Spring Lake is a very small coastal borough (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of New Jersey. With a population of 2,776 people and just one neighborhood, Spring Lake is the 390th largest community in New Jersey. Spring Lake has an unusually large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic boroughs.
Spring Lake home prices are not only among the most expensive in New Jersey, but Spring Lake real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.
Spring Lake is a decidedly white-collar borough, with fully 95.24% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Spring Lake is a borough of managers, professionals, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Spring Lake who work in management occupations (33.72%), business and financial occupations (18.29%), and teaching (8.88%).
Also of interest is that Spring Lake has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.
Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 25.05% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.
Another notable thing is that Spring Lake is an extremely popular destination for tourists and seasonal residents. So much of the population is seasonal such that the borough’s population swells significantly during the vacation season, and drops again when the season ends. Because of this, much of the local economy is centered around tourism; some businesses may be operated only during the high season. During the low season, year-round residents will notice that the city is a substantially quieter place to live.
In addition, Spring Lake is home to many people who could be described as "urban sophisticates", which are people who are not only wealthy and employed in professional occupations, but highly educated to boot. Urban sophisticates have urbane tastes - whether they reside in a big or small city, a suburb, or a little town. Urban sophisticates support bookstores, quality clothing stores, enjoy luxury travel, and in big cities, they are truly the patrons of the arts, attending and supporting institutions such as opera, symphony, ballet, and theatre.
Because of many things, Spring Lake is a great place for families with children to consider. First of all, many other families with children live here, making Spring Lake a place where both parents and children are more likely to develop social ties with other families, as well as find family-oriented services and community. The borough’s good public school district and large population of college-educated adults provide an environment conducive to academic values. With regard to real estate, Spring Lake has a high rate of owner-occupied single family homes, which tends to reflect stability in the local community. Finally, Spring Lake’s overall crime rate is lower than average for the country.
One of the nice things about Spring Lake is that it is nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Because of this, visitors and locals will often go to these areas to take in the scenery or to enjoy waterfront activities.
In Spring Lake, however, the average commute to work is quite long. On average, people spend 36.13 minutes each day getting to work, which is significantly higher than the national average. One bright side is that local public transit is widely used, so it may be an option to avoid the headache of driving in the heavy traffic by leaving the car at home and taking transit.
Despite being a small borough, Spring Lake has a lot of people using taxis to get to and from work every day. Most of these people on taxis are using it to get to good jobs in other cities.
Do you have a 4-year college degree or graduate degree? If so, you may feel right at home in Spring Lake. 77.37% of adults here have a 4-year degree or graduate degree, whereas the national average for all cities and towns is just 21.84%.
The per capita income in Spring Lake in 2018 was $101,250, which is wealthy relative to New Jersey and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $405,000 for a family of four.
The people who call Spring Lake home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Spring Lake residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Spring Lake include Irish, Italian, German, English, and Polish.
The most common language spoken in Spring Lake is English. Other important languages spoken here include Slavic languages and Spanish.
When you see a neighborhood for the first time, the most important thing is often the way it looks, like its homes and its setting. Some places look the same, but they only reveal their true character after living in them for a while because they contain a unique mix of occupational or cultural groups. This neighborhood is very unique in some important ways, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive exploration and analysis.
Do you like a coastal setting? If so, this neighborhood may be to your liking. The neighborhood is on the ocean, a bay, or inlet. Often such coastal places have amenities and recreational activities on the waterfront that are attractive to residents and visitors alike. In addition to being coastal, is a very nautical neighborhood, meaning that it is somewhat historic, walkable, densely populated and on the water. This gives the neighborhood a very nautical feel, with some seaside and shipping feel, which some may really enjoy the sights and sounds of.
In addition, one way that the neighborhood really stands out, is that it has more large 4, 5, or additional bedroom homes and real estate than 98.3% of the neighborhoods in America. When you walk or drive around this neighborhood, you'll instantly notice the size of the homes here which definitely makes a strong visual statement.
Furthermore, despite all of the residential real estate here in the neighborhood, NeighborhoodScout has discovered that much of it is vacant. In resort or second-home vacation areas, this naturally occurs because homes and apartments are seasonally occupied, and empty for a portion of the year. In non-vacation or resort areas, however, this can be an indicator of property abandonment or a weak real estate market. The vacancy rate here is 36.8%, which is higher than 96.6% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
In a nation where 1 out of every 4 children lives in poverty, the neighborhood stands out as being ranked among the lowest 0.0% of neighborhoods affected by this global issue.
In addition, a majority of the adults in the neighborhood are wealthy and educated executives. They own stately homes that tend to maintain high real estate appreciation rates. Their upper-level careers keep them busy, but allow them to live comfortably. If you're an executive and want to keep similar company, consider settling in this neighborhood, rated as an executive lifestyle "best choice" neighborhood for New Jersey by NeighborhoodScout's analysis, which rated it as better for executive lifestyles than 99.4% of the neighborhoods in New Jersey. In addition to being an excellent choice for highly educated executives, this neighborhood is also a very good choice for urban sophisticates and active retirees.
Also, if knowledge is power, then imagine the cumulative power of one neighborhood where many of the adults have earned an advanced degree, such as a Masters, law degree, medical degree, or even a Ph.D. This is certainly the case in the neighborhood, where 39.6% have earned an advanced degree. Compare that to the average neighborhood in America, where just 13.1% of adults have completed a post-graduate degree, and you can see why this neighborhood is a stand out. In fact, this neighborhood has a higher rate of adults with an advanced degree than 97.1% of the neighborhoods in America.
If you like to ride a ferry to work, this neighborhood may be for you. NeighborhoodScout's research revealed that 3.3% of the neighborhood's commuters ride a ferry to and from work each day, which is more than we found in 99.7% of America's neighborhoods.
Also, in the neighborhood, many people's commute means walking from the bedroom to the home office. NeighborhoodScout's analysis found that 25.1% of residents worked from home. This may not seem like a large number, but Scout's research shows that this is a higher percentage of people working from home than 96.5% of the neighborhoods in America. Often people who work from home are engaged in the creative or technological economy, such as is found in areas around Boston, and in Silicon Valley. Other times, people may be engaged in other businesses like trading stocks from home, or running a small beauty salon.
Regardless of the means by which residents commute, this neighborhood has a length of commute that is notable. Long commutes can be brutal. They take time, money, and energy, leaving less of you for yourself and your family. The residents of the neighborhood unfortunately have the distinction of having, on average, a longer commute than most any neighborhood in America. 18.8% of commuters here travel more than one hour just one-way to work. That is more than two hours per day. This percentage with two-hour + round-trip commutes is higher than NeighborhoodScout found in 99.4% of all neighborhoods in America.
Executives, managers and professionals make up 77.7% of the workforce in the neighborhood which, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis, is a higher proportion of such high-level people than is found in 98.7% of the neighborhoods in America. For this reason, this neighborhood really stands out as unique.
Did you know that the neighborhood has more Irish and Italian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 30.8% of this neighborhood's residents have Irish ancestry and 24.4% have Italian ancestry.
How wealthy a neighborhood is, from very wealthy, to middle income, to low income is very formative with regard to the personality and character of a neighborhood. Equally important is the rate of people, particularly children, who live below the federal poverty line. In some wealthy gated communities, the areas immediately surrounding can have high rates of childhood poverty, which indicates other social issues. NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals both aspects of income and poverty for this neighborhood.
The neighbors in the neighborhood in Spring Lake are wealthy, making it among the 15% highest income neighborhoods in America. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 89.2% of the neighborhoods in America. In addition, 0.0% of the children seventeen and under living in this neighborhood are living below the federal poverty line, which is a lower rate of childhood poverty than is found in 100.0% of America's neighborhoods.
A neighborhood is far different if it is dominated by enlisted military personnel rather than people who earn their living by farming. It is also different if most of the neighbors are clerical support or managers. What is wonderful is the sheer diversity of neighborhoods, allowing you to find the type that fits your lifestyle and aspirations.
In the neighborhood, 77.7% of the working population is employed in executive, management, and professional occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants, with 15.4% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (4.8%), and 2.1% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.
The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 94.7% of households.
Culture is the shared learned behavior of peoples. Undeniably, different ethnicities and ancestries have different cultural traditions, and as a result, neighborhoods with concentrations of residents of one or another ethnicities or ancestries will express those cultures. It is what makes the North End in Boston so fun to visit for the Italian restaurants, bakeries, culture, and charm, and similarly, why people enjoy visiting Chinatown in San Francisco.
In the neighborhood in Spring Lake, NJ, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Irish (30.8%). There are also a number of people of Italian ancestry (24.4%), and residents who report German roots (12.3%), and some of the residents are also of English ancestry (9.1%), along with some Polish ancestry residents (4.3%), among others.
How you get to work – car, bus, train or other means – and how much of your day it takes to do so is a large quality of life and financial issue. Especially with gasoline prices rising and expected to continue doing so, the length and means of one's commute can be a financial burden. Some neighborhoods are physically located so that many residents have to drive in their own car, others are set up so many walk to work, or can take a train, bus, or bike. The greatest number of commuters in neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (25.2% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans. However, there is also a significant group of residents (18.8%) who commute over an hour in each direction.
Here most residents (58.2%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also take the train to get to work (5.6%) . In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.