A general tax rate of $0.379 per $100 — the second-lowest in Monmouth County. An effective tax rate of 0.412% — the lowest of all 53 Monmouth municipalities. A 2024 average residential bill of $12,084 on a Village of just 224 residents. A municipality 0.085 square miles in size — the smallest in Monmouth County by every measure. And the structural 2017 catalyst: a New Jersey Commissioner of Education ruling that authorized Loch Arbour to withdraw from the Ocean Township School District and operate as its own sending district, reducing the school component of every Loch Arbour tax bill by more than half.
Loch Arbour Village is the smallest municipality in Monmouth County by every measure that matters: smallest by population (224 residents per the 2020 Census, unchanged in the 2023 estimate), smallest by land area (0.085 square miles, 52nd of 53 in the county; 0.14 total square miles including Deal Lake waters), and the only municipality in New Jersey still retaining the “Village” type of government — though Loch Arbour operates under the Walsh Act commission form since a December 20, 2011 referendum, with a three-member Board of Commissioners rather than the legacy five-trustee Village structure. Mayor Saul M. Tawil (term ends May 2028) leads the Board alongside two fellow commissioners, with Municipal Clerk Marilyn Simons handling administrative operations. The Village was incorporated April 23, 1957, separating from Ocean Township, and takes its name from Lochaber, Scotland.
The tax math is structurally remarkable in three ways. First: Loch Arbour’s 2025 effective tax rate of 0.412% is the lowest of all 53 Monmouth County municipalities, certified by the NJ Treasury 2025 General Tax Rates Table — below Allenhurst (0.528%), below Spring Lake (0.444%), below Sea Girt (0.520%), and far below the New Jersey statewide median of 1.89%. Second: the 2024 average residential tax bill of $12,084 sits well above the Monmouth County average of $10,930, reflecting an upscale beachfront property base where high home values produce meaningful absolute dollars even at the lowest rate. Third: the structural reason the rate works at all is the 2017 Commissioner of Education ruling that authorized Loch Arbour to withdraw from the Ocean Township School District, after which the Village re-formed as its own sending district paying tuition to West Long Branch K-8 and Shore Regional High School for its handful of students — a transformation that cut the school component of the Loch Arbour tax bill by more than half, from $499,944 to $232,500 across budget cycles.
The 2025-26 NJ Department of Education User Friendly Budget Summary for the Loch Arbour School District shows a total school levy of $232,500 against a net taxable valuation of $507,472,100 — producing an equalized school tax rate of just 0.0872 per $100. Total district enrollment for 2025-26 is approximately 20 students (11 sent to other districts regular, 6 sent special education, 3 in private placements). For comparison, the Loch Arbour school levy was $499,944 as recently as 2022-23 before the post-withdrawal restructuring fully took effect. The 2026-27 school budget cycle is the first in which the post-Ocean Township financial baseline is fully operational. Watch for further levy compression as the small per-pupil tuition base stabilizes.
A short-form video tour of Loch Arbour from Prodigy Real Estate — the smallest municipality in Monmouth County, the upscale beachfront Village character, and the structural backdrop to the tax math discussed in this post.
The Loch Arbour Tax Snapshot
Numbers below from the NJ Treasury 2025 General Tax Rates Table, the Monmouth County 2025 County Equalization Table, the NJ DCA MOD-IV 2024 Average Residential Tax Report, and the NJ Department of Education 2025-26 User Friendly Budget Summary for the Loch Arbour School District.
Loch Arbour is the lowest-effective-rate municipality in Monmouth County — a function of upscale beachfront property values combined with a minuscule school enrollment paid out on a tuition basis to neighboring districts. The 0.412% effective rate is roughly one-quarter of the New Jersey statewide median (1.89%) and lower than every other Monmouth municipality including the more famous low-tax shore boroughs like Spring Lake (0.444%), Sea Girt (0.520%), and Allenhurst (0.528%). The trade-off: extremely limited inventory (the entire Village is two blocks wide and five blocks long), a tight 224-resident community, and a school sending-district model that requires students to commute to West Long Branch and Shore Regional. For buyers prioritizing the lowest possible carrying cost on a premium beachfront property, Loch Arbour is the Monmouth answer.
“Loch Arbour is the answer to a very specific buyer question: what’s the lowest property tax effective rate in Monmouth on a serious beachfront property? It’s a Village of 224 people on essentially eight square blocks. Inventory rarely turns. The buyers who get in here are typically generational owners or sophisticated buyers who specifically want the school-district arbitrage that the 2017 withdrawal from Ocean Township unlocked. It’s a real, durable, primary-source-verifiable structural advantage.”
How Loch Arbour Compares: The Lowest-Effective-Rate Cluster
Loch Arbour leads a small cluster of Monmouth municipalities with effective rates under 1.0% — all of them small, all of them upscale, all of them with structural school-district advantages. The five lowest effective rates in the county for 2025:
| Lowest Effective Rates (2025) | Loch Arbour | Deal | Spring Lake | Sea Girt | Allenhurst |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 General Rate | $0.379 | $0.411 | $0.457 | $0.499 | $0.497 |
| 2025 Effective Rate | 0.412% | 0.435% | 0.444% | 0.520% | 0.528% |
| 2024 Avg Bill | $12,084 | $23,250 | $15,257 | ~$13,500 | $21,877 |
| Population 2020 | 224 | 919 | 2,909 | 1,756 | 472 |
| School Model | Sends K-12 (~20 students) | Own K-8 + AP HS | Own K-8 + Manasquan HS | Own K-8 + Manasquan HS | Sends K-8 + Shore HS |
| Government | Walsh Act (Village) | Borough Council | Borough Council | Borough Council | Walsh Act |
All five lowest-effective-rate Monmouth municipalities share the same structural feature: a small or non-existent local school enrollment paid out on a per-pupil tuition basis to a neighboring district. Loch Arbour wins the effective-rate competition because its 224-resident base produces only ~20 students total — the lowest per-capita school cost in the cluster. Deal carries the highest absolute bill ($23,250) on the highest median home value (over $5M) in the cluster. For the Allenhurst tax math that shares the Deal Lake geographic cluster with Loch Arbour, see our Allenhurst NJ Property Taxes 2026 deep dive. For the Spring Lake low-rate mechanics on the southern shore, see our Spring Lake NJ Property Taxes 2026 deep dive.
Loch Arbour vs Allenhurst: The Deal Lake Sister-Boroughs
Loch Arbour and Allenhurst share the Deal Lake geographic cluster, sit directly adjacent to one another (Allenhurst on the north, Loch Arbour on the south), both operate under the Walsh Act commission form of government, and both send students out on tuition to West Long Branch K-8 and Shore Regional HS. The structural comparison:
| Deal Lake Sister-Borough (2025) | Loch Arbour | Allenhurst |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 General Rate | $0.379 | $0.497 |
| 2025 Effective Rate | 0.412% | 0.528% |
| 2024 Avg Bill | $12,084 | $21,877 |
| Population 2020 | 224 | 472 |
| Land Area | 0.085 sq mi (smallest) | 0.28 sq mi |
| Municipal Type | Village (Walsh Act) | Borough (Walsh Act) |
| School Withdrawal | From Ocean Twp SD (2017) | From Asbury Park HS (2017) |
| Now Sends To | West Long Branch K-8 + Shore Reg HS | West Long Branch K-8 + Shore Reg HS |
Three structural takeaways. First: both municipalities executed structural school-district transitions in 2017 that meaningfully reduced their per-pupil tax burden — Loch Arbour withdrew from Ocean Township School District, and Allenhurst joined Shore Regional HS after exiting Asbury Park. Both now use the same downstream districts (West Long Branch K-8 + Shore Regional). Second: Loch Arbour’s smaller population and tinier footprint produce a lower per-capita municipal cost base, which combined with the tuition-based school model delivers the lowest effective rate in the county. Third: the absolute tax bills diverge dramatically — Allenhurst’s $21,877 average reflects much higher median property values, while Loch Arbour’s $12,084 average reflects a different inventory mix despite the lower effective rate.
“The Loch Arbour vs Allenhurst comparison is the most underappreciated tax-arbitrage story in Monmouth. Both municipalities pulled off the same 2017 school-district transition. Both now send students to the same downstream districts. Same Walsh Act government. Adjacent on Deal Lake. Yet the absolute average bills differ by nearly $10,000 because the inventory pricing is structurally different. For buyers with a budget cap, Loch Arbour’s rate advantage stretches further per dollar of property value. For buyers with eight-figure budgets, Allenhurst is the gateway. Both are real options; the math just diverges sharply at the inventory level.”
How Your Loch Arbour Tax Bill Is Built
A Loch Arbour property tax bill combines five independently authorized levies summing to the $0.379 general rate certified for 2025:
Loch Arbour Village Municipal Levy. Funds Village government — the three-member Board of Commissioners under the Walsh Act, Municipal Clerk Marilyn Simons, public works, the Village Beach gatehouse on Euclid Avenue and Ocean Place, recreation, and shared-services agreements with neighboring municipalities. The Village contracts out most major services (police, fire, EMS) to neighboring municipalities, keeping the municipal cost base extremely lean for a 224-resident community.
Loch Arbour School District Levy. Per the 2025-26 NJ Department of Education User Friendly Budget Summary, the total Loch Arbour School District levy is $232,500 — down dramatically from $499,944 in earlier years. The District operates as a sending district paying tuition to West Long Branch K-8 and Shore Regional High School for approximately 20 total students (11 sent regular education, 6 sent special education, 3 in private placements). The equalized school tax rate works out to just 0.0872 per $100.
Monmouth County Levy + Library + Open Space. County-level apportionment based on Loch Arbour’s equalized property value share of the total Monmouth County base. The Open Space dedicated tax funds farmland and open space preservation across the county.
County Library + Open Space dedicated levies. Standard statutory components.
The structural insight: when a Village of 224 residents produces only 20 school-aged children, paying tuition to neighboring districts at a per-pupil rate is dramatically cheaper than running a local school or paying into a shared-district levy formula that doesn’t reflect the small actual enrollment. Loch Arbour’s total 2025-26 school levy of $232,500 works out to approximately $11,625 per student — well below the typical New Jersey per-pupil cost of $20,000-25,000 for a locally operated district. This is the exact math the 2017 Commissioner of Education ruling validated, and it is the structural reason Loch Arbour now holds the lowest effective tax rate in Monmouth County.
The 2017 Ocean Township Withdrawal Story
Loch Arbour’s current tax math exists because of a five-year political and legal sequence beginning in 2012 and culminating in the 2017 Commissioner of Education ruling that authorized the Village to withdraw from the Ocean Township School District. The structural timeline:
Loch Arbour voters approve referendum changing the Village form of government from the legacy five-trustee Village structure to the Walsh Act three-member commission. This is the final operational transition of all four NJ "Villages" away from the original 1891 Village Act form.
Loch Arbour officials begin discussions with Allenhurst on potential municipal merger driven by Ocean Township school district tax obligations. The merger plan would route Loch Arbour students through Asbury Park Public Schools at lower per-pupil cost. The merger ultimately does not advance.
Loch Arbour pursues alternative approach: petitioning the New Jersey Commissioner of Education for the right to withdraw from Ocean Township School District and operate as its own sending district. Ocean Township vigorously contests the petition; the proceedings continue through multiple administrative hearings.
Acting Commissioner of Education Kimberley Harrington rules in favor of Loch Arbour, authorizing the Village to leave Ocean Township School District and become a sending district paying per-pupil tuition. Mayor Paul Fernicola projected $11,000-$12,000 annual tax savings per household.
Phased implementation. Loch Arbour students begin attending West Long Branch K-8 and Shore Regional HS on tuition. School levy compresses from $499,944 to $300,000 (2023-24), to $270,000 (2024-25), to $232,500 (2025-26). The lowest effective tax rate in Monmouth County is established.
The 2017 ruling remains the structural foundation of every Loch Arbour tax bill today. The Village now operates as its own local education agency under the New Jersey Department of Education with district code 5645, but contracts out 100% of student instruction to neighboring districts. For comparison context with another Monmouth municipality that executed a similar 2017 school-district transition, see our Allenhurst NJ Property Taxes 2026 deep dive.
Deal Lake, the Village Beach, and the Inventory Reality
Loch Arbour’s geographic footprint is two blocks wide and five blocks long — bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Deal Lake on the north (shared with Allenhurst, Asbury Park, Deal, Interlaken, Ocean Township, and others on the 158-acre lake), and the City of Asbury Park on the south. Deal Lake itself is managed by the seven-municipality Deal Lake Commission established in 1974 — one of the central regional governance structures in this part of Monmouth County. The Village Beach gatehouse at Euclid Avenue and Ocean Place is the central recreational amenity, with badges available to residents per Village Beach Application process.
For tax-base purposes, the inventory is structurally constrained: with only 0.085 square miles of land and an established residential block pattern, new construction is largely limited to teardown-and-rebuild cycles on existing lots. Historical preservation has been on the Village agenda — the Board of Commissioners has introduced ordinances limiting drone use and considering broader preservation protections. The 1892 James J. Corbett heavyweight boxing training camp history adds a layer of cultural significance to a small but architecturally distinctive Village. For broader Monmouth new construction context, see our 2026 Monmouth County new construction inventory.
Appeal Deadlines and Tax Court Options
Loch Arbour uses Monmouth County’s alternative appeal calendar under the ADP. For why Monmouth runs differently from the rest of New Jersey, see our complete explainer on the ADP framework, the January 15 deadline, and the seven non-ADP towns. Two deadlines apply:
January 15 — for properties assessed under $1 million in true value. Appeals are filed with the Monmouth County Board of Taxation.
April 1 — for properties assessed over $1 million in true value. These owners have the option to file directly with the New Jersey Tax Court rather than the county board. Given Loch Arbour’s premium beachfront inventory, a substantial portion of the Village’s tax base falls into the $1M+ category — making the Tax Court route especially relevant.
For Loch Arbour, appeal economics are constrained because the effective tax rate is already the lowest in the county — the absolute dollar savings from a successful appeal will be smaller than in higher-rate municipalities. But for properties valued well above $1.5M, the absolute dollars can still justify the appraiser-attorney-filing costs. For county-board mechanics, see the full NJ appeal playbook. For premium-market appeal economics specifically, see our premium-market appeal playbook.
The Mansion Tax and Closing-Table Math
For Loch Arbour sellers above $1 million — a substantial portion of the Village’s residential base — the New Jersey Realty Transfer Fee changes adopted under the FY2026 Appropriations Act on July 10, 2025 are now in effect. The legacy 1 percent Mansion Tax was replaced with a graduated rate applied to the entire sale price. On a $2M Loch Arbour beachfront sale, the difference between legacy and new structure runs into meaningful five-figure additional closing cost.
The full breakdown of the 2025–2026 Realty Transfer Fee structure walks through the new graduated tiers and the pricing-cliff effects near each threshold boundary. For the complete closing-process walkthrough, see the 2026 NJ real estate closing process timeline.
Loch Arbour has no active residential PILOT or tax abatement structures. For contrast on how PILOTs reshape effective rates in other Monmouth municipalities, see how Long Branch Pier Village condos operate under PILOT.
Tax Relief Programs Available to Loch Arbour Homeowners
$250 Veteran Deduction + $250 Senior Citizen / Disabled Persons Deduction available under state income guidelines.
100% Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exemption. Full exemption on the primary residence for honorably discharged veterans with 100% service-connected permanent disability.
At the state level: ANCHOR, Senior Freeze, and Stay NJ apply to qualifying Loch Arbour homeowners. Stay NJ reimburses 50 percent of property taxes for eligible homeowners age 65+, capped at $13,000 with a 2024 cap of $6,500. For broader context on long-term carrying cost across NJ municipalities — particularly relevant given that Loch Arbour holds the lowest effective rate in the entire county — see our analysis of NJ towns with the lowest property taxes.
The 2026 Budget Watch
Loch Arbour School District 2026-27 budget. The District’s 2025-26 levy of $232,500 reflects the now-fully-implemented post-Ocean-Township sending-district model. Watch the spring 2026 budget hearings for the trajectory of per-pupil tuition costs to West Long Branch K-8 and Shore Regional HS. Tuition cost inflation is the central variable.
Village Council 2026 municipal budget. Mayor Tawil and the three-member Board of Commissioners adopt the 2026 budget in the first half of the year. Watch for Village Beach operations, shared-services contract renewals with neighboring municipalities, and any Deal Lake Commission special assessments.
Deal Lake Commission obligations. Loch Arbour is one of seven member municipalities on the Deal Lake Commission established 1974. Watch for any capital improvement programs or dredging project assessments that flow through to member municipality budgets.
Annual ADP reassessment cycle. Loch Arbour participates in Monmouth County’s annual reassessment program. November 2025 postcards reflected current market values as of October 1, 2025.
For broader context on Monmouth County new construction in 2026, see our 2026 Monmouth County new construction inventory. For the Spring Lake low-effective-rate parallel on the southern shore, see our Spring Lake NJ Property Taxes 2026 deep dive. For the Rumson high-end shore market context, see our Rumson NJ Property Taxes 2026 deep dive. For the structural opposite — a municipality with a unified K-12 district and meaningful commercial PILOT base — see our Holmdel NJ Property Taxes 2026 deep dive.
“Loch Arbour is the most structurally interesting tiny municipality in New Jersey. Smallest population, smallest land area, lowest effective tax rate, the only Village that still calls itself a Village. The 2017 school-district withdrawal is one of the most important small-borough tax decisions in NJ history. For a sophisticated buyer who wants to understand how municipal-level tax engineering actually works in practice, Loch Arbour is the case study.”
Loch Arbour Village is the lowest-effective-rate municipality in Monmouth County and the most structurally interesting tiny municipality in New Jersey. The 0.412 percent effective rate is roughly one-quarter of the statewide median. The 2017 Commissioner of Education ruling that authorized withdrawal from Ocean Township School District is the structural foundation that makes the math work. The Walsh Act commission government delivers extreme administrative leanness. And the Deal Lake geographic cluster ties the Village to a regional governance framework that has operated since 1974. For sophisticated buyers prioritizing the absolute lowest carrying cost on a premium beachfront property, Loch Arbour offers structural value that exists nowhere else in the state.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the 2025 property tax rate in Loch Arbour Village, NJ?
The 2025 general tax rate in Loch Arbour is $0.379 per $100 of assessed value — the second-lowest general rate in Monmouth County. The 2025 effective tax rate is 0.412%, which is the LOWEST of all 53 Monmouth County municipalities, certified by the NJ Treasury 2025 General Tax Rates Table.
What is the average property tax bill in Loch Arbour?
The 2024 average residential property tax bill in Loch Arbour was $12,084 per the NJ DCA MOD-IV Average Residential Tax Report — above the Monmouth County average of $10,930 because premium beachfront property values produce meaningful absolute dollars even at the lowest effective rate in the county.
Where do Loch Arbour kids go to school?
The Loch Arbour School District operates as a sending district under New Jersey Department of Education code 5645. Students attend West Long Branch K-8 schools and Shore Regional High School on a per-pupil tuition basis. Total district enrollment is approximately 20 students for 2025-26 (11 sent regular education, 6 sent special education, 3 in private placements). The District has operated this way since the 2017 Commissioner of Education ruling that authorized withdrawal from Ocean Township School District.
Why does Loch Arbour have the lowest tax rate in Monmouth County?
Three structural reasons. First: the 2017 Commissioner of Education ruling that authorized Loch Arbour to withdraw from Ocean Township School District and operate as a sending district paying per-pupil tuition for its ~20 total students. Second: the Walsh Act commission form of government delivers extreme administrative leanness for a 224-resident community. Third: the tiny land area (0.085 sq mi) limits municipal infrastructure obligations.
How does Loch Arbour compare to Allenhurst?
Both share the Deal Lake cluster, both operate under the Walsh Act, both executed 2017 school-district transitions, and both now send students to West Long Branch K-8 and Shore Regional HS. The structural difference is scale: Loch Arbour is smaller (224 residents vs 472), lower in effective rate (0.412% vs 0.528%), but produces a lower average absolute bill ($12,084 vs $21,877) because Allenhurst’s median home values run substantially higher.
When is the Loch Arbour tax appeal deadline?
January 15 of the tax year for properties assessed under $1 million in true value, filed with the Monmouth County Board of Taxation. April 1 of the tax year for properties assessed over $1 million in true value, filed directly with the New Jersey Tax Court. Given the premium beachfront inventory in Loch Arbour, the Tax Court route is highly relevant.
Does Loch Arbour have any PILOT properties or tax abatements?
No. Loch Arbour has not designated any current residential redevelopment zones under N.J.S.A. 40A:20. Every residential property in the Village pays the standard general tax rate against its full assessed value.
Find Out Where Your 2026 Loch Arbour Assessment Should Actually Land
Loch Arbour’s tiny inventory turns rarely — meaning every assessment cycle matters more here than in larger municipalities. With the post-Ocean-Township sending-district model now fully operational and the lowest effective rate in Monmouth County, current owners should verify their November 2025 postcards reflect accurate market value before the appeal windows close. We’ll pull the comps, model the appeal economics, and tell you whether the case is worth bringing.
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