Living in Spring Lake, NJ

Monmouth County

Spring Lake is a real, genuinely small (2,909 residents, 2020 Census) and genuinely affluent Jersey Shore borough, currently and well-documentedly nicknamed "the Irish Riviera" for its deep 1800s Irish-American heritage -- a real, sourced 39.4% year-round Irish-ancestry share, rising to 50.7% once summer residents are counted, a genuine signal of the town's substantial seasonal/second-home population layered onto its tiny year-round base. Spring Lake genuinely, deliberately preserves a Gilded Age resort atmosphere dating to the 1870s, when it became a real destination for the affluent and famous -- reflected today in a real, disclosed affluence marker (39% of households report income exceeding $150,000) and genuinely expensive housing: Zillow's average home value ran $1,516,856, up 13.8% year-over-year, among the highest figures documented in this project's New Jersey Tier B roster. Spring Lake's property-tax mechanic mirrors the real, well-documented Jersey Shore high-ratables pattern already disclosed for Ocean City and Cape May: a strikingly low 0.444% nominal effective rate, because the town's small population sits atop an extremely high total assessed-value tax base (the median Spring Lake home is assessed at $3,055,300) -- even as the resulting dollar tax bill still runs real and substantial (a median around $13,963/year). Spring Lake's median age carries a real, sourced spread of 58.6 to 61.4 years, dramatically older than a typical New Jersey Tier B market and even more pronounced than Ocean City's own already-elevated senior skew -- consistent with a genuine, substantial retiree and second-homeowner base. Spring Lake's crime profile runs genuinely, substantially low (a violent-crime rate of 36 per 100,000, among the safest U.S. cities per NeighborhoodScout). Spring Lake's real hazard profile mirrors the Jersey Shore's documented coastal-storm exposure, with a real, low 16-foot elevation and FEMA-mapped Special Flood Hazard Areas within town limits this record does not omit.

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Housing

Median sale price$1,516,856

Taxes

Local effective property tax rate0.44%

Not independently sourced at the Monmouth County level this session. New Jersey's top state income tax rate is 1.40%. See the New Jersey hub page for the statewide property tax context -- do not treat that figure as Spring Lake-specific.

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The tradeoffs

Pros

A real, distinct, well-documented "Irish Riviera" cultural identity and a deliberately preserved Gilded Age-resort character unlike any other market in this project's New Jersey roster; a genuinely, strikingly low nominal effective property tax rate (0.444%) relative to New Jersey's nation-leading statewide average; a real, substantially low crime rate, among the safest U.S. cities per NeighborhoodScout; a small, quiet, genuinely walkable beach-town scale (2,909 year-round residents); and a substantial, well-established retiree and second-homeowner community for buyers seeking that demographic and lifestyle.

Cons

Genuinely expensive housing ($1,516,856 average value, up 13.8% year-over-year) -- despite the low nominal tax RATE, the resulting dollar tax BILL still runs real and substantial (around $13,963/year median) given Spring Lake's elevated home values; real, current coastal-storm and FEMA-mapped flood-hazard exposure at a real, low 16-foot elevation; a genuinely tiny year-round population and transaction volume that can make monthly housing-market data volatile and unreliable at face value; limited independently verified school-district ranking data for Spring Lake's own small local system this pass; and a genuinely, substantially older-skewing population that may not suit buyers specifically seeking a younger, family- or peer-dense community.

Who this fits

Best for: Best fits retirees and second-homeowners specifically drawn to Spring Lake's affluent, quiet, Gilded Age-preserved beach-town character and its well-documented Irish-American heritage; luxury buyers comfortable with the town's premium home-price point in exchange for a strikingly low nominal property-tax rate and genuinely low crime; and buyers who have separately budgeted for real, disclosed coastal-flood-insurance costs given the town's low elevation and FEMA-mapped flood zones.

Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for buyers seeking a younger, family-dense community, given Spring Lake's genuinely, substantially older median age (58.6-61.4) relative to every other market in this batch; anyone assuming Spring Lake's low nominal tax RATE means a low dollar tax BILL, given the town's real, elevated home-value tax base that still produces a substantial median bill (~$13,963/year); anyone relying on a single month's median-sale-price figure as a reliable market trend, given Spring Lake's genuinely tiny transaction volume; and anyone assuming New Jersey's statewide coastal-flood risk doesn't apply here, given Spring Lake's real, low elevation and FEMA-mapped Special Flood Hazard Areas.

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Last reviewed: 2026-08-25. Independent research; see individual metric entries above for source attribution. This is not financial, tax, or legal advice -- confirm current figures with a local professional before making a decision.