More than a Jersey Shore city
Laurence Harbor has more than just the sandy shoreline and beach cottages found in other Jersey Shore cities. This section of Old Bridge Township is also half Cheesequake State Park. With the state park to the west and Raritan Bay to the east, residents enjoy opportunities to get outside and enjoy nature. “You have beautiful unobstructed views of the Manhattan skyline from Laurence Harbor,” says Agent Joe DeVizio with J.J. Elek Realty Co., who has been a resident of Middlesex County for over 35 years and top seller for homes in and around the area for over 17 years. “It’s a quaint, warm little town that has some cute little restaurants, and it’s the gateway to the shore.” Commuters appreciate the convenience of traveling into New York and Jersey City, with Garden State Parkway and Route 35 cutting parallelly northwest and southeast through the area. According to the Census Bureau’s 2022 estimates, the median household income in this community is above the national average, and poverty is more than half the national average. Over 6,600 individuals call this area home; roughly 80% own their homes and 19% rent.
Sandy shores to Cheesequake State Park
Within two miles of home, beachgoers appreciate sea breezes along the Raritan Bay while nature lovers hike and fish at Cheesequake State Park. “Since it’s the bay, the waves are calmer, so it’s really good when you have young kids and do not have to worry about the waves,” DeVizio says. “A lot of people also go to the beach if they get a notification on the parkway that the beach in Sandy Hook is closed, so people start hopping off the parkway and going to these local beaches.” Playgrounds around the area pay tribute to the water with pirate ship-shaped playsets, including the Old Bridge Waterfront Park and Veterans Memorial Park. Basketball players at Veterans Memorial Park enjoy water views as they compete in pickup games. Across the area, marinas and fishing charters connect residents with the water, letting them boat around, reeling in striped bass and bluefish along their way. During winter, when the snow falls, sledders descend upon the local parks and the hill by Hooks Creek Lake in Cheesequake State Park.
Beach cottages to Bridgepointe condos
Beach cottages mix with Dutch Colonial houses down rows leading up to the water’s edge. These early 1900s homes meet early 2000s condos and apartments to the southwest along Matawan Road. Home values have consistently remained between $80,000 and $100,000 less than the national average since 2021. The median single-family home price hovers around $353,000, with spaces averaging $307 per square foot. Meanwhile, one-bedroom apartment rent averages approximately $1,795 a month at an average of 625 square feet. As a member of the North, Laurence Harbor experiences its share of snowfall, which is why some residents appreciate joining communities that offer snow removal with its membership fees, such as the Bridgepointe Condominium Association.
Parkway purchases and local bites
Though Laurence Harbor does not have a grocery store, Route 35 and Garden State Parkway make it easy to access Old Bridge businesses. Fast food chains and box retailers line state Route 9 just west of the Cheesequake State Park. In under a 4-mile drive east into Keyport, residents access additional dining and grocery stores along NJ-35. “There’s a really phenomenal Portuguese restaurant called Fernadez Three that is right at the bridge at the tip of the harbor,” DeVizio says. Additional local eateries line Laurence Parkway, including The Anchor Fish & Chips and Lisa Restaurant & Pizzeria.
Taking lessons in Laurence Harbor
Laurence Harbor learners are zoned for Old Bridge Township School District, the No. 5 ranked best school district in Middlesex County by Niche. This district earns an overall Grade A from the website, with schools such as Memorial Elementary School – which earns a Grade A-minus – located in the middle of town. Students may also obtain a private education at Calvary Christian School within Old Bridge Township. This private school earns a Grade B from Niche and teaches students from prekindergarten through high school.
Passing through on Garden State Parkway
This section of Old Bridge is in a unique position, with direct routes in every direction to major cities. “Commuting to New York City is a breeze, very simple – or even Philadelphia in Pennsylvania and Trenton – it’s 40 minutes,” DeVizio says. “Laurence Park is right off the Garden State Parkway, so it’s very easy to get to. It’s close to all major highways, and they have all major transportation hubs that run through the town or around.” Locals catch flights in and out of the United States from the Newark International Airport by taking the Garden State Parkway 25 miles north over the river. “Old Bridge is centrally located to Staten Island, so you get a huge Staten Island following with people that move from Staten Island and want to be right along Route 9, so they’re living 10 to 15 minutes from the Outerbridge Crossing, and that puts Old Bridge at a really prime location for a lot of New York buyers that are settling down in New Jersey,” DeVizio says.
Other information
Laurence Park ranks below the national average for crime. According to Crime Grade, this section of Old Bridge holds an overall crime rate of roughly 9.55 per 1,000 residents a year, which earns it a Grade B-plus from the website. Old Bridge, as a township, earns a Grade A, with the website calculating the overall crime rate per 1,000 people to be around 7.46.
