Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Population 2,114: a town settled in 1882.
The best of Sea Isle City’s subject grades are an A for walkability and health and an A− for incomes; the weakest is a D− for cost of living. 53% of residents are 65 or older in Sea Isle City, above both the New Jersey town median (18%) and the median of U.S. towns (18%). On cost of living, just 8 of New Jersey’s 530 towns do worse. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 90% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. 34% of the land in Sea Isle City is conserved, above both the New Jersey town median (11%) and the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). On history, just 21 of New Jersey’s 530 towns do worse. Sea Isle City has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Jersey), ordered by how far Sea Isle City is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Where Sea Isle City beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Census counts: 776 in 1890, a low of 340 in 1900, 2,104 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2008 and 5 maps from 1888 on.
Coastal flooding makes up 33% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
Ordered by what stands out in Sea Isle City.
Homes sold in Sea Isle City spent a median 81 days on the market. In the year to September 2026, typical home values climbed 12%. Among households in the town, 93% live in a home they own.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The bachelor’s-degree share among adults 25 and older is 49%, against 44% across New Jersey. No town among the 469 in New Jersey we compare has a higher median age than Sea Isle City.
| Sea Isle City | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 6.2% | 21% | 22% |
| Median age | 66.1 years | 42 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 49% | 45% | 29% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.6 points. Across New Jersey, 50.8% of residents are women. Median age: women 65.3, men 66.6.
| Sea Isle City | NJ | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 2.8% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 3.5% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 0.3% | 8.4% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 3.3% | 12.9% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 4.2% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.3% | 12.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 22.2% | 13.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 29.5% | 10% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 23.2% | 7.2% | 7% |
| No diploma | 1.1% | 9.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 22% | 25.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 21.9% | 15% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 6.3% | 6.7% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 27.3% | 26.1% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 21.4% | 17.6% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,100, single groups can be off by several points
In Sea Isle City, 17% of working residents work locally. Jobs based in Sea Isle City grew to 889 in 2023, 291 more than in 2013. Also worth knowing: the typical journey to work in the town is 30 minutes. The top destinations are Middle Township (7%), Somers Point (3%) and Philadelphia (3%).
| Sea Isle City | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 17% | 6.3% | 8% |
| Median household income | $108,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 5.4% | 6.1% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
For Sea Isle City, the violent offense rate is 3.3 per 1,000 residents. The property offense rate for Sea Isle City comes to 29.1 per 1,000 residents.
| Sea Isle City | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 29.1 per 1,000 residents | 7.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.3 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
No town among the 469 in New Jersey we compare has a higher share of adults who had a checkup this year than Sea Isle City. For adults here, the share who binge drink is 13%. Among 469 New Jersey towns, just 6 have a higher share of adults who have high blood pressure than Sea Isle City. The town beats the New Jersey average on 15 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 7.
| Sea Isle City | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 32% | 33% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 36% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 15% | 17% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 85% | 78% | 79% |
| What stands out | Sea Isle City | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 4.9% | 12.3% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6% | 14.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 15% | 7.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Of the losses FEMA expects in Sea Isle City, 49% come from inland flooding and 33% from coastal flooding. 2,367 flood insurance claims have been paid here since 1978. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Sea Isle City after 3 declared disasters, most recently in 2012.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Trails run 1.6 miles in 1 park or preserve. Parks and preserves in Sea Isle City: one, of 2 acres. The town’s density of trails is 0.6 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Townsend Inlet Waterfront Park | 0.1 mi | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
A winter brings about 15 inches of snow, with January nights at 28° and July afternoons at 84°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Sea Isle City. Close and well known come first.
20 mi Stadium & arenaBoardwalk Hall
16 mi LandmarkLucy the Elephant
13 mi Theme parkMorey's Piers
21 mi Theme parkSteel Pier
11 mi Theme parkGillians Wonderland Pier and Island Waterpark7 mi Zoo & aquariumCape May County Park & ZooBoardwalk Hall: Jack Boucher, Public domain · Lucy the Elephant: User:dtcdthingy 3:30 pm 30th July 2004 (Minolta Dimage X20), Public domain · Morey's Piers: Smallbones, CC0 · Steel Pier: Make Lemons, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Gillians Wonderland Pier and Island Waterpark: Kevin Jarrett from Northfield, NJ, USA, CC BY 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sea Isle City, 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.
Where Sea Isle City’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
None within 15 miles of Sea Isle City; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Sea Isle City residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Jersey.
City in Cape May County, New Jersey, US
Sea Isle City is a city in Cape May County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The city, and all of Cape May County, is part of the South Jersey region of the state, along with the Ocean City metropolitan statistical area and the Philadelphia metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's year-round population was 2,104, a decrease of 10 (−0.5%) from the 2010 census count of 2,114, which in turn reflected a decline of 721 (−25.4%) from the 2,835 counted in the 2000 census. Visitors raise the population to as much as 40,000 during the peak summer season from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Sea Isle City is located on Ludlam Island, which also contains the Strathmere section of U…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Sea Isle City.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea Isle City | — | — | D− | D | — | A |
| Dennis Township | #356 | C | C | — | C | B |
| Upper Township | #252 | B | D | — | A− | B+ |
| Middle Township | #405 | C− | D | C | C+ | B+ |
| Strathmere | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Sea Isle City has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Dennis Township and Upper Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Strathmere isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Sea Isle City with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes. That is 18.7 years of the area's median household income ($82,105 across the Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D−.
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