India, June 28 -- New Jersey is home to some of the cleanest beaches in the country, with water quality that routinely ranks among the best in the United States. In 2024, an Environment America analysis found that just 19 percent of the state's 214 monitored beaches exceeded the EPA's recommended bacteria threshold on at least one testing day-one of the best records in the region.

While the Jersey Shore may not have the turquoise waters of the Caribbean or Florida, some beaches are surprisingly clear. According to Only In Your State, the clearest water in New Jersey can be found at 96th Street Beach in Stone Harbor, a quiet seaside town in Cape May County.

Though Stone Harbor doesn't have a boardwalk, the borough-home to fewer than 1,0...