West Long Branch is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, set a few miles inland from the Atlantic coastline in the central part of the Jersey Shore region. Its population was 8,587 at the 2020 census. The borough is best known as the home of Monmouth University, a private university whose 170-acre campus occupies a central place in the community and shapes its character. The borough's roots are rural—it was carved from surrounding townships in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as the shore region developed—and it incorporated in 1908. Today it is a compact, largely residential borough, surrounded by Oceanport, Eatontown, Long Branch, and Oakhurst. Its inland position, without a barrier-island beachfront, gives it a quieter, more residential feel than the resort towns to the east, while keeping the ocean minutes away. West Long Branch's school system is a point of pride. Students attend the West Long Branch Public Schools through eighth grade and then Shore Regional High School, a regional district shared with several nearby shore towns and known for strong academics. Monmouth University brings college athletics, cultural events, and an educated population to the borough, and its campus is a local amenity in its own right. The borough sits near the Garden State Parkway, Route 18, and New Jersey Route 36, with NJ Transit's North Jersey Coast Line available in nearby Long Branch. For homebuyers, West Long Branch offers suburban, family-oriented living with a college-town undertone and quick access to the beaches, boardwalks, and amenities of the Jersey Shore.