Living in Long Branch, NJ and the Nearby Shore Towns: A Guide for Home Buyers

If you're thinking about living in Long Branch, NJ, here's the short answer: it's a beachside city in Monmouth County with a Gilded Age presidential history, a rebuilt boardwalk, the Pier Village waterfront, and NJ Transit trains that run direct to New York Penn Station on most services. Its neighbors include Deal, Monmouth Beach, Oceanport and West Long Branch.

I'm Angela Becerra, a Rahway-based Sales Associate with Prominent Properties Sotheby's International Realty, and every fact in this guide links to the source I used. If you're already looking, browse our current homes for sale.

Long Branch at a glance

Long Branch is a beachside city with a 2020 Census population of 31,667 and a total area of 6.29 square miles, according to Wikipedia. It takes its name from the "long branch," or south branch, of the Shrewsbury River, and it borders Deal, Monmouth Beach, Ocean Township, Oceanport and West Long Branch. The city's official website calls it "The Friendly City," and City Hall is at 344 Broadway.

Wikipedia lists Presidents Chester A. Arthur, James A. Garfield, Ulysses S. Grant, Benjamin Harrison, Rutherford B. Hayes, William McKinley and Woodrow Wilson among the visitors from the Gilded Age era. Grant and his family summered at their beachfront cottage in Long Branch from 1869, the first year of his presidency, and the city came to be called the "summer capital."

Neighborhoods: Elberon, West End, Pier Village and more

Long Branch is really a collection of named sections. Wikipedia lists Branchport, East Long Branch, Elberon, Hollywood, Kensington Park, North Long Branch, Pleasure Bay and West End as communities and place names located partially or completely within the city, along with areas such as the North End, Beachfront North and South, Downtown and Uptown. Because these are unincorporated place names rather than separate towns, I confirm the municipality, taxes and school assignment for every specific address. Three you'll hear often:

• Elberon. An unincorporated community that is part of Long Branch (Wikipedia). After President Garfield was shot on July 2, 1881, he was brought to Long Branch in the hope that the fresh air of Elberon might aid his recovery; he died there on September 19, 1881. The Garfield Tea House, built from railroad ties that carried Garfield's train, is in Elberon. The section also has its own NJ Transit station and the Church of the Presidents (both below).
• West End. Another place name within the city; Wikipedia notes that a former West End train stop was closed, along with one on Broadway, to reduce travel time to New York City. Today the city's beach page lists West End Avenue among the beach entrances with stairs and an ADA-compliant ramp.
• Pier Village and the Beachfront. Pier Village is a Victorian-inspired mixed-use community on the Atlantic that opened in 2005 on land once occupied by the Long Branch Pier and the Kid's World amusement park (Wikipedia). The 16-acre site has 536 rental residences above more than 100,000 square feet of retail, and the city's beach office sits near its carousel.

Beaches, parks and the oceanfront

This oceanfront has been rebuilt more than once. On June 8, 1987, the largest fire in the city's history destroyed the landmark amusement pier and the adjoining Haunted Mansion. After Superstorm Sandy destroyed the boardwalk, the city began rebuilding in 2015 and reopened it in April 2016, making it the last Sandy-damaged boardwalk to be rebuilt (Wikipedia). In April 2026, the city announced an additional $5 million in state aid, fully funding construction of a new municipal pier scheduled to open in 2027.

Per the city's beach page, daily or seasonal beach badges can now be bought in advance online, and seasonal badges are picked up at the beach office near the carousel in Pier Village. City badges cover the municipal beaches only, not Seven Presidents.

Seven Presidents Oceanfront Park, at 221 Ocean Avenue, is a 38-acre beach park run by the Monmouth County Park System. Summer brings guarded swimming and designated surfing areas. The Skateplex is open year-round, the park has the universally accessible Tony's Place playground, and lightweight cartop boats such as kayaks and canoes may be carried from the parking lot and launched. The county notes that park admission and parking fees apply during peak season.

In the Elberon section, the 1879 Church of the Presidents at 1260 Ocean Avenue is the only structure left in Long Branch associated with the seven presidents. It has been closed to the public because of structural deterioration; in April 2026 the city announced a major renovation funded by close to $2 million in state and federal grants, with work expected to be completed sometime in 2027.

Getting to New York

Long Branch station is the southern terminus of electrified service on the North Jersey Coast Line; diesel service continues south to Bay Head, and a yard south of the station holds trains that terminate at Long Branch. NJ Transit says trains from Aberdeen-Matawan to Long Branch run direct from New York Penn Station and Newark Penn Station, with no transfer needed on most services. For Elberon and stations further south, most services require a transfer at Long Branch to a diesel train, although some weekday express trains run direct.

Schedules, fares and parking change, so check NJ Transit's current timetables and station pages.

Schools and health care

The Long Branch Public Schools district serves more than 5,000 students from Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12 across eight schools. For enrollment by address, contact the district directly.

Monmouth Medical Center, at 300 Second Avenue, describes itself as the first hospital in Monmouth and Ocean counties and a regional teaching campus for Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Its Unterberg Children's Hospital is licensed by New Jersey as an official children's hospital for Monmouth and Ocean counties.

The towns around Long Branch

West Long Branch

A separate borough (2020 Census population 8,587), West Long Branch was separated from Eatontown Township after voters approved it in a referendum on May 5, 1908. It is home to Monmouth University, founded in 1933, whose Great Hall at Shadow Lawn, built after the original Shadow Lawn mansion burned in 1927, is a National Historic Landmark. The borough's public schools serve pre-K through eighth grade; for grades 9-12, students attend Shore Regional High School, located in West Long Branch, which also serves Monmouth Beach, Oceanport and Sea Bright.

Monmouth Beach

Monmouth Beach (2020 Census population 3,174) borders Long Branch and Sea Bright, with the ocean to the east and the Shrewsbury River to the northwest. Students in pre-K through 8th grade attend Monmouth Beach School, and grades 9-12 attend Shore Regional High School.

Oceanport

Oceanport (2020 Census population 6,150) forms a peninsula jutting into the Shrewsbury River. Its school district serves pre-K through eighth grade, with high school at Shore Regional. It is home to Monmouth Park Racetrack, whose season spans from early May to Labor Day and whose marquee event is the Haskell Invitational; NJ Transit's Monmouth Park station is served on race days only. On part of former Fort Monmouth, Netflix Studios Fort Monmouth covers about 292 acres in Oceanport and Eatontown, and ground was broken on May 13, 2025. In June 2026, NJBIZ reported that Netflix officials expect to complete Phase 1A in summer 2027, with Phase 1B targeted for fall 2028.

Deal

Deal covers 1.32 square miles, with a 2020 Census population of 900. Wikipedia notes that most of the town consisted of homes close to or over one hundred years old in the Victorian and American Foursquare styles, and that NJ Transit train service is available at the nearby Allenhurst and Elberon stations.

Eatontown

Eatontown (2020 Census population 13,597) is where Routes 35 and 36 meet. The Monmouth Mall is being redeveloped into an open-air center named Monmouth Square; as of March 2026, plans call for public green space, medical office space and 1,000 apartment units, with completion estimated by 2028.

Asbury Park and Red Bank

NJ Transit calls Asbury Park the Shore's cultural center. Its boardwalk Convention Hall was built between 1928 and 1930 to a design by Warren and Wetmore, the firm that also designed Grand Central Terminal, and The Stone Pony, open since 1974, is known for launching the careers of Bruce Springsteen and other New Jersey musicians. Red Bank sits on the southern bank of the Navesink River in northern Monmouth County. NJ Transit lists its station among those with direct trains from New York, and it is home to the Count Basie Center for the Arts, which opened in 1926 as the Carlton Theater.

Buying at the Shore: flood zones and disclosures

On the Shore, flood risk belongs on every checklist. New Jersey's P.L.2023, c.93, approved July 3, 2023, requires sellers to disclose flood information on the property condition disclosure statement before a buyer is obligated under a purchase contract, and NJ REALTORS notes the new requirements have been mandatory since March 20, 2024. Under a "Flood Risk" heading, sellers answer yes, no or unknown to questions including whether the property is wholly or partly in FEMA's Special Flood Hazard Area (the "100-year floodplain") or Moderate Risk Flood Hazard Area (the "500-year floodplain"); whether federal disaster assistance was ever received for flood damage; whether there is flood insurance; whether a FEMA elevation certificate is available (if so, it must be shared with the buyer); whether a flood-damage claim was ever filed; and whether the property has had flood damage, water seepage or pooled water from a natural flood event.

According to FEMA, any place with a 1% or higher chance of flooding each year is high-risk, meaning at least a one-in-four chance of flooding during a 30-year mortgage. FEMA's flood insurance page adds that most homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage and that NFIP policies typically have a 30-day waiting period.

• Look up the address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center, the official public source for NFIP flood hazard information.
• Read the Flood Risk section of the seller's disclosure as early as possible, and ask whether an elevation certificate is available.
• Get insurance quotes before you commit. FEMA says homes in high-risk flood areas with mortgages from government-backed lenders are required to have flood insurance.

How I help buyers in Long Branch

I help you compare Long Branch's sections and neighboring towns by what matters to you, and I pull flood-zone and disclosure details for every address we consider. For the wider picture, read my Monmouth County guide; buying for the first time? Start with my first-time buyer guide, or see how I work with buyers.

Ready to explore Long Branch and the nearby Shore towns? I'd be glad to walk you through homes, commutes and disclosures, in English or Spanish. Contact me to start the conversation. ¿Prefiere hablar en español? Con gusto le atiendo.

This article is for general educational purposes only and is not legal, tax, insurance or financial advice. Facts come from the linked sources as of September 2026 and may change; please verify independently, including flood-zone status for any specific property. Angela Becerra is a New Jersey real estate licensee (License #1970190) affiliated with Prominent Properties Sotheby's International Realty. Equal Housing Opportunity.

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