New Jersey city guide
Moving From California to Asbury Park, NJ
A reinvented Jersey Shore city with a year-round music and boardwalk economy, priced with the shore premium that comes with it.
Housing comparison
California versus Asbury Park, side by side
- Median home value
- $725,800
- $581,100
- Median annual property tax
- $5,114
- not available
- Median monthly cost, owners with a mortgage
- $2,844
- not available
- Population
- 39.0 million (state)
- 15,295
Figures are US Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020 to 2024 5-Year Estimates for the city place. Property tax and monthly cost rows cover owner-occupied units with a mortgage, so they describe what current owners pay, not what a new buyer would pay at today's prices. California column is the statewide baseline used across this site.
Why Californians look at Asbury Park
Asbury Park is a small city on the Monmouth County shore that spent decades in decline after its mid-century heyday and has spent the last twenty years rebuilding around its boardwalk, music venues, and beachfront, most visibly the Stone Pony and the restored Convention Hall and boardwalk pavilions. Unlike shore towns that empty out after Labor Day, Asbury Park now runs a genuine year-round economy built on restaurants, hotels, and live music rather than purely a summer season.
The city sits on the North Jersey Coast Line, giving residents a direct rail option to Manhattan, though the ride is long enough that most residents are not making it a daily commute. Asbury Park functions more as a lifestyle choice, shore living with real culture and nightlife, than as a bedroom community optimized for a New York job.
Prices reflect the shore location and the reinvestment of the last two decades. Data USA's 2024 estimate puts the median property value at $581,100, above Collingswood and Morristown, and buyers should also budget for the flood and wind insurance costs that come with a barrier-adjacent coastal property in New Jersey.
Asbury Park fits you if
- You want beach access and a real, year-round music and restaurant scene rather than a seasonal shore town.
- You value LGBTQ-friendly and artistic community, which Asbury Park is well known for regionally.
- You want direct rail access to New York for occasional trips, even if you are not commuting daily.
- You are comfortable with coastal insurance costs and storm risk in exchange for shore living.
Look elsewhere if
- You need a short, reliable daily commute to Manhattan. The North Jersey Coast Line ride is long, and many trains require a transfer.
- You are trying to avoid flood or wind insurance costs. Coastal New Jersey property comes with both as real, recurring expenses.
- You want a quiet, low-density town. Asbury Park's boardwalk and downtown draw heavy visitor traffic, especially in summer.
- You need a broad local job market outside hospitality, restaurants, and tourism-adjacent services.
Housing in Asbury Park
Asbury Park's housing stock includes Victorian-era homes on the west side, converted multi-family buildings, newer waterfront condo development near the boardwalk, and a historic Grand Victorian double-corner-lot pattern that dates to the city's original 1870s plan. Renovation quality varies significantly block by block, which is typical of a city still mid-way through a longer revitalization.
Data USA puts the 2024 median property value at $581,100 with a median household income of $75,544, and Census Reporter counts the population at 15,295. Property values near the beachfront and the newer condo developments run well above the west-side housing stock.
Flood zone status varies by block given the city's location between the Atlantic Ocean and Wesley Lake and Deal Lake, and any serious buyer should check FEMA flood maps and get an insurance quote before making an offer, since it can materially change the real monthly cost of a specific property.
Work and the local economy
Tourism, hospitality, restaurants, and the live music and events economy anchored by venues like the Stone Pony and the Asbury Park Convention Hall are the core of the city's economy, and that economy now runs closer to year-round than the old seasonal shore-town pattern.
Beyond hospitality, healthcare and retail in the broader Monmouth County area, along with a growing number of remote workers drawn by the lifestyle, make up much of the rest of the local employment picture.
This is a good fit for a household bringing remote or retirement income that wants shore living with culture attached. It is a weaker fit if you need a deep local job market in a specialized field, since the city itself is small and tourism-driven.
Climate and setting
Asbury Park has a humid subtropical to maritime-influenced climate typical of the Jersey Shore, with the Atlantic Ocean moderating temperatures somewhat compared with inland New Jersey, meaning slightly cooler summers and slightly milder winters than towns further from the coast.
Coastal storms, including nor'easters and the occasional hurricane remnant, are a real seasonal risk, and the city's low-lying position between the ocean and its inland lakes means some streets are prone to nuisance flooding during heavy rain or high tide events.
Summers bring heavy weekend and holiday crowds to the boardwalk and beach, and residents should expect real seasonal congestion even if the local economy now runs year-round.
Getting around, care, and schools
- Commercial air
- Newark Liberty International Airport is about 55 miles north, roughly an hour to 90 minutes by car depending on traffic.
- Rail into Manhattan
- NJ Transit's North Jersey Coast Line serves Asbury Park, with a ride to New York Penn Station that commonly runs well over an hour and sometimes requires a transfer.
- Highways
- The Garden State Parkway is a few minutes west of downtown.
- Hospital
- Jersey Shore University Medical Center in nearby Neptune is the major regional hospital.
- Public schools
- Asbury Park School District.
- Setting
- Barrier-adjacent Atlantic coast, bordered by Wesley Lake and Deal Lake.
The trade-offs
- Flood and wind insurance are real, recurring costs on coastal property here, and they vary block by block.
- The Manhattan commute is long and often requires a transfer, so this is not a practical daily-commute town for most New York jobs.
- Summer weekend crowds on the boardwalk and downtown bring real traffic and parking pressure.
- The local job market outside hospitality and tourism-adjacent services is comparatively thin.
Other New Jersey towns people compare
Montclair
An arts-oriented Essex County township with three separate NJ Transit lines into Manhattan and home prices that track the access it offers.
Princeton
A university town in central New Jersey with the state's strongest reputation for public schools and an economy centered on Princeton University.
Morristown
A walkable Morris County county-seat town with Midtown Direct rail service and a corporate employment base that gives it a real local job market.
Collingswood
A South Jersey borough with a walkable downtown and PATCO high-speed rail into Philadelphia, priced well below the state's northern suburbs.
Cherry Hill
An established Philadelphia-suburb township in Camden County with large postwar lots and the lowest entry cost of the towns on this list.
Statewide figures, tax detail, and the full New Jersey picture are on the New Jersey page. Compare property, income, and sales tax across all 49 destination states on Taxes, and see where Californians are actually moving on Stats.
Sources
- US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020 to 2024 5-Year Estimates, table B25077 (median home value), retrieved via Census Reporter, September 3, 2026.
- US Census Bureau, ACS 2020 to 2024 5-Year Estimates, table B25103 (median real estate taxes paid, owner-occupied units with a mortgage), retrieved September 3, 2026.
- US Census Bureau, ACS 2020 to 2024 5-Year Estimates, table B25088 (median selected monthly owner costs, owner-occupied units with a mortgage), retrieved September 3, 2026.
- US Census Bureau, ACS 2020 to 2024 5-Year Estimates, table B01003 (total population), retrieved September 3, 2026.
- Data USA, Asbury Park city, NJ profile, datausa.io.
- NJ Transit North Jersey Coast Line schedule, njtransit.com.
- FEMA Flood Map Service Center, Monmouth County, New Jersey panels, msc.fema.gov.
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