Town guide · Monmouth County
Living in Union Beach, NJ
Union Beach is a small borough on Raritan Bay, with a bayfront beach that looks across the water to the New York City skyline. Superstorm Sandy hit it hard, and a large federal flood protection project is now reshaping its shoreline.
- County
- Monmouth
- Population
- About 5,700 (2020 census)
- Size
- About 1.9 square miles
- Setting
- Bayfront borough with creeks and marsh along its edges
- Main roads
- Route 36 along the southern border, with Parkway exit 117 nearby in Hazlet
Neighborhoods
A bayfront town with old names
Union Beach began as farmland. The Poole farm became the Union Subdivision in 1908, and East Point Beach Estates was renamed Union Beach in 1920. The borough was formed from Raritan Township, now Hazlet, in 1925.
- The bayfront: Streets near the beach on Raritan Bay, with views toward Manhattan and the Verrazzano Bridge.
- Along the creeks: Homes near the creeks at the borough's edges, where new levees and floodwalls are planned.
- Natco, Union Gardens and Van Marters Corner: Older place names still used for sections of the borough.
- Near Route 36: The southern edge of town along the Hazlet border.
Homes
What you will find
- Older homes: On streets laid out in the borough's early twentieth century subdivisions.
- Rebuilt homes: Homes rebuilt or repaired after Superstorm Sandy, which damaged most of the town.
- Single family homes inland: On streets farther from the bay and the creeks.
Worth knowing: Flood risk is the first question here. In Superstorm Sandy, about 400 homes took on more than six feet of water and 62 were washed away. The Army Corps of Engineers and the state are building a flood protection project: a beach berm and dunes along the bay, plus levees and floodwalls along Chingarora Creek and East Creek and across Flat Creek, with pump stations and tide gates. The beach and dune work came first, and the levees and floodwalls are a later phase. Ask for the flood zone, the elevation certificate and the flood history on every home.
Property taxes
What taxes look like in Union Beach
- 2.254%2025 effective tax rate, as a share of market value
- $10,1352025 average residential tax bill
A home worth $450,000 on today's market would pay roughly $10,143 a year at Union Beach'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.
Groceries, dining and shopping
Where Union Beach shops and eats
Union Beach is mostly homes, with no supermarket of its own. Groceries and most errands mean a short drive south to Route 35 and Route 36 in Hazlet, or west to Keyport.
Grocery stores
- SouthwestStop & Shop100 Route 36, KeyportDirections
- SouthShopRite3120 Route 35, HazletDirections
- SouthALDI3020 Route 35, HazletDirections
Checked October 2026. Stores open, close and move, so call ahead before a first trip.
Restaurants
There are only a few places to eat in Union Beach, mostly along Front Street and Route 36. For more choices, people drive to:
- Downtown Keyport: West to the shopping district on West Front Street, a block from the bay, with many restaurants, some with live music.
- Downtown Red Bank: Southeast through Middletown to a downtown known for its restaurants, shops and live performances, around Broad Street and Monmouth Street.
Shopping
Most shopping is along Route 35 and Route 36 in Hazlet, just south of town.
Getting around
Roads and commuting
Route 36 runs along the southern border with Hazlet and leads to Garden State Parkway exit 117 in Hazlet, which connects to Route 35. The nearest train is the Hazlet station on NJ Transit's North Jersey Coast Line. NJ Transit bus 817 runs toward Perth Amboy, and Academy Bus Lines runs along Route 36 to the Port Authority Bus Terminal and Wall Street in Manhattan. Daily shopping is along Route 36 in Hazlet.
Places worth knowing
Parks, landmarks and open space
- Union Beach bayfront: A beach on Raritan Bay with views of the New York City skyline and the Verrazzano Bridge, now backed by new dunes.
- September 11 memorial: A black stone monument dedicated in June 2002 and set so visitors look past it toward the site of the World Trade Center.
- The new bayfront dunes: Planted dunes and a wider beach with walkover crossings, the first phase of the Army Corps flood project.
Common questions
Questions people ask us about Union Beach
What are property taxes in Union Beach, NJ?
Union Beach Borough's 2025 effective tax rate is 2.254 percent of market value, and the average residential tax bill is $10,135, according to the New Jersey Division of Taxation. Actual bills depend on each home's assessment.
Can you see New York City from Union Beach?
Yes. On a clear day the bayfront beach has views across Raritan Bay to the Manhattan skyline and the Verrazzano Bridge. The borough's September 11 memorial is set to look toward the World Trade Center site.
What is the Union Beach flood project?
It is a coastal storm risk reduction project by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. It includes a beach berm and dunes along the bay, and levees, floodwalls, tide gates and pump stations along the creeks. The first construction contract was awarded in July 2022.
Does Union Beach have a train station?
No. The closest station is Hazlet, on NJ Transit's North Jersey Coast Line, just south of the borough. Academy buses along Route 36 also run to Manhattan.
Do I need flood insurance in Union Beach?
It depends on the address. Much of the borough is low lying near the bay and the creeks, and lenders require flood insurance on federally backed mortgages in high risk flood zones. Homes near Chingarora Creek, East Creek and Flat Creek deserve a close look while the levee and floodwall phase is still ahead.
Where is the closest grocery store to Union Beach?
The closest supermarkets are the Stop & Shop on Route 36 in Keyport and the ShopRite and ALDI on Route 35 in Hazlet, all a short drive from town. Union Beach has no supermarket of its own.
Nearby towns
Towns that border Union Beach
Buying or selling in Union Beach?
Same street, different elevation
Two homes on the same Union Beach street can be far apart once you know the elevation, the flood history and where the new levees will run. We walk you through all three before we talk price.
Call or text either of us directly.