New Jersey’s luxury real estate market is dominated by a handful of elite communities, with average home prices ranging from $1.3 million on the “low end” to nearly $4.2 million at the top.
Stacker just released a report analyzing Zillow data to determine which New Jersey towns are home to the most expensive properties.
The Coastal Enclaves That Top the List
When looking at the data, you’ll notice a pattern. The state’s most expensive communities tend to sit in clusters on top of one another. It makes sense for a state as small and dense as New Jersey.
Deal, a tiny oceanside borough in Monmouth County just north of Asbury Park, is home to the highest typical home value in the state at $4.2 million. The town saw a 12% price increase over the past year and has nearly doubled in value over the last five.
Just behind Deal sits Loch Arbour, another coastal community in Monmouth with a typical home value of $2.9 million.
Costal towns dot the entire list. Seaside enclaves like Bay Head ($2.4 million), Stone Harbor ($2.5 million), and Avalon ($2.6 million) all require quite the salary to call home. Besides the picturesque views and proximity to quiet beaches, beachfront real estate remains immensely scarce—driving the prices even higher.
The Suburban Wealth Centers
Away from the Jersey Shore, the state’s wealthiest neighborhoods cluster in Bergen County and Essex County suburbs with close proximity to New York City.
Alpine in Bergen County ranks third at $2.9 million for the typical home, with Short Hills in Essex County coming in at $2.2 million behind it. Both communities have undergone significant home value appreciation. Prices in Alpine rose 12.8% year-over-year.
Bergen County rounds out the top 10 with Franklin Lakes, Englewood Cliffs, and Saddle River making the cut. Typical homes here come in between $1.5 million and $2.2 million. These communities enjoy closeness to New York while maintaining suburban privacy, safety, and land.
The Broader Market
It’s not just NYC suburbs and coastal getaways that make up the list—dozens of New Jersey communities support robust luxury markets. Thirty towns in the Garden State show typical home values exceeding $1.3 million. News flash: New Jersey is not a cheap place to live.
The top expensive towns have seen five-year price increases ranging from roughly 40% to over 100% in certain cases—significantly outpacing national trends.
The Full Picture
While these communities represent the absolute peak of New Jersey’s real estate market, they tell only part of the housing story.
Beyond luxury markets, median home prices across the Garden State remain elevated for middle-income buyers, and affordability continues to challenge first-time homeowners.
READ MORE: 27 NJ Towns Rank Among Top 100 Hottest Housing Markets in America, See If Yours Made the List
The New Jersey Digest is a new jersey magazine that has chronicled daily life in the Garden State for over 10 years.