Surf City, NJ

Overview

Surf City 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 1,282 people and just one neighborhood, Surf City is the 463rd largest community in New Jersey.

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

Occupations and Workforce

Surf City is a decidedly white-collar borough, with fully 92.45% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Surf City is a borough of professionals, sales and office workers, and managers. There are especially a lot of people living in Surf City who work in sales jobs (19.18%), management occupations (15.10%), and teaching (9.39%).

Of important note, Surf City is also a borough of artists. Surf City has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Surf City’s character.

Also of interest is that Surf City 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: 27.27% 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.

Setting & Lifestyle

Another notable thing is that Surf City is an extremely popular vacation destination. A significant portion of the population is seasonal. During the vacation season, the borough experiences a large influx of people who take up residence in second homes they own in the area. As the vacation season ends, the population drops again, leaving behind a substantially quieter and smaller borough.

In addition, Surf City 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.

Surf City 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, Surf City’s overall crime rate is lower than average for the country.

One of the nice things about Surf City 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 Surf City is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In Surf City, the average commute to work is 30.67 minutes, which is quite a bit higher than the national average.

Demographics

Do you like to read, write and learn? If you move to Surf City, you'll likely find that many of your neighbors like to as well. Surf City is one of the more educated communities in America, with a full 62.18% 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 Surf City in 2022 was $92,668, which is wealthy relative to New Jersey and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $370,672 for a family of four.

The people who call Surf City home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Surf City residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Surf City include Irish, Italian, English, German, and Polish.

The most common language spoken in Surf City is English. Other important languages spoken here include Italian and Polish.

Notable & Unique Neighborhood Characteristics

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 Surf City, the neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.

Real Estate

is a neighborhood that is on the ocean, a bay, or inlet. Many times, such places have amenities that bring locals and visitors to the waterfront for recreational activities or to check out the scenery. In some densely populated areas that are less financially well-off, the neighborhood waterfront can be relatively industrial and less open to recreation. 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, vacant homes and apartments are a significant characteristic of this neighborhood. In fact, with 75.1% of the residential real estate vacant, the neighborhood claims the distinction of having a higher vacancy rate than 99.8% 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.

People

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, if you are planning to retire in New Jersey, this neighborhood should be on your must-see list. For many reasons, may be considered a retiree's dream neighborhood. According to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis and metrics, it's peaceful and quiet, has above average safety from crime compared to other neighborhoods in New Jersey, while also offering a diverse range of housing options. This, along with the vibrant mix of very educated seniors and other age groups who choose to live here, makes the neighborhood more retiree-friendly than 96.6% of neighborhoods in NJ. If a New Jersey retirement is in your future, this neighborhood should be one of the places you visit. In addition to being an excellent choice for active retirees, this neighborhood is also a very good choice for urban sophisticates and highly educated executives.

Also, astoundingly, NeighborhoodScout's research reveals that this single neighborhood has a higher concentration of married couples living here than 95.7% of all U.S. neighborhoods. Whether they have school-aged children or not, married couples are the rule in the neighborhood. If you are a married couple, you may find many people here with a similar lifestyle, and perhaps common interests. But if you are single, you might not find many other singles here.

Length of Commute

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. 10.6% 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 96.1% of all neighborhoods in America.

Diversity

Did you know that the neighborhood has more Czechoslovakian and Italian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 1.4% of this neighborhood's residents have Czechoslovakian ancestry and 23.0% have Italian ancestry.

is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 8.1% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Polish at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 97.1% of the neighborhoods in America.

The Neighbors

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 Surf City are upper-middle income, making it an above average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 80.9% 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, 56.6% 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 24.7% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (9.0%), and 8.9% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.

Languages

The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 96.1% of households. Some people also speak Polish (8.1%).

Ethnicity / Ancestry

Culture is shared learned behavior. We learn it from our parents, their parents, our houses of worship, and much of our culture – our learned behavior – comes from our ancestors. That is why ancestry and ethnicity can be so interesting and important to understand: places with concentrations of people of one or more ancestries often express those shared learned behaviors and this gives each neighborhood its own culture. Even different neighborhoods in the same city can have drastically different cultures.

In the neighborhood in Surf City, NJ, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Irish (24.8%). There are also a number of people of Italian ancestry (23.0%), and residents who report English roots (16.5%), and some of the residents are also of German ancestry (16.4%), along with some Polish ancestry residents (8.0%), among others.

Getting to Work

Even if your neighborhood is walkable, you may still have to drive to your place of work. Some neighborhoods are located where many can get to work in just a few minutes, while others are located such that most residents have a long and arduous commute. The greatest number of commuters in neighborhood spend under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (32.9% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America. However, there is also a significant group of residents (10.6%) who commute over an hour in each direction.

Here most residents (71.0%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also carpool with coworkers, friends, or neighbors to get to work (6.3%) . In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.

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This is a small community in a single neighborhood. As throughout the site, some neighborhood-level data are reserved for subscribers.

Overview

Occupations and Workforce

Setting & Lifestyle

Demographics

Notable & Unique Neighborhood Characteristics

Real Estate

People

Length of Commute

Diversity

The Neighbors

Languages

Ethnicity / Ancestry

Getting to Work

Popular real estate nearby

comparable neighborhoods nearby

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Surf City, NJ

This is a small community in a single neighborhood. As throughout the site, some neighborhood-level data are reserved for subscribers.

Overview

Occupations and Workforce

Setting & Lifestyle

Demographics

Notable & Unique Neighborhood Characteristics

Real Estate

People

Length of Commute

Diversity

The Neighbors

Languages

Ethnicity / Ancestry

Getting to Work

Popular real estate nearby

comparable neighborhoods nearby