Want to live and work in Brick?

Brick is considered accessible when compared to Bergen, Hudson, Monmouth, or northern New Jersey. Grocery shopping, meals at local restaurants, and everyday services fall below the state average, especially outside the summer months, when the shore economy does not push prices up.

The heaviest burden on household budgets is property tax, among the highest in the United States. Even a modest home generates a significant annual tax bill, compounded by water, sewer, and flood insurance charges in areas near the bay and ocean.

Winter heating, summer air conditioning, and gasoline weigh on expenses, since nearly everything requires a car. Those who work in New York City or Newark must factor in long-distance transportation costs: NJ Transit trains and buses, or Garden State Parkway tolls.

The region's largest employer is the hospital system, with a strong presence from Hackensack Meridian Health and the former Ocean Medical Center within Brick itself. Healthcare drives demand for nursing, technicians, administrative staff, and support services. Public education is also a major employer, encompassing teachers, drivers, and school support personnel.

Retail and food service dominate the Route 70 and Brick Boulevard corridors: supermarket chains, department stores, casual dining restaurants, and small family-owned businesses. Construction, residential maintenance services, landscaping, and marinas generate seasonal employment, particularly in preparation for summer.

For higher-paying positions in finance, technology, pharmaceuticals, or industry, many residents commute to Red Bank, New Brunswick, Princeton, Newark, or New York City, combining car and train travel. Post-pandemic remote work has also attracted professionals who want space and proximity to the shore without giving up urban employment.

Hackensack Meridian Ocean University Medical Center, formerly Ocean Medical Center, is the reference hospital within Brick. It provides emergency care, obstetrics, general surgery, cardiology, and oncology for Ocean County residents and stands as one of the largest local employers.

Clustered around the hospital are clinics, specialist offices, laboratories, and pharmacies. National chains such as CVS, Walgreens, and ShopRite Pharmacy are present, along with urgent care clinics that handle straightforward cases without requiring an emergency room visit.

Complex cases are typically referred to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, or to major centers in New York City and Philadelphia. The system operates through private insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid. Recently arrived immigrants without insurance coverage can access several Federally Qualified Health Centers in the area, which use sliding-scale pricing.

Brick is a city built around the automobile. Nearly every daily activity, from grocery shopping to medical appointments, requires a car. The Garden State Parkway, with exits 90 and 91, serves as the main north-south corridor, offering quick access to Asbury Park, Newark, New York City, and southern New Jersey.

Public transit within the township is limited, but NJ Transit operates bus lines to New York City, Lakewood, and neighboring towns. For rail service, residents typically use the stations at Bay Head, Point Pleasant Beach, or Long Branch on the North Jersey Coast Line, which connects to Newark Penn Station and New York Penn Station.

There is no commercial airport within the township. The closest options are Newark Liberty International, approximately one hour north via the Parkway, and Atlantic City International to the south. Bike lanes exist in isolated areas, particularly near the bay, but cycling infrastructure as a mode of transportation remains limited.

Local culture is classic Jersey Shore culture: an intense summer season, weekend trips to the beach, backyard barbecues, and busy marinas. The Italian American heritage shows in family-run pizzerias, bagel shops, delis, and pasta restaurants that have served as neighborhood institutions for decades.

Brick has strong civic pride, with parades on Memorial Day and the Fourth of July, fireworks at Windward Beach Park, and community festivals that draw entire families. Nightlife within the township is low-key, but Point Pleasant Beach and Seaside Heights, right next door, offer bars, boardwalks, and summer entertainment.

Everyday cuisine blends pork roll with cheese, hoagies, bay seafood dishes, sliced pizza, and diner classics. Hispanic communities have added taquerias, bakeries, and markets, enriching the food scene in neighborhoods such as Laurelton and the Route 88 corridor.

Brick is a township with relatively recent immigration compared to Newark, Elizabeth, or Jersey City. Foreign-born families are distributed across multiple neighborhoods without forming classic enclaves. Hispanic communities, particularly Mexican, Dominican, and Central American, are the most visible in schools, markets, and the construction trades.

There is a significant South Asian presence, with Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi residents working in healthcare, commerce, and technology, many commuting to Edison and New Brunswick. Eastern European families, including Ukrainian, Russian, Polish, and Romanian, maintain churches and markets across the broader Ocean and Monmouth County region.

Brazilians are present but in smaller numbers than in cities such as Newark, Long Branch, or Framingham, integrated into wider Jersey Shore networks. For consular services and support organizations, residents typically travel to northern New Jersey, New York City, or Philadelphia.