I asked AI to average every “best NJ beach” list. Here’s the top 10

Saturday, August 15, might have been the best beach day of the year, and I got to spend it broadcasting live from our Asbury Park Boardwalk Studio. I already put together a photo gallery of the whole day, but what I didn't mention is how badly I abused the word "perfect" on the air. "This is the perfect beach day." "The weather today is perfect." "The ocean temp is perfect." "The vibe is perfect." By the third hour I was actively trying to find other words. Amazing. Spectacular. Awesome. I think I made my point either way.

That kind of day gets you thinking about beaches, and it got me noticing something. Every single online publication with any kind of travel or Jersey appeal seems to publish its own "best beaches in New Jersey" list at some point during the summer. USA Today has one. U.S. News has one. TripAdvisor has one built from actual user reviews. There's a statewide poll that's been running since 2008. They never agree with each other. So instead of picking one, I asked my pal Claude to do something a little different: search out every major New Jersey beach ranking published in the last 12 months, and average them all together into one definitive list, weighing all the different elements each publication considers.

How the research actually worked

Claude pulled seven independent sources: USA Today's 10Best Readers' Choice Awards for 2026, U.S. News Travel's expert-ranked list, the New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium's statewide "Favorite Beach" poll (which has run every year since 2008), a TripAdvisor-sourced regional top five, TripAdvisor's own review-aggregated rankings, HomeToGo's data-driven national beach index, and specific call-outs from Condé Nast Traveler and Travel + Leisure. Each beach got scored based on where it landed in every list, weighted toward the more authoritative sources, then totaled up. Here's what actually came out on top.

Cape May sunset | photo by EJ

New Jersey's top 10 beaches, aggregated from every major ranking

1. Cape May — the runaway winner, landing high across nearly every source, including a specific Condé Nast Traveler nod.
2. Ocean City — New Jersey's official "Favorite Beach" for 13 straight years in the Sea Grant poll, plus a strong USA Today finish.
3. The Wildwoods — USA Today's number one pick three years running, and repeatedly cited as home to the best boardwalk in the country.
4. Point Pleasant Beach — showed up on more individual lists than almost anything else, without ever topping one outright.
5. Island Beach State Park — U.S. News' number three pick and the official Ocean County Sea Grant winner, on the strength of being the one truly undeveloped barrier island left on this list.  Essential to get there early, it fills up fast on great beach days like this past Saturday.
6. Stone Harbor — U.S. News' actual number one choice for the entire state.
7. Brigantine Beach — a real two-major-source agreement between USA Today and U.S. News.
8. Sea Isle City — USA Today's number three finish.
9. Long Beach Island / Brant Beach — number seven on USA Today, and separately the single highest-ranked New Jersey beach nationally on HomeToGo's entire index.
10. Gunnison Beach — New Jersey's most famous clothing-optional beach, and a genuinely distinct entry from everything else on this list.

SEE ALSO: Strathmere beach tags: what's being proposed and why 

photos by EJ

Just missing the cut

A handful of beaches came close enough that they deserve a mention: Asbury Park, which is actually Monmouth County's own official Sea Grant winner. Atlantic City, which finished second on USA Today, though it's arguably more casino-boardwalk than classic beach. Avalon, which shares Seven Mile Island with Stone Harbor. And Margate, the statewide runner-up in the Sea Grant poll and Atlantic County's own champion.

My own list looks a little different

I was born in Atlantic City, and there has always been sun, surf, and sand somewhere in my spirit because of it. Among my personal favorites are Strathmere, Wildwood Crest, and of course Cape May. But my loyalty to Strathmere might be wandering. Upper Township is moving forward on a plan to end Strathmere's free beach status for the first time ever, with tags running $10 a day, $20 a week, or $45 for the season, and a final vote scheduled for August 24. If that passes, it'll leave only Atlantic City, Wildwood, North Wildwood, and Wildwood Crest as the last free oceanfront beaches left in Atlantic and Cape May counties.

Honestly, I'd probably be happier paying beach fees in Cape May, or my new favorite, Asbury Park, just to register my own silly little objection to Strathmere joining everybody else. But in the end, I think I'll return to the beach I was born into, the still-free Atlantic City. Especially the stretch where AC quietly turns into Ventnor. That corner is a hidden gem, and as far as I'm concerned, it always will be.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 show host ­­Eric Johnson only.