Atlantic City, New Jersey

Area Profile

38,632 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Atlantic City, in Atlantic County.

44out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 4% of 2,944 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity3706th of 3,904 cities measured28
Schools2240th of 2,668 cities measured25
Growth1525th of 2,973 cities measured50
Housing affordability3958th of 4,223 cities measured44
ClimateTop 32% of 4,223 cities measured74
Physical resilience2901st of 4,182 cities measured38
AccessTop 19% of 4,226 cities measured98
Economic stability3937th of 4,226 cities measured30
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable published city profiles: unemployment is 7.2% and the Opportunity signal places Atlantic City in the bottom 5%.

Housing costs more relative to local incomes than in most published city profiles: rent takes 33% of median household income and the median home is 5.1 times it.

A major airport is 9 miles away, giving the area unusually direct access to the national air network.

At a glance

Population
38,632
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$41,028
Bottom 11% nationally
Density
3,590/sq mi
10.8 sq mi of land
Median age
38.0
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Atlantic County
New Jersey
Metro area
Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ
Nearest major airport
ACY
9 mi · Atlantic City Intl
Median home value
$207,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 7.2% is lower than 3% of the 3,904 measured US cities.

Unemployment has been falling for 4 consecutive months, most recently 7.2%.

Employment fell 0.1% over the past year, to 15,909 employed residents.

Median household income of $41,028 is below 89% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$3,092$41,028Bottom 11%of 29,5732024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,078$26,937Bottom 26%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate32.3%Top 9%of 31,9002024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute24.9 minBottom 40%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher22.4%Top 45%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Employment15,909Bottom 17%of 3,904June 2026
Employment change (3 years)-1.9%Bottom 21%of 3,903June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-0.1%Top 32%of 3,904June 2026
Labor force17,139Bottom 18%of 3,904June 2026
Labor force participation61.8%Top 46%of 31,9332024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$63,400Bottom 26%of 3,6582025 OEWS
Median annual wage$47,520Bottom 20%of 3,6582025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)-1.5%Bottom 1%of 3,904June 2026
Unemployment rate7.2%Top 3%of 3,904June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/06144.8
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 7.2% in June 2026. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.
Median household income, successive ACS releases
202120222023202441k30k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $41,028 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.
Largest occupations — Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Waiters and Waitresses6,070$38,160
Cashiers5,790$34,100
Fast Food and Counter Workers5,510$33,270
Home Health and Personal Care Aides4,250$37,840
Retail Salespersons3,580$35,360
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners3,440$39,520

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

7% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 24% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 10.4 students for every full-time teacher, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
12
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
10.4
across all schools here
Math proficiency
6.9%
Bottom 9% in New Jersey
Reading proficiency
24.4%
Bottom 3% in New Jersey
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Atlantic City High SchoolAtlantic City School District1,73111.63%27%
Sovereign Avenue SchoolAtlantic City School District71710.116%37%
Richmond Avenue SchoolAtlantic City School District60910.312%36%
Pennsylvania Ave SchoolAtlantic City School District56610.75%17%
New York Avenue SchoolAtlantic City School District55010.64%9%
Dr Martin Luther King Jr School ComplexAtlantic City School District54410.55%20%
Uptown School ComplexAtlantic City School District5188.85%10%
Texas Avenue SchoolAtlantic City School District49610.610%26%
Brighton Avenue SchoolAtlantic City School District3028.95%24%
Chelsea Heights SchoolAtlantic City School District2679.214%32%
Venice Park SchoolAtlantic City School District397.8
Atlantic Regional SchoolOFFICE OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES0

87.9% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with rather than how the schools perform, which is why AreaProfile shows it and does not score it.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data. Schools are placed by ZIP code, so this is which schools are in this place rather than which one a particular address is zoned for — district boundaries do not follow municipal ones, and enrollment zones change. Fully virtual schools are excluded: they enroll students from across the state while reporting one administrative address, and counting them here would describe a school population this place does not have. The assessment covers grades 3 through 8, so a high school shows no proficiency figure — a dash in those columns means the test was not given at that school, not that it performed badly. Proficiency is measured against New Jersey’s own standard, so it compares cleanly within the state and only broadly against other states; AreaProfile therefore ranks it within state. The directory is current, while the proficiency figures are from the last school year with national coverage before the pandemic interrupted testing.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,136 takes 33% of median household income, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 5.1 times median household income here, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Rent as a share of income
33.2%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
5.1×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,136
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$207,400
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price to income5.06Top 15%of 28,4732024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate30.3%Bottom 2%of 31,8432024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±60119,927Top 3%of 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$36$1,136Top 36%of 23,4322024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$17,514$207,400Top 45%of 29,3422024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income33.2%Top 4%of 23,2012024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate16.9%Top 30%of 32,0012024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
50/ 100
Ranks 1525 of 2,973 published city profiles
Permitting is decreasing, measured from 2020 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 1% since 2020, reaching 38,959 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before.

74% of recently permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses.

At 1.8 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
69
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.8
Bottom 43% nationally
Year over year
+109%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
73.9%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
2020202120222023202439k38k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population.
Housing units permitted per year
20202021202220232024202516848
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−69%).

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 80°F and January a low of 30°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 43.6 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 35, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

20°40°60°80°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station ATLANTIC CITY, 1.4 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND4.3"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index54.02024 calendar year
Annual precipitation43.6"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low30°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high80°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months61991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 10002024 calendar year
Median air quality index35.02024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing40°F1991-2020 Normals
Air quality
Median air quality index
35
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
54
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today. Air quality is measured rather than modelled, by EPA monitors, and published by county only where a monitor sits — roughly half the counties AreaProfile publishes have one, and the rest show nothing rather than an estimate. Air masses are regional, so a county reading describes the air over a place reasonably well, but it is still the county reading.

Physical risk

38 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are hurricane, strong wind and coastal flooding.

Strong windHigh
Coastal floodingHigh
HurricaneElevated
WildfireModerate
EarthquakeModerate
DroughtModerate
HailModerate

Low or minimal exposure: winter weather, inland flooding, lightning, heat wave, cold wave, ice storm, tornado, landslide.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
1,517
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
5,985
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offences, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Atlantic City's police department reported 1,517 violent offences per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 5,985.

Atlantic County records 3.6 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 6.5 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, because nationally most firearm deaths are suicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 36.3 per 100,000 residents in Atlantic County.

Homicide
3.6
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Firearm deaths, all intents
6.5
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Drug overdose
36.3
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Suicide
11.6
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides. The two columns overlap and should not be added.

Offences are reported to the FBI by Atlantic City’s own police department, for the population it serves, and are shown only where it reported every month of the year — a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime counts what was reported to and recorded by police, which is not the same as what happened, and a place that draws a large daytime workforce carries incidents its residents did not generate. Age-adjusted rates from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC for Atlantic County as a whole — these rates are not published below county level. A county can hold both a dense city centre and a suburb whose experience of it is nothing alike, so this describes the county around Atlantic City rather than Atlantic City itself. That is why AreaProfile shows these figures and does not put them in the Area Score. Where fewer than ten deaths were recorded the count is suppressed at source, and a rate built on single figures moves sharply between releases. What this measure has that reported crime does not: a death certificate is filed whether or not the local police agency submitted a return that year, so the figures stay comparable between places and over time.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Taxes and full cost of living
No public source publishes either with national coverage and a method open enough to check. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings. Nothing here is individualised tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house. School attendance zones, insurance pricing and the character of a neighbourhood all vary within the places measured here.

Access

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 9 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Atlantic City IntlACY9 mi10,001 ft
Philadelphia IntlPHL54 mi12,000 ft
Newark Liberty IntlEWR92 mi9,999 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
44
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Other cities in Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
PleasantvilleAtlantic County20,71246vs Atlantic City
HammontonAtlantic County14,84059vs Atlantic City
Ocean CityCape May County11,26156vs Atlantic City
McKee CityAtlantic County10,731vs Atlantic City
Somers PointAtlantic County10,51553vs Atlantic City

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
safetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar yearAnnually, with monthly revisions
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)
safetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
April, 2025 to March, 2026Quarterly, with a rolling twelve-month window alongside complete calendar years
schoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2019-20 school year; 2024-25 school yearDirectory annually; assessment results as EDFacts releases them
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar yearAnnually, once a calendar year is complete

Profile recalculated August 30, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.

ZIP codes in Atlantic City

1 published ZIP profiles
ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeArea Score
0840138,925$41,12644