Property Tax in Bradley Beach, New Jersey
Bradley Beach is a 0.63-square-mile Monmouth County borough, split between 0.61 square miles of land and roughly 0.019 square miles of water, a 3.33 percent water share, incorporated March 13, 1893 following a referendum held March 6, 1893. This page does not state a current Bradley Beach property tax rate, a current assessed value, or a current tax bill for any specific address, because no such figure was independently confirmed during this research pass, and an invented number would do a prospective buyer more harm than an honest gap does. What is confirmed, and genuinely relevant to a purchase decision here, is that New Jersey runs a real state sales tax and its own locally administered property-tax structure, entirely distinct from any no-sales-tax framing borrowed from another state, and that Bradley Beach carries the smallest total footprint of any New Jersey market covered on this site so far, a real geographic fact that shapes how a fixed municipal budget gets spread across a very small tax base. Get the actual current rate, assessment details, and any special-assessment questions from the Monmouth County Board of Taxation and the Bradley Beach tax assessor's office before budgeting a purchase.
New Jersey Runs a Real Tax System, Not a No-Sales-Tax Framing
Bradley Beach is a New Jersey market, and New Jersey has a real, functioning state sales tax alongside its own property-tax structure, genuinely different from any no-sales-tax state framing that simply does not apply here. Property taxes in New Jersey are assessed and levied locally, under state law, by each municipality and county, and there is no single statewide rate applied uniformly to every borough or city. Bradley Beach's own rate is set through its own municipal budget process combined with the Monmouth County levy and its local school district's share, and none of that carries over unchanged from a different Jersey Shore town, even one bordering it directly.
This page will not state a specific current New Jersey state sales-tax percentage or a specific current Bradley Beach, Monmouth County, or school-district property tax rate, because none was confirmed during this research pass. Rates and assessment practices change year to year and vary by municipality even within the same county, so a figure quoted for a neighboring shore town should never be assumed to apply to Bradley Beach without direct verification from the borough's own tax office.
The Smallest Footprint of Any New Jersey Market Here, Paired With a Direct Link to Asbury Park
Bradley Beach covers a total of 0.63 square miles, the smallest total footprint of any New Jersey market covered on this site, split between 0.61 square miles of land and roughly 0.019 square miles of water, a 3.33 percent water share, at an elevation of 16 feet. It borders Avon-by-the-Sea, Neptune City, and Neptune Township. A borough this compact means a fixed set of municipal services, schools, and infrastructure gets spread across genuinely limited land area, which is worth understanding before comparing a per-acre or per-parcel tax burden here against a larger shore municipality.
The borough takes its name from James A. Bradley, a wealthy New York manufacturer and real estate developer who, along with William B. Bradner, acquired 54 acres here in 1871, just north of Avon-by-the-Sea. Bradley went on to develop Asbury Park as well, a real and direct historical link between these two adjacent towns rather than a coincidental one. That shared founder does not mean the two towns share a tax base or a tax rate; each sets its own municipal budget independently, and a rate confirmed for one has no bearing on the other.
A Population That Has Declined Since 2000
Bradley Beach's population has moved from 4,793 in the 2000 census to 4,298 in 2010, a 10.3 percent decline, to 4,282 in 2020, essentially flat against 2010, with a 2023 estimate of 4,219. That 2020 population translates to a density of roughly 7,014.4 people per square mile across the borough's 0.61 square miles of land, a genuinely dense year-round population packed into a very small footprint. The borough's summer seasonal population reportedly surges to approximately 30,000, a figure worth keeping in mind separately from the year-round tax-base population, since seasonal visitors do not carry the same property-tax obligations as year-round or seasonal-home owners.
A declining or flat year-round population base spread across a fixed, very small land area is a real structural fact for anyone evaluating how Bradley Beach's tax base has room to grow versus how it might need to lean more heavily on existing property owners over time. None of this population data translates directly into a tax-rate figure this page can responsibly quote, but it is real context for understanding the base a municipal budget is drawn against.
A Real Beach-Tag History and a Real, Smaller-Scale Storm Story
Part of what makes Bradley Beach's identity distinct from other Jersey Shore towns is a genuine documented superlative: it was the first place in the United States to charge beach bathers for access, beginning in 1929 with tin beach-tag badges, a real and citable first rather than a generic beach-town claim. Alongside that, a specific portion of the borough became informally known as "Chinatown by the Sea" beginning in the 1920s, when ethnic Chinese vacationers from New York City began visiting, with a woman of Chinese ancestry purchasing a home here around 1941 prompting others to follow; a portion of the borough received formal recognition under that name in 2023.
Hurricane Sandy in 2012 caused documented damage to beach areas and homes near the shore exceeding $3 million here, a real but genuinely smaller-scale storm story than several other Jersey Shore towns. The borough had constructed 15-foot sand dunes in 2000 using snow fencing and discarded Christmas trees as sand traps, with dune grass planted for stabilization; though Sandy's waves flattened those dunes, they reportedly helped protect nearby structures. Any of this storm history is worth asking a local insurance agent and the tax assessor about directly, since flood-zone status and any post-storm reassessment history can affect both insurance cost and assessed value on a shore-adjacent parcel.
What to Verify Before Budgeting a Purchase
What is confirmed here: Bradley Beach is a 0.63-square-mile Monmouth County borough (0.61 square miles land, roughly 0.019 square miles water, 3.33 percent water, elevation 16 feet), incorporated March 13, 1893 following a March 6, 1893 referendum, and named for developer James A. Bradley, who also developed Asbury Park; its population moved from 4,793 in 2000 to 4,298 in 2010 to 4,282 in 2020, with a 2023 estimate of 4,219, and a 2020 density of roughly 7,014.4 people per square mile, alongside a summer seasonal population surging to approximately 30,000; it was the first place in the United States to charge for beach access, beginning in 1929; a portion of the borough carries the formally recognized "Chinatown by the Sea" history dating to 1920s-era vacationers; Hurricane Sandy caused documented damage exceeding $3 million in 2012; and New Jersey itself runs a real state sales tax and its own locally administered property-tax system, not a no-sales-tax framing borrowed from elsewhere.
What this page will not do is invent a current Bradley Beach property tax rate, current assessed value, current tax bill, or current New Jersey sales-tax percentage, because none was independently confirmed during this research pass. Get the actual current numbers directly from the Monmouth County Board of Taxation, the Bradley Beach tax assessor's office, and a local real estate agent or accountant familiar with this specific borough before making an offer. Nothing on this page is legal, tax, or financial advice.
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Get a Free Agent Referral →Independent research. No ads. No sponsored listings. Data drawn from research on Bradley Beach, New Jersey, a 0.63-square-mile Monmouth County borough (0.61 square miles land, roughly 0.019 square miles water, 3.33 percent water, elevation 16 feet), incorporated March 13, 1893 following a March 6, 1893 referendum, named for developer James A. Bradley, who along with William B. Bradner acquired 54 acres in 1871 and later developed Asbury Park as well; bordering Avon-by-the-Sea, Neptune City, and Neptune Township. Population 4,793 in the 2000 census, 4,298 in 2010 (down 10.3 percent), 4,282 in 2020 (down 0.4 percent from 2010), with a 2023 estimate of 4,219; 2020 population density approximately 7,014.4 per square mile; summer seasonal population reportedly surges to approximately 30,000. Bradley Beach was the first place in the United States to charge beach bathers for access, beginning in 1929 with tin badges. A portion of the borough is formally recognized as "Chinatown by the Sea," reflecting a documented vacation history beginning in the 1920s among ethnic Chinese visitors from New York City. Hurricane Sandy in 2012 caused documented damage to beach areas and homes near the shore exceeding $3 million; the borough's 2000-built 15-foot sand dunes were flattened by the storm but reportedly helped protect nearby structures. No confirmed current Bradley Beach or Monmouth County property tax rate, current assessed-value figure, current tax bill, or current New Jersey state sales-tax rate was independently confirmed this research pass, and none is invented here; New Jersey's property-tax and sales-tax structure is treated as genuinely different from a no-sales-tax state rather than assumed to carry over. Confirm current numbers directly with the Monmouth County Board of Taxation, the Bradley Beach tax assessor's office, and a licensed real estate agent or accountant before making any purchase decision. Nothing on this page is legal, tax, or financial advice.