The Borough's name is of Lenni Lenape origin, Man - A - Squaw - Han (stream of the Island of Squaws). Manasquan, Maniquan, Mannisquan, Manasquam, Squan, and Squan Village are variations on the original pronunciation and spelling. The meaning has also been interpreted as "an island with enclosure for squans."
Manasquan was formed as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on December 30, 1887, from portions of Wall Township, based on the results of a referendum held the previous day.
New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked Manasquan as its 22nd best place to live in its 2008 rankings of the "Best Places To Live" in New Jersey.
As of the census of 2000, there were 6,310 people, 2,600 households, and 1,635 families residing in the borough. The population density was 4,579.6 people per square mile (1,765.4/km²). There were 3,531 housing units at an average density of 2,562.7/sq mi (987.9/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 97.89% White, 0.41% Black, 0.11% Native American, 0.44% Asian, 0.48% from other races, and 0.67% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.48% of the population.
There were 2,600 households out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.3% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.1% were non-families. 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.06.
In the borough the population was spread out with 23.8% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 25.1% from 45 to 64, and 14.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 96.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.4 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $63,079, and the median income for a family was $73,670. Males had a median income of $52,368 versus $33,333 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $32,898. About 2.2% of families and 3.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.8% of those under age 18 and 5.3% of those age 65 or over.
Commuter rail New Jersey Transit has a station in Manasquan on the North Jersey Coast Line. Passengers can travel south to Point Pleasant Beach and Bay Head or north to points such as Belmar, Long Branch, Newark, Hoboken Terminal and Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan.
The Garden State Parkway is the nearest major highway. Route 71 runs through the town.