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New Brunswick vs Red Bank, NJ

Property taxes, schools, NJ Transit pass and monthly cost for New Brunswick and Red Bank, side by side with sources.

At a glance

  • Lower tax billNew Brunswick, $7,101 a year
    More info

    New Brunswick has the lower 2025 average residential tax bill: $7,101 a year, $3,836 less than $10,937 in Red Bank. New Brunswick is below the NJ average of $10,340 and Red Bank is above it.

  • Peak commuteNew Brunswick 51 min vs Red Bank 73 min
    More info

    Peak commute is 51 minutes in New Brunswick and 73 minutes in Red Bank, 22 minutes shorter in New Brunswick.

  • NJ Transit passNew Brunswick $477 vs Red Bank $549
    More info

    The NJ Transit monthly pass to NY Penn is $477 in New Brunswick and $549 in Red Bank, $72 more.

  • Higher school resultsRed Bank: ELA, math
    More info

    On the district results, Red Bank's district is higher on ELA (46.5% vs 27.5%) and math (33.5% vs 15.1%).

Figures are from the data file, version 2.5.3. Estimates are labeled. Sources and dates are in each section below. Add a third town in the compare tool.

Monthly cost

Estimated monthly cost Estimate

  • Mortgage (principal and interest)
  • Property tax
  • Insurance
  • NJ Transit pass
  • New Brunswick$3,628 / monthMortgage $2,290 · Property tax $732 · Insurance $129 · NJ Transit pass $477 · on a $420,000 median single-family home
More info

Same math as the monthly cost calculator, at its defaults: each town's headline median sale price, single-family unless the town's label says otherwise (GSMLS, 2025 closed sales), 20% down, a 30-year fixed loan at 7.24% (Freddie Mac weekly national average, week of Oct 29, 2026), the town's 2025 effective tax rate, homeowners insurance (condo insurance for condo towns), and the town's NJ Transit pass where it has one. Excludes flood insurance, PMI, HOA, utilities and maintenance. Change the numbers in the calculator.

Sources: GSMLS (As of 2025) · NJ Division of Taxation (Updated January 2026) · Freddie Mac PMMS (As of 2026-10-29) · NAIC Homeowners Report (Updated July 2026)

Home prices

Median sale price, single-family

Monthly mortgage

More info

Principal & interest only; excludes taxes and insurance. Based on the single-family median unless a town's row says otherwise.

Source: GSMLS

Property taxes

Average residential tax bill, 2025

  • New Brunswick$7,101 / year$3,239 below the NJ average
  • Red Bank$10,937 / year$597 above the NJ average
  • NJ average$10,340 / yearState total, same series as the town bills
More info

Bills compare better than raw tax rates, because towns assess homes at different shares of market value.

Sources: NJ Division of Taxation (Updated February 2026)

Schools

Meeting ELA standards

Meeting math standards

4-year graduation rate

More info

Not shown for Red Bank: K-8 district; see high school

Chronic absenteeism

Student:teacher ratio

DistrictsNew Brunswick: New Brunswick School DistrictRed Bank: Red Bank Borough Public School DistrictDistrict-wide results for all students. The NJ state line is the statewide figure.

Sources: NJDOE (2024-25 school year, published May 2026)

Commute

NJ Transit adult monthly pass to NY Penn

Peak commute time

  • New Brunswick51 min
    More info

    Typical from New Brunswick: 55.5 min, median trip time of the scheduled trips arriving 7:00-9:00 AM on Wed 2026-11-18 (one itinerary per departure; dominated options excluded). Based on 8 trips.

  • Red Bank73 min
    More info

    Typical from Red Bank: 80.5 min, median trip time of the scheduled trips arriving 7:00-9:00 AM on Wed 2026-11-18 (one itinerary per departure; dominated options excluded). Based on 6 trips.

Sources: NJ Transit (Updated July 2026) · NJ Transit GTFS (via Mobility Database) (Scheduled service Nov 18, 2026)

Full pages: New Brunswick · Red Bank. Find a local expert if you want help weighing these two towns.

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