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 2,742 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.Cape May is a decidedly white-collar city, with fully 87.56% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Cape May is a city of sales and office workers, managers, and professionals. There are especially a lot of people living in Cape May who work in office and administrative support (20.73%), sales jobs (14.42%), and management occupations (12.00%). Cape May is home to a number of people employed in the armed forces. When you visit or walk around Cape May, some of the people you will bump into will be military people In and out of uniform, jogging, shopping and generally out and about town. One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 11.39% 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.Cape May is also a college town, where lots of students live while attending area colleges. Because of the high percentage of people living in Cape May enrolled in college, Cape May has a number of services, amenities and opportunities geared towards the needs and activities of students. Another notable thing is that Cape May is an extremely popular destination for tourists and seasonal residents. So much of the population is seasonal such that the city’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. 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. Compared to the rest of the country, citizens of Cape May spend much less time in their cars: on average, their commute to work is only 17.77 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the city are less than they would otherwise be.If knowledge is power, Cape May is a pretty powerful place. 55.86% of the adults in Cape May 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 Cape May in 2022 was $71,810, 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 $287,240 for a family of four. However, Cape May contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Cape May is a somewhat 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 11.28% 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.
