Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Lower Township's standout: it has 20 miles of trail and 34% conserved land. Overall it grades C−, 376th among New Jersey's 466 graded towns. It is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 77% of U.S. towns. Its weakest subject is schools: its public schools trail 86% of New Jersey towns on state tests and graduation. 34% of the land in Lower Township is conserved, above both the New Jersey town median (11%) and the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). Only 44 of New Jersey’s 530 towns score lower on incomes. Its National Register listings include TBM-3E "Avenger" Torpedo Bomber Warplane and Battery 223.
Where Lower Township beats most towns.
Its 14 National Register listings are more than in 95% of New Jersey towns with a listing.
Census counts: 862 in 1810, a low of 862 in 1810, 22,057 in 2020. The archive holds 30 old photos and papers going back to 1727 and 7 maps from 1888 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Jersey), ordered by how far Lower Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lower Township. Close and well known come first.
6 mi Theme parkMorey's Piers
36 mi Stadium & arenaBoardwalk Hall
32 mi LandmarkLucy the Elephant
37 mi Theme parkSteel Pier6 mi Theme parkHunt's Pier10 mi Zoo & aquariumCape May County Park & ZooMorey's Piers: Smallbones, CC0 · Boardwalk Hall: Jack Boucher, Public domain · Lucy the Elephant: User:dtcdthingy 3:30 pm 30th July 2004 (Minolta Dimage X20), Public domain · Steel Pier: Make Lemons, CC BY-SA 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Lower Township, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Lower Township.
Lower Township reports less crime than Wildwood Crest or any other graded neighbor, keeps more of its land conserved than most of New Jersey and is healthy by national standards but behind most towns in New Jersey.
Its public schools are run by the Lower Township Elementary School District. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Lower Cape May Regional High School, with 717 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carl T. Mitnick SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades 1–2 | Grades 1–2 | 428 | – |
| Lower Cape May Regional High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 717 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
Its 6,679 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 89% of New Jersey towns.
20 miles of trail in 10 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Higbee Beach Wildlife Management Area, 1,076 acres with 6.2 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Higbee Beach Wildlife Management Area | 6.2 mi | 1,076 |
| 2. Cape May Point State Park | 3 mi | 246 |
| 3. Garrett Family Preserve | 2.9 mi | 47 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The average commute for its 9,010 working residents takes 19.2 minutes, against 30.5 across New Jersey.
23% of working residents work locally in Lower Township, against 6.3% in New Jersey’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Jobs based in Lower Township grew to 4,682 in 2023, 958 more than in 2013. The average trip to work in Lower Township is 19 minutes.
| Lower Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 23% | 6.3% | 8% |
| Work from home | 9.7% | 17% | 11% |
| Median household income | $85,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its B+ tops all 3 graded towns on its borders; Wildwood Crest (C+) comes closest. At 12.7 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 51% of New Jersey’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Lower Township has mild winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 28° and about 15 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Within New Jersey it is less healthy than 79% of the 468 graded towns: New Jersey sets a high bar.
Lower Township beats the New Jersey average on 7 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 10. 28% of adults feel lonely in Lower Township.
| Lower Township | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 32% | 33% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 32% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 36% | 36% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 23% |
| What stands out | Lower Township | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 9.4% | 12.3% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 9.1% | 11.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.3% | 7.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 63% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 190 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Lower Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of Lower Township; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Lower Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Jersey.
Coastal flooding makes up 14% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
27.9% of homes are seasonal or vacation homes, so the town is fuller in summer than its census count suggests.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
14 places in Lower Township on the National Register of Historic Places.
Township in Cape May County, New Jersey, US
Lower Township is a township in Cape May County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township, and all of Cape May County, is part of the Ocean City metropolitan statistical area, and is part of the Philadelphia metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 22,057, a decrease of 809 (−3.5%) from the 2010 census count of 22,866, which in turn reflected a decrease of 79 (−0.3%) from the 22,945 counted in the 2000 census. New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked Lower Township as its 34th best place to live in its 2008 rankings of the "Best Places To Live" in New Jersey. The township is part of the state's South Jersey region and the larger Philadelphia metro…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
9 towns share a border with Lower Township.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Township | #376 | C− | C− | B+ | D | B |
| Cape May | #425 | D | D | C− | D | B+ |
| Villas | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Middle Township | #405 | C− | D | C | C+ | B+ |
| North Cape May | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Wildwood Crest | #347 | C | D | C+ | B | A− |
| West Cape May | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Cape May Point | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Villas, North Cape May, West Cape May and Cape May Point aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Lower Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Lower Township grades C− overall, better than 24% of U.S. towns and #376 of 466 in New Jersey. It grades B for health, B+ for safety and D for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
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