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 2,751 people and just one neighborhood, Spring Lake is the 390th largest community in New Jersey. Spring Lake has seen a significant amount of newer housing growth in recent years. Quite often, new home construction is the result of new residents moving in who are middle class or wealthier, attracted by jobs, a healthy local economy, or other amenities as they leave nearby or far away areas for greener pastures. This seems to be the case in Spring Lake, where the median household income is $146,976.00.
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 93.26% 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 (29.83%), business and financial occupations (15.53%), and sales jobs (14.71%).
One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 26.86% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. 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.
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 very good place for families to consider. With an enviable combination of good schools, low crime, college-educated neighbors who tend to support education because of their own experiences, and a high rate of home ownership in predominantly single-family properties, Spring Lake really has some of the features that families look for when choosing a good community to raise children. Is Spring Lake perfect? Of course not, and if you like frenetic nightlife, it will be far from your cup of tea. But overall this is a solid community, with many things to recommend it as a family-friendly place to live.
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.
One downside of living in Spring Lake, however, is that residents on average have to contend with a long commute, spending on average 31.24 minutes every day commuting to work. However, local public transit is widely used. For those who would prefer to avoid driving entirely and leave their car at home, it may be an option to use the transit instead.
In Spring Lake, a lot of people use taxis to get to work every day though Spring Lake is a relatively small borough. Those that ride taxis are primarily traveling out of town to good jobs in other cities.
Do you like to read, write and learn? If you move to Spring Lake, you'll likely find that many of your neighbors like to as well. Spring Lake is one of the more educated communities in America, with a full 81.26% 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 Spring Lake in 2022 was $119,203, which is wealthy relative to New Jersey and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $476,812 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 Black or African-American. 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.
The way a neighborhood looks and feels when you walk or drive around it, from its setting, its buildings, and its flavor, can make all the difference. This neighborhood has some really cool things about the way it looks and feels as revealed by NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research. This might include anything from the housing stock to the types of households living here to how people get around.
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 98.0% 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, vacant homes and apartments are a significant characteristic of this neighborhood. In fact, with 34.7% of the residential real estate vacant, the neighborhood claims the distinction of having a higher vacancy rate than 96.6% of the neighborhoods in America. This can either be because much of the property is seasonally occupied, like in many vacation areas, or that much of the real estate is more permanently abandoned.
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, think about the people you know personally. How many of them would purchase box seats to opening night at the symphony? How many of them regularly attend gallery openings, or are the first to reserve tickets to opening night at the ballet? If they're like most of us, they don't do any of these things. But if you're among an exclusive crowd of wealthy and refined patrons of the arts, then you'll feel right at home in the neighborhood: a neighborhood in which more "urban sophisticates" live than 99.4% of neighborhoods across the U.S. Here, your neighbors are defined as having urbane tastes in literature, music, live theatre and the arts. They are wealthy, educated, travel in style, and live a big city lifestyle whether or not they live in or near a big city. In addition to being an excellent choice for urban sophisticates, this neighborhood is also a very good choice for highly educated executives and active retirees.
Also, priests and therapists would like to think they know the secrets to a truly successful marriage, but according to NeighborhoodScout's research, the folks of the neighborhood may actually hold the key. 75.1% of its residents are married, which is a higher percentage than is found in 99.1% of the neighborhoods in America.
Finally, do you like to read, write, and learn? Are you curious about the world? If so, this neighborhood may be a good fit for you. NeighborhoodScout's research revealed that a full 81.3% of the adults living in the neighborhood have earned at least a bachelor's degree. This is a higher rate than NeighborhoodScout found in 98.0% of U.S. neighborhoods. In this way, this neighborhood truly stands out.
The neighborhood has a higher proportion of its residents employed as executives, managers and professionals than 96.1% of the neighborhoods in America. In fact, 72.0% of the employed people here make a living as an executive, a manager, or other professional. With such a high concentration, this truly shapes the character of this neighborhood, and to a large degree defines what this neighborhood is about.
Whether walking, biking, riding, or driving, the length of one's commute is an important factor for one's quality of life. The neighborhood stands out for its commute length, according to NeighborhoodScout's analysis. 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. 10.2% 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 95.8% of all neighborhoods in America.
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, 39.6% of this neighborhood's residents have Irish ancestry and 24.7% have Italian ancestry.
There are two complementary measures for understanding the income of a neighborhood's residents: the average and the extremes. While a neighborhood may be relatively wealthy overall, it is equally important to understand the rate of people - particularly children - who are living at or below the federal poverty line, which is extremely low income. Some neighborhoods with a lower average income may actually have a lower childhood poverty rate than another with a higher average income, and this helps us understand the conditions and character of a 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 92.2% 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, 72.0% 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 20.6% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (6.7%).
The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 96.1% 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 (39.6%). There are also a number of people of Italian ancestry (24.7%), and residents who report German roots (10.2%), and some of the residents are also of English ancestry (5.3%), along with some Polish ancestry residents (4.0%), 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 under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (33.9% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America. However, there is also a significant group of residents (10.2%) who commute over an hour in each direction.
Here most residents (63.8%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.