Living in Shrewsbury, NJ

Shrewsbury Borough and Shrewsbury Township are two separate municipalities, each with its own government, its own budget and its own property tax rate. They sit side by side, so it is easy to cross from one into the other without noticing.

The township is what is left of a very old town. Shrewsbury Township was formed in 1693 and once covered most of what is now Monmouth and Ocean counties. Over three centuries, piece after piece split off to become new towns, including Shrewsbury Borough in 1926 and New Shrewsbury, now Tinton Falls, in 1950.

Today the township is about a tenth of a square mile with three streets: Crawford, Barker and Belshaw. Its mailing ZIP code is 07724, while the borough uses 07702. Because the names are so close, we always confirm which Shrewsbury a home is in before we talk about taxes or rules.

Most of the land called Shrewsbury today is the borough. It runs along Route 35 between Red Bank and Eatontown, with residential streets on both sides of the highway.

Worth knowing: First, know which Shrewsbury you are in, because the two towns have different tax rates. In the township, the homes began as Camp Vail and became one of New Jersey's first cooperative housing associations, so we confirm how a home is owned and what association rules and fees apply before you make an offer. In the borough, homes near the Four Corners sit in a historic district, so ask about any review needed before you plan exterior changes.

A home worth $800,000 on today's market would pay roughly $14,296 a year at Shrewsbury Borough's 2025 effective rate. A home worth $250,000 on today's market would pay roughly $4,748 a year at Shrewsbury Township's 2025 effective rate. Your actual bill depends on your assessment, so we pull the real tax record for any home you are considering.

Source: New Jersey Division of Taxation, 2025 general and effective tax rates. Rates are set each year.

Errands are easy here. Route 35 runs right through Shrewsbury Borough, and the borough has three grocery stores of its own. Shrewsbury Township sits just off Shrewsbury Avenue, close to the same stores.

Shrewsbury has a number of casual places to eat, most of them along Broad Street, Route 35, in and around the shopping centers. For a sit down dinner, two areas are close:

Route 35 is the shopping road, with centers on both sides of the highway. It continues south into Eatontown, where the former Monmouth Mall is being rebuilt as an open air center called Monmouth Square.

Route 35, called Broad Street near the Four Corners, is the main road through the borough, running north to Red Bank and south to Eatontown. County Route 520, Newman Springs Road, runs along the northern edge and leads west to Garden State Parkway exit 109. The township is reached from Shrewsbury Avenue. The nearest train is the Little Silver station on NJ Transit's North Jersey Coast Line, with trains to New York Penn Station and Hoboken, and NJ Transit buses 831 and 832 serve the area. Daily shopping is along the Route 35 corridor.

A home in the township's former Camp Vail cooperative and a house near the Four Corners are very different purchases. We confirm which Shrewsbury you are in, how the home is owned and what the rules allow, then we talk price.