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Data on this report is based on areas within the legal city boundary, outlined in black on the map. Any additional neighborhoods shown on the map are associated with the city by name and are included for reference only.

Cape May, NJ
Real Estate & Demographic Data






Cape May profile


Living in Cape May



Cape May is a very small coastal city (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of New Jersey. With a population of 2,778 people and four associated neighborhoods, Cape May is the 392nd largest community in New Jersey.

Cape May home prices are not only among the most expensive in New Jersey, but Cape May real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.

The armed forces are a huge part of the life in Cape May, employing 12.29% of the workforce. While it is a military town, the civilian sector still plays an important role in the local economy, where the Healthcare and Education industries employ 15.11% and 12.51% of the civilian workforce, respectively.

Another notable thing is that Cape May is a major vacation destination. Much of the city’s population is seasonal: many people own second homes and only live there part-time, during the vacation season. The effect on the local economy is that many of the businesses are dependent on tourist dollars, and may operate only during the high season. As the vacation season ends, Cape May’s population drops significantly, such that year-round residents will notice that the city is a much quieter place to live.

Cape May is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Quite often, nautical areas such as these attract visitors and locals who come to enjoy the scenery and various waterfront activities.

One of the benefits of Cape May is that there is very little traffic. The average commute to work is 17.23 minutes, which is substantially less than the national average. Not only does this mean that the drive to work is less aggravating, but noise and pollution levels are lower as a result.

Do you like to read, write and learn? If you move to Cape May, you'll likely find that many of your neighbors like to as well. Cape May is one of the more educated communities in America, with a full 52.75% of its adults having a college degree or even advanced degree, compared to a national average across all communities of 21.84%.

The per capita income in Cape May in 2018 was $64,513, which is upper middle income relative to New Jersey, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $258,052 for a family of four. However, Cape May contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Cape May is a very ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Cape May home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Cape May residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Cape May also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 18.40% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Cape May include Irish, German, Italian, English, and Polish.

The most common language spoken in Cape May is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Arabic.