United States PresidentBenjamin Harrison granted George H. K. Carter a homestead in 1889 on the yet unnamed land. In 1931, the sparsely populated settlement was incorporated by Harold Stirling Vanderbilt as the "Town of Manalapan". A large share of the first settlers being natives of Manalapan, New Jersey caused the name to be selected. One of the most puzzling mysteries in Florida history was the disappearance of Circuit Judge Curtis Chillingworth and his wife Marjorie, who left a friend's home on the night of June 14, 1955, en route to their oceanfront cottage in Manalapan. It was established five years later that the couple were murdered by hitmen hired by one of Curtis Chillingworth's fellow judges. The Chillingworths were thrown overboard from a boat into the ocean with lead weights strapped to their legs; their bodies were never recovered. The U.S. presidential yacht Sequoia was auctioned at the La Coquille Club in Manalapan on March 25, 1977 during the Carter administration, for US$286,000, as a symbolic cutback in Federal Government spending and to reduce signs of an "imperial presidency". The popular tourist restaurant John G's moved to Manalapan in 2011 from its location in Lake Worth where it had been for 30+ years.
As of the census of 2000, there were 321 people, 167 households, and 107 families residing in the town. The population density was 712.7 inhabitants per square mile. There were 271 housing units at an average density of 601.7 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 98.13% White 1.56% Asian and 0.31% Pacific Islander. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.12% of the population. There were 167 households out of which 9.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.9% were married couples living together, 2.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.9% were non-families. 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 21.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.92 and the average family size was 2.33. In the town, the population was spread out with 7.8% under the age of 18, 2.2% from 18 to 24, 13.4% from 25 to 44, 35.8% from 45 to 64, and 40.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 61 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.0 males. The median income for a household in the town was $127,819, and the median income for a family was $117,051. Males had a median income of over $100,000 versus $36,250 for females. The per capita income for the town was $143,729. About 3.7% of families and 5.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over. As of 2000, speakers of English as a first language accounted for 98.54%, while French as a mother tongue accounted for 1.45% of the population. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 340.
