, Breton Woods and Cape Breton, and Barnegat Bay lagoon neighborhoods farther south. Brick also has three Parkway exits in town (89, 90 and 91) and a direct NJ Transit bus to the Port Authority in Manhattan.
On taxes, Point Pleasant's rate is lower, but its average bill is about $1,674 higher because homes there are valued higher on average. One thing to watch in Point Pleasant: the lift bridges open often in summer, and boats have the right of way. Build that into your drive.
Want the full breakdown? Start with the companion blog post, or go to the town guides.
Curious about other towns at this price point? Try the town comparison tool
Ready to Talk It Through?
Weighing Brick's range of options against Point Pleasant's marinas? Call or text me and I'll walk you through what's on the market in each.
Matt Quinn, United Real Estate Associates
(609) 709-2742
matt@mattquinnsellshomes.com