Manasquan is a borough in southern Monmouth County, New Jersey, on the Jersey Shore, situated between the Manasquan River to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Its name derives from the Lenape for "stream of the island of squaws," and the town grew from a coastal settlement whose early economy ran on pound fishing, salt hay, and lumber — a sawmill operated at Broad Street, and the inlet long sustained a commercial fishing fleet. Today the borough is best known as a residential beach town with a mile-long, largely municipally owned oceanfront and a compact, walkable core. Geography defines life here. Roughly 45 percent of the borough's 2.5 square miles is water, and the Manasquan Inlet, where the river meets the ocean, remains an active fishing and boating hub. To the north, the Manasquan River separates the borough from Brielle, while Sea Girt, Wall Township, and Point Pleasant Beach border it elsewhere, placing Manasquan close to the Point Pleasant Beach boardwalk and the wider northern Ocean County shore. With a population of about 5,900, Manasquan is small enough to feel intimate yet complete: it has its own school district, a downtown of roughly forty-five independent shops and restaurants, and a rail station on NJ Transit's North Jersey Coast Line that provides direct service to New York Penn Station and Bay Head. That rail link sets it apart from many shore towns, making it viable for commuters as well as seasonal residents. Recreation runs from the beach and surfing to inlet fishing, a public fishing pier, boat launches, and the nearby Fisherman's Cove Conservation Area, with the 770-acre Manasquan Reservoir and a bike path toward Allenwood adding inland options. Manasquan suits buyers who want a walkable, year-round shore town — beach access, a real downtown, strong schools, and a train to Manhattan — rather than a purely seasonal resort.