Cape May Historic District (Additional Documentation) · Photo: Smallbones · CC0There are 2.6 jobs in Cape May for every working resident, and 1,902 people commute in
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 1.5 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 43.7 in Jersey City. 2,080 jobs are based in Cape May for 800 working residents. Jobs and income earn Cape May C+; getting around on foot earns it A.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Cape May in brief
Cape May is where the jobs are
Cape May has 2,080 jobs, 2.6 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 4,000 people are in town, 47% more than the 2,700 who live here. Day and night ↓
A big share show a job far from home
39% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Commutes from Cape May are quick
The average trip to work takes 18 minutes, against 31 across New Jersey. That’s about 100 hours a year less on the road than the typical New Jersey worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 800 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How Cape May earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Cape May is better than 40% of U.S. towns, #428 of 468 in New Jersey. Unemployment holds Cape May’s grade up (3.4%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($62,576, U.S. $80,734).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Cape May could be anywhere from D to B+.
Who works in Cape May, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 622 residents head out to work and 178 work right here.
About 4,000 people are in Cape May on a workday afternoon, 47% more than live here.
2.6 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Short hops and long hauls from Cape May
About 39% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
The daily trip from Cape May: about 18 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Cape May workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,190 commuters (the 11% who work from home are left out). Across New Jersey: 75% drive alone, 10% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Where the people who work in Cape May live
Where Cape May clocks in
10% of workers
7% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Services make up most of the work in Cape May
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Cape May, 2013 → 2023: 2,167 → 2,080. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Cape May’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Cape May is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Cape May is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns, #171 of 468 in New Jersey. Both inputs place Cape May near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,343 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 41% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 64% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 6.0% of Cape May households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Cape May’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 1,900 to 3,700, Cape May ranks 2,823rd of 4,969 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Haworth NJ | 3,422 | $237K | 3.7% | 2.5% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 60 | Spring Lake NJ | 2,769 | $216K | 1.0% | 2.4% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 63 | Woodbury Heights NJ | 3,162 | $123K | 4.1% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,821 | Wimberley TX | 2,909 | $80K | 6.9% | 12.3% | 9% | C+ |
| 2,822 | Kalaeloa HI | 3,342 | $90K | 22.0% | 6.9% | 2% | C+ |
| 2,823 | Cape May NJ | 2,716 | $63K | 10.3% | 3.4% | 22% | C+ |
| 2,824 | Pinedale WY | 1,997 | $59K | 11.1% | 0.0% | 33% | C+ |
| 2,825 | Noble Township KS | 1,927 | $76K | 9.1% | 6.0% | 8% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,969 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Cape May, the top three, the last and three more from New Jersey.
Next door is work for 10% of Cape May
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Cape May workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cape May | – | C+ | A | 18 min | $62,576 |
| Lower Township | 10% | C+ | A− | 19 min | $84,962 |
| West Cape May | under 2% | — | — | 15 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. West Cape May: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Lower Township. Darker towns draw more of Cape May’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Cape May: questions
What is the median household income in Cape May?
$62,576 (±$14,495) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Cape May?
10.3%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Cape May?
18 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Cape May work?
22% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lower Township (10%, 3 mi), Middle Township (7%, 11 mi), Atlantic City (3%, 38 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Cape May walkable?
Cape May is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 10.6 out of 20, and 12% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Cape May without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Cape May, from the people who make the trip.
More of Cape May
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.