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". Urban sophisticates are people who are both educated and wealthy, and thus tend to be older, richer, and more established than young professionals. "Urban sophisticates" is not just about being educated and well-off financially: it is a point of view and state of mind, one that you might call 'urbaneness'. But such people can and do regularly live in small towns, suburbs and rural areas, as well as in big cities. They read, support the arts and high-end shops, and love travel.
Spring Lake is a good choice for families with children because of several factors. Many other families with children live here, making it a place where both parents and children are more likely to develop social ties with other families. The borough’s good public school district and large population of college-educated adults provide an environment conducive to academic success. Many people own their own single-family homes, providing areas for children to play and stability in the 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 31.24 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.
Even though Spring Lake is a smaller borough, it has many people who hop on public transportation – mostly taxis for their daily commute to work. Typically, these people are commuting to good jobs in the surrounding cities.
If knowledge is power, Spring Lake is a pretty powerful place. 81.26% of the adults in Spring Lake have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns.
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.
Many things matter about a neighborhood, but the first thing most people notice is the way a neighborhood looks and its particular character. For example, one might notice whether the buildings all date from a certain time period or whether shop signs are in multiple languages. This particular neighborhood in Spring Lake, the neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.
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.
Of note is NeighborhoodScout's research finding that the neighborhood has some of the lowest rates of children living in poverty of any neighborhood in the United States. In a nation where approximately 1 in 4 children are living in poverty, the community truly stands out from the rest in this regard.
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.
Executives, managers and professionals make up 72.0% 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 96.1% of the neighborhoods in America. For this reason, this neighborhood really stands out as unique.
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.
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 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.
The old saying "you are what you eat" is true. But it is also true that you are what you do for a living. The types of occupations your neighbors have shape their character, and together as a group, their collective occupations shape the culture of a place.
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%).
Languages
The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 96.1% of households.
Ethnicity / Ancestry
Boston's Beacon Hill blue-blood streets, Brooklyn's Orthodox Jewish enclaves, Los Angeles' Persian neighborhoods. Each has its own culture derived primarily from the ancestries and culture of the residents who call these neighborhoods home. Likewise, each neighborhood in America has its own culture – some more unique than others – based on lifestyle, occupations, the types of households – and importantly – on the ethnicities and ancestries of the people who live in the neighborhood. Understanding where people came from, who their grandparents or great-grandparents were, can help you understand how a neighborhood is today.
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.
