Does Your NJ Mailing Address Tell You Which Town You Live In?
Published | Posted by Dennis Mark Interdonato
- Insider Insights
- Home Buying
- Property Taxes
- New Jersey
Not always. In New Jersey, the town printed on your mail and the town your home actually sits in can be two different places. Your property tax rate and your building permits follow the second one, the municipality.
I'm Dennis Mark Interdonato, a REALTOR® and Master CDRE® with The Dennis Mark Group at Keller Williams Realty Ocean Living. A listing says Toms River, Belmar or Point Pleasant Beach, and the home turns out to be in Berkeley Township, Wall Township or the Borough of Point Pleasant. Here's why, and how to check before you make an offer.
First, where I stand. I sell homes. I'm not a tax professional or an attorney, and I'm not licensed to give tax or legal advice. This is my own reading of Postal Service, Census Bureau and State of New Jersey records on November 14, 2026. I could have something wrong, so confirm anything that touches your taxes with the town's tax assessor or your attorney.
Why doesn't my New Jersey mailing address match my town?
Because a ZIP code is a mail route, not a town line. The U.S. Census Bureau explains that the Postal Service assigns ZIP code ranges to regional post offices, and those post offices assign ZIP codes to delivery routes. A route follows the streets a carrier covers. It doesn't stop at a borough or township border.
Each ZIP code also gets one city name that the Postal Service recommends for addresses. That's the name most listings, websites and delivery apps print, even when the house sits in the next town over.
New Jersey gives those routes a lot of borders to cross. The New Jersey State League of Municipalities counts 564 municipalities in the state. Ocean County has 33 of them and Monmouth County has 53, according to Ocean County's own count.
Which Jersey Shore ZIP codes cross town lines?
Here are three from my home base, using the Postal Service's ZIP code lookup and the Census Bureau's 2020 file that matches ZIP code areas to municipalities:
- 08757, Toms River. The Postal Service's recommended city name is Toms River, and it also accepts Berkeley and Manchester. The Census file puts about 13.6 square miles of that ZIP code area in Berkeley Township and about 8 acres in Toms River Township, with Manchester Township and South Toms River making up the rest. That's why homes in Holiday City carry a Toms River address while sitting in Berkeley Township.
- 07719, Belmar. The recommended name is Belmar, and Lake Como, Wall and Wall Township are accepted too. About 11.4 square miles of the ZIP code area is in Wall Township, about 1 square mile is in Belmar, and about a quarter of a square mile is in Lake Como.
- 08742, Point Pleasant Beach. The recommended name is Point Pleasant Beach. The largest share of the ZIP code area, about 3.5 square miles, is in the Borough of Point Pleasant. About 1.4 square miles is in Point Pleasant Beach, and Bay Head and a small piece of Brick Township make up the rest.
What's the difference between a borough, a township and a city?
In New Jersey, those words name the type of local government. The League of Municipalities says every one of the state's 564 municipalities falls into one of five types: borough, township, city, town or village, and uses one of 12 forms of government. The label tells you how a town is organized, not how big it is or what the homes are like.
Why does the town matter more than the mailing address?
Your property tax rate. Every municipality has its own line on the New Jersey Division of Taxation's table of 2025 general tax rates. Belmar Borough, Lake Como Borough and Wall Township, the three towns that share ZIP code 07719, each have a different rate on that table. Two homes with the same ZIP code and the same city name on the mail can be taxed at different rates, because they sit in different towns.
Your building permits. New Jersey's Department of Community Affairs says construction permit applications go to the local enforcing agency, the office that enforces the state's Uniform Construction Code, and that municipalities adopt their own permit fee schedules by ordinance. A deck, an addition or new electrical work goes through the town the house is in, not the town on the envelope.
How do you check which town a home is really in?
Go to the property tax record. Each year, the assessor files the town's assessment list with the County Board of Taxation, and the State of New Jersey's Property Tax List Search lets anyone look those records up. Properties are listed by county and municipality, and each one is identified by its block and lot.
- Ask for the municipality and the block and lot. They're on the seller's tax bill, and a good listing shows them.
- Look the home up in the state's Property Tax List Search, or in your county board of taxation's records search.
- Find that town on the Division of Taxation's 2025 general tax rate table, and take your questions to that town's tax assessor.
- If you're planning work on the home, like an addition or a pool, call that town's construction office before you sign.
One thing to know: the state says changes made after the tax list is certified, such as a transfer of ownership, won't show up in that search. A home that sold recently may still show the prior owner.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use my actual town's name on my mail?
For some ZIP codes, yes. The Postal Service lists other city names it recognizes. For 07719 it recognizes Wall and Wall Township along with Belmar, and for 08757 it recognizes Berkeley and Manchester along with Toms River. It asks you to use a recommended or recognized name so your mail moves faster.
Does my ZIP code decide my property taxes?
No. The tax rate follows the municipality the home is in. Two homes in the same ZIP code can sit in different towns with different rates.
Are Point Pleasant and Point Pleasant Beach the same town?
No. They're two separate boroughs in Ocean County, each with its own rate on the state's 2025 tax rate table. They share the 08742 ZIP code with Bay Head and a small part of Brick Township.
One more time, so it's clear: this is my research, not tax or legal advice. I'm a REALTOR®, not an assessor or an attorney, and the town's tax assessor has the final word on any property. If you've found a home and you're not sure which town it's really in, send me the address with the form below and I'll look up the tax record with you. Next, read how property taxes work into a monthly mortgage payment, or browse more Insider Insights.
This is general information, not legal, tax or lending advice. Sources: the U.S. Postal Service ZIP Code lookup, the Census Bureau's 2020 ZIP Code area file and the New Jersey Division of Taxation's 2025 General Tax Rates, read November 14, 2026.
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. Read more about Dennis Mark.
