Side-by-side metrics and state or size-class ranks use the same Census and FBI fields shown on this profile. Results stay in the URL so you can bookmark or share them.
Place dossier plate
SheetNJ-UNION-BEACH-NJ · Union Beach, NJ 5,722 pop · income 90th pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Union Beach
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Union Beach on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Pontotoc · lowest
50,230
Pontotoc · lowest
50,230 median HH income
25.4% of the leader · rank #1
Greenville · near
128,348
Greenville · near
128,348 median HH income
64.9% of the leader · rank #2
Stanford · near
128,356
Stanford · near
128,356 median HH income
64.9% of the leader · rank #3
Manhattan · near
128,375
Manhattan · near
128,375 median HH income
64.9% of the leader · rank #4
Union Beach · this city
128,400
Union Beach · this city
128,400 median HH income
64.9% of the leader · rank #5
West Alton · near
128,438
West Alton · near
128,438 median HH income
65.0% of the leader · rank #6
Towaco · highest
197,696
Towaco · highest
197,696 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Union Beach on ACS population and median household income
. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 5,722.
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Union Beach lands in the 90th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
90th
percentile, household income
82nd
percentile, home value
94th
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Union Beach, NJ
Union Beach is a small town in New Jersey, home to 5,722 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Households in Union Beach report a median income of $128,400 per year, placing it in the top quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 0.0%. Union Beach's housing stock carries a median value of $452,900, and the median resident age is 43.7 years. About 33.6% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 77.1% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 11 residential building permits were authorized in Union Beach (Construction Slowdown), down 63% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data.
New Jersey carries a cost-of-living premium: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts New Jersey at 108.8 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Well Above Average). Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $2,132 monthly. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in New Jersey run around $275, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 90.8 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Very High).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Union Beach's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from work and mobility to schools and households to comparison shortlist to housing and income to population change; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Union Beach, city-specific coverage includes local building permits, commute-mode shares, matched public-school count, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Union Beach?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 77.5%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
What does the education layer cover for Union Beach?
The NCES join finds 1 public school within the city match. 33.6% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
The matched institution count is small, so district boundaries and schools outside the city line may matter more than the municipal count suggests. Use the number as a coverage cue, then verify attendance zones with the district before making a household decision.
Which cities make useful reference points for Union Beach?
Within New Jersey, the closest population matches are Rutgers University-Busch Campus (5,747 residents, $118,750 income); Jamesburg (5,763 residents, $117,719 income); Franklin Center (5,770 residents, $138,643 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Ware, MA (5,723 residents); Washingtonville, NY (5,723 residents); Spring Ridge, MD (5,720 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.
How far does income reach against housing in Union Beach?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.5 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 0.0%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Population change
Is Union Beach growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
The recent population line is broadly flat. That makes the composition of change more important than the headline count: housing turnover, household size, and age structure can shift even when the total barely moves.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +6 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +0.1% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 11 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Period change
+0.1%
2025 estimate
5,708
2020 estimate
5,702
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Poverty rate A+
0.0%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income A+
$128,400
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share C+
33.6%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Cost of living F
108.8 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Union Beach profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Poverty rate: 100/100 (A+) · 0.0%
Household income: 90/100 (A+) · $128,400
Bachelor's+ share: 64/100 (C+) · 33.6%
Cost of living: 10/100 (F) · 108.8 index
How does Union Beach compare to other US cities?
Here's how Union Beach stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income90% higher than other cities
Home value82% pricier than other cities
Median rent94% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Union Beach against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to New Jersey only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
New Jersey-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Union Beach near the bottom of New Jersey's cities
Among the 686 New Jersey cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Union Beach ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Union Beach only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#192 of 659
71st percentile in New Jersey
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 686
0th percentile in New Jersey
Median Home Value
#261 of 672
61st percentile in New Jersey
Poverty Rate
#540 of 680
0th percentile in New Jersey
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#443 of 686
35th percentile in New Jersey
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within New Jersey only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
90th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Union Beach's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$452,90018th percentilemore affordable than 18% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Union Beach's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.5×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#9,077 of 15,516
More affordable than 41% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#7,312 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 3.5×, Union Beach sits in the moderate band:
national rank #9,077 of 15,516 and #7,312 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$128,400Union Beach, NJ median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Union Beach, NJ median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Union Beach, NJ.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)33.6%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)0.0%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)77.1%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
5,722
Median Income
$128,400
Median Home Value
$452,900
Median Age
43.7
Poverty Rate
0.0%
Labor force participation
77.1%
Bachelor's Degree+
33.6%
Schools
Total Schools
1
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Union Beach's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
5,702 residents
2021
5,725 residents
2022
5,704 residents
2023
5,695 residents
2024
5,699 residents
2025
5,708 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
11
housing units authorized
Single-Family
11
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
1.9
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
30
30
0
$4.6M
2020
22
22
0
$3.8M
2021
28
28
0
$5.4M
2022
21
21
0
$3.5M
2023
14
14
0
$4.7M
2024
11
11
0
$2.4M
Permit volume decreased 63% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
77.5%
Carpool
10.3%
Public Transit
6.0%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
4.9%
Other
1.3%
Based on 3,603 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
New Jersey statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $275
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across New Jersey at $275 (electricity about $120 , water and sewer about $60 ).
These are New Jersey statewide averages, not a meter reading for Union Beach. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
New Jersey's BEA cost-of-living index is 108.8 (Well Above Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Union Beach is $2,132/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to New Jersey statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 90.8 / 100 (Very High).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a New Jersey statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Union Beach sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Union Beach compares to similar-size New Jersey cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.