How to Research a Jersey Shore Town Before You Visit

Start online with four things: the town itself, its property taxes, the commute, and how you'd spend a Saturday there. New Jersey publishes most of what you need for free, and a few evenings with the right tools can cut a long list of shore towns down to three or four before you ever book a trip.

I'm Dennis Mark Interdonato with The Dennis Mark Group at Keller Williams Realty Ocean Living. When you're moving from somewhere else, the hardest part isn't the house. It's the town. Here's the order I'd research a Monmouth or Ocean County town in, and the official tools I'd use.

Where do you start when you don't know the area?

Start wide, then narrow. The Where We Work page shows every town in Monmouth and Ocean County on one map. From there, open the town pages. Many break the town down by Notable Neighborhoods, so you can see the difference between one section and the next. Toms River is a good example. Many towns also have a free downloadable guide with the parks, dining, events and housing in one place, like the Brick Township guide.

Write down what you're moving here for before you read a single page: ocean or bay, a train to New York or a drive, a walkable downtown or more land for the money. Every tool below is easier to use once you know the question.

How do you compare property taxes between towns?

New Jersey property taxes are set town by town, so they belong near the top of your list. The Division of Taxation publishes two rates for every town, and they do different jobs:

• The general tax rate is "a multiplier for use in determining the amount of tax levied upon each property." It's applied to the assessed value, and "this rate is used to compute the tax bill."
• The effective tax rate is "a statistical study that enables the comparison of one district to another." The State is clear that it's "NOT to be used to compute the tax bill."

Both are in the Division's 2025 general tax rates file, listed town by town for both counties. The same statistics page links the Average Residential Statistics, with each town's average assessment, average tax bill and average sale price. For the deeper dive, read how property taxes change your monthly payment.

How do you look up a specific home's taxes?

Once a house catches your eye, look up the parcel itself:

• The State's property search. The NJ Transparency Center's property search shows "the annual assessed value of the land and building," "the prior year's taxes, and the property classification" on a map.
• Monmouth County. The Monmouth County Board of Taxation links to a records search and a tax estimator.
• Ocean County. The Ocean County Board of Taxation tax list search shows the assessment history, last year's taxes, building details and sales history.

The State's data is a snapshot from its January filing, so changes later in the year won't show. When you're serious about a home, I pull the current bill.

How do you check the commute?

Use NJ TRANSIT's trip planner with your real work address and your real start time. You can filter by train or bus and choose to arrive by a set time. If the train to New York matters to you, put it at the top of your town list, because the stations sit in specific towns along the North Jersey Coast Line. If you'll drive, check the drive at rush hour on a map app, then drive it yourself when you visit.

How do you find out what life is like there?

Listing photos won't tell you what a Saturday looks like. These will:

• County event calendars. Monmouth County tourism events and Ocean County tourism events list what's happening by date and town.
• County parks. The Monmouth County Park System runs over 30 park areas, and Ocean County Parks and Recreation runs 27 parks and conservation areas.
• The town's own website. Look for the recreation department, the beach or lake pages, and the town calendar.
• Schools, if they're part of your decision. The State publishes School Performance Reports with information on each school and district. Read them yourself and draw your own conclusions.

How do you read the local housing market?

Town pages carry a Market Snapshot built from MLS data, and the monthly market report tracks where prices are going. Compare like with like: a single-family home in one town against a single-family home in another, not against a condo. If you're also selling a home, a free home value tells you what you're working with.

How do you plan the visit so every trip counts?

1. Cut the list to three or four towns. More than that and the visit becomes a drive-by.
2. Visit on a weekday and a weekend if you can. The two can feel very different, especially near the water.
3. Drive the commute at the time you'd really make it.
4. Eat where the locals eat and walk the downtown. That's the Lifestyle Connector part of my job, and I'll give you my short list.
5. Tour homes my team has already previewed. We tour homes in person and walk you through them on virtual tours first, so the visit is spent on homes that made the cut.

The whole plan, from the first search to the keys, is on the relocation page and in my free Relocation Guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between the general tax rate and the effective tax rate in New Jersey?

The general tax rate is used to compute a tax bill from the assessed value. The effective tax rate is a statistic for comparing one town with another, and the State says it should not be used to compute a bill.

Where can I see a home's property taxes in New Jersey?

The NJ Transparency Center's property search shows the prior year's taxes and assessed value. The Monmouth County and Ocean County Boards of Taxation offer their own searches.

How many towns should I visit?

Three or four on a short list works well for most trips. Research the rest online first.

Can you tell me which town is best?

That depends on what you're moving here for. Tell me your commute, your budget and what you want a Saturday to look like, and I'll tell you what I see on the ground.

This is general information, not legal, tax or lending advice. Tax figures come from the State's published data; your attorney and tax professional confirm the numbers for a specific home.

About the author

Dennis Mark Interdonato is a REALTOR® and Master CDRE® who leads The Dennis Mark Group at Keller Williams Realty Ocean Living in Point Pleasant, NJ, helping buyers and sellers throughout New Jersey make their next move, with Monmouth and Ocean County as home base. He grew up in Monmouth County and lives in Ocean County. Read more about Dennis Mark.

Keep reading

• Rent first or buy right away when you relocate?
• Living at the Jersey Shore year-round
• Virtual tours vs in-person showings
• Have a question this didn't answer? Send it to Dennis Mark and it may become the next article.