Most of Surf City was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1970. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1900.
Photo: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's Commons talk page, my Commons user talk page, or my English Wikipedia user talk page; I'll know about it a lot faster) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers
How Surf City began
When was Surf City founded?
1894
Surf City dates its founding to 1894 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1900.
First census: 9 in 19002020 census: 1,243132 years
How historic is Surf City?
C−
More historic than 20% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1891.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Surf City’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Surf City is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Surf City’s overall grade.
New Jersey towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New Jersey town has 3.7 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Surf City’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (12% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1894.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C. The pre-1940 share (±2.3 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Surf City’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Present-day Surf City was home to one of the earliest big boarding hotels on the Jersey Shore, called the Mansion of Health, one of whose owners was Hudson Buzby. In the 1830s and 1840s, the area surrounding this hotel was called "Buzby's Place". The Mansion of Health burned down in 1874, but some old-timers still call the cove at the foot of South First Street on the bay side "Mansion Cove."
In 1894, according to Wikidata. Surf City’s post office opened in 1891, and the census of 1900 counted 9 people here.
How does Surf City rank for history?
Surf City is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Surf City?
6% of Surf City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.3 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1970.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (9), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
Date?
2025
2025
2025
2024
2024
2024
2024
2005
