[18] Sea Bright was formed as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 21, 1889, from portions of Ocean Township, based on the results of a referendum held the previous day.

In the early 1840s, the area of present-day Sea Bright was a fishing community of simple shacks near the beach dunes; Ocean House, the area's first hotel, opened in 1842, featuring access to fishing and sea bathing.

[26][27] The area was called "Nauvoo", a Native American word, meaning "bright sea".

[28] An alternative explanation, which the borough credits as the source,[21] is that the name is derived from the Hebrew language meaning "pleasant place," which was the same name that Mormon leader Joseph Smith gave to Nauvoo, the Illinois town he founded in 1839.

After several iterations of the bridge, Monmouth County had announced plans for a replacement of the existing span built in 1950 that connects to Ocean Avenue in Sea Bright with a new bridge, due to the structural deficiency and function obsolete state of the existing structure.

It will also include other improvements, such as modernized draw controls, a access ramp to the nearby Sea Bright Beach from the Route 36 intersection, pedestrian beacons and striped crosswalks with the Ward Avenue intersection, and upgrades to the nearby Sea Bright park.

[32] Demolition of a nearby Dunkin' Donuts was deemed necessary in order to construct the replacement bridge.

These clubs charge thousands of dollars for membership and have waiting lists of several years for prospective members.

[36] The traditional surfing beach area, called the Anchorage, is free and public, but unguarded.

In addition, there are numerous public access stairs to other unguarded beaches for fishing, recreation and suntanning.

Unincorporated communities, localities and place names within Sea Bright include Low Moor,[37] Navesink Beach and Normandie.

[39][40][41] Sea Bright is located on the barrier peninsula that separates the Atlantic Ocean from the Navesink and Shrewsbury rivers.

[46][47] As of the summer of 2015, the borough added lifeguards and began charging visitors a daily admission at Anchorage Beach, an area that has been widely used by surfers, eliminating one of the limited number of free oceanfront beaches in the state.

[3] The borough form of government used by Sea Bright is a "weak mayor / strong council" government in which council members act as the legislative body with the mayor presiding at meetings and voting only in the event of a tie.

The mayor can veto ordinances subject to an override by a two-thirds majority vote of the council.

[51][52] As of 2025[update], the mayor of Sea Bright is Republican Brian P. Kelly, whose second term of office ends December 31, 2027.

"Jack" Keeler (R, 2027), Erwin W. Bieber (R, 2027), Marc A. Leckstein (D, 2026), Samuel A. Catalano (R, 2025), Heather Gorman (I, 2025) and John M. Lamia Jr. (R, 2026).

[59] For the 119th United States Congress, New Jersey's 6th congressional district is represented by Frank Pallone (D, Long Branch).

[62] For the 2024-2025 session, the 13th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the New Jersey Senate by Declan O'Scanlon (R, Little Silver) and in the General Assembly by Vicky Flynn (R, Holmdel Township) and Gerard Scharfenberger (R, Middletown Township).

The bridge is in the process of being replaced as part of a project that is expected to be completed in 2025, with access to County Route 520 maintained at all times.

[32] NJ Transit provides local bus service between Sea Bright and Red Bank on the 838 route.

[106] The plant hardiness zone is 7b with an average annual extreme minimum air temperature of 5.3 °F (−14.8 °C).

[103] The average date of first spring leaf-out is March 23[107] and fall color typically peaks in early-November.