Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0How is Ship Bottom run?
Ship Bottom’s borough government spent $6.9 million on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2022, about $5,868 per resident. These are Census Bureau estimates: Ship Bottom didn’t report its figures, so this page shows them without comparisons.
What stands out about how Ship Bottom is run
Read from the borough’s budget and official records.
About $5,868 per resident a year, or $16.08 a day
Day-to-day services only (a Census Bureau estimate). The biggest line: police, at 23%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
Ship Bottom didn’t report all of its 2022 figures to the Census Bureau, so most of these numbers are the Bureau’s estimates.
No comparison or trend for Ship Bottom yet
Every year of Ship Bottom’s figures is a Census Bureau estimate: the borough reported none of its dollars for 2022. Estimates are shown above, labeled, but never ranked against places that reported or drawn as a trend.
How Town Hall compares budgets →The typical homeowner pays $8,336 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 0.85% of the home’s value, vs 2.11% across New Jersey.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Ship Bottom’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate. In a town this small the estimate has a wide margin.
Tax bills are one input to Ship Bottom’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Ship Bottom →
Who’s in charge in Ship Bottom
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
Ship Bottom’s meeting calendar isn’t in our feed yet. The borough posts agendas and minutes on shipbottom.org ↗.
One full-time borough employee for every 29 residents
On the payroll in March 2022, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (a Census estimate). Residents: the Census population in the 2022 finance file (1,168).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2022
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Southern Regional School District
Ship Bottom’s middle and high school district, shared with Barnegat Light, Beach Haven, Harvey Cedars, Long Beach Township, Stafford Township and more. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $28,252 per pupil, $16,968 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
New Jersey districts overall: 48% local, 46% state, 6% federal.
Long Beach Island School District · $49,241 per pupil
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Ship Bottom.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilOfficials: shipbottom.org ↗
- 2New Jersey General AssemblyState representatives
- 3New Jersey SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of New Jersey
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
How Ship Bottom compares with the towns next door
Ship Bottom’s own figures are Census estimates, so it isn’t placed among its neighbors. 3 of the 3 towns next door reported 2022 figures, from $1,303 to $7,659 per resident. Tap a town to see its page.
| Town | Day-to-day, per resident (2022) | Tax bill |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford Township | $1,303 | $6,953 |
| Surf City | $3,344 | $7,818 |
| Long Beach Township | $7,659 | $9,925 |
| Ship Bottom | estimate | $8,336 |
Day-to-day spending in 2022, the last year every government was counted, for governments that reported it; hospital and utilities left out. Tax bill: the typical homeowner’s bill (Census ACS, 2020–24).
Reach Ship Bottom’s government
The official site has phone numbers, hours and forms. Neighbors add the rest to the Handbook.
Questions about Ship Bottom’s government
How much does Ship Bottom spend per resident?
About $5,868 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2022, a Census Bureau estimate (Ship Bottom didn’t report its figures). With building projects and interest, the whole budget was about $7.4 million.
What is the property tax rate in Ship Bottom?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $8,336 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 0.85% of the typical home’s value, vs 2.11% across New Jersey. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see shipbottom.org.
Who runs Ship Bottom’s government?
See shipbottom.org for current officials. We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Ship Bottom yet.
How many people work for Ship Bottom?
40 full-time and 10 part-time employees in March 2022, with a March payroll of $306,055 (about $3.7M a year if every month were the same); Census Bureau estimates.
Who represents Ship Bottom in the state legislature?
State Senate District 9 (Carmen Amato) and General Assembly District 09 (Brian Rumpf and Greg Myhre). The General Assembly district also covers 18 other towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Ship Bottom’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (for Ship Bottom, the Bureau’s estimates); day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →