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Work & commute in North Cape May · A commuter town

98% of North Cape May’s working residents leave town for work

Most working residents leave North Cape May for work: only 2% work in town. The top destinations are Lower (24%), Middle (18%) and Cape May (8%). Half commute less than 10 miles.

Work in town
2%
28 of 1,635 working residents
Typical commute
10 mi
half travel less, straight-line
Time each way
20 min
Less than NJ (31 min)
Work from home
17%
Less than NJ (17%)
Jobs based here
298
A commuter town

What kind of work town is North Cape May?

Read from the numbers below. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · The commute map

24% of working residents work in Lower

A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.

West Cape MayWildwood: 58 residents work here (4%)North Wildwood: 20 residents work here (1%)Cape May: 136 residents work here (8%)WoodbineTrenton: 23 residents work here (1%)Atlantic City: 44 residents work here (3%)VinelandPhiladelphia: 26 residents work here (2%)Dennis: 21 residents work here (1%)Lower: 393 residents work here (24%)Middle: 289 residents work here (18%)Upper: 22 residents work here (1%)Buena VistaGallowayNorth Cape MayVillasLowerMiddleCape MayWildwoodAtlantic CityPhiladelphiaNorth Cape May
1
Lower2.1 mi away
24%393
2
Middle9.8 mi away
18%289
3
Cape May3.9 mi away
8%136
4
Wildwood7.1 mi away
4%58
5
Atlantic City38.3 mi away
3%44
6
Philadelphia, PA71.7 mi away
2%26
7
Trenton86.5 mi away
1%23
8
Upper22.6 mi away
1%22
9
Dennis17.1 mi away
1%21
10
North Wildwood8.4 mi away
1%20
Everywhere elseother towns and states
37%603
The top trips

Where North Cape May clocks in

Lines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.

Time on the road

About 20 minutes each way, quicker than most of New Jersey

From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.

A year of commuting
155 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

North Cape May20 min
New Jersey31 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
17%

of North Cape May workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.

About 2 in 10
Next door

24% of North Cape May works in a bordering town

The biggest share goes to Lower (24%). Darker towns draw more of North Cape May’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

10%+5–9%2–4%1%Under 1%

Average commute minutes, one way

Lower19 min
Villas20 min
North Cape May20 min
The jobs

Mostly services: health care, schools and offices

298 jobs are based in North Cape May. Here is what they are, next to the jobs North Cape May’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in North Cape MayJobs North Cape May residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms6%10%
Trade, transport & utilities7%21%
Services: health, schools, offices87%69%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less21%13%
$1,251–$3,333 a month40%29%
Over $3,333 a month39%59%

Who does it

29 or younger32%17%
30 to 5443%43%
55 and older25%40%
+17%

Jobs based in North Cape May, 2013 → 2023: 255 → 298. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.

Day and night

North Cape May quiets down on a workday

On a workday 1,607 residents head out to work, 28 work right here, and 270 people come in from elsewhere.

1,607live here, work elsewhere
28live and work here
270work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night3,700
Workday2,400
3,700live here− 1,600head out to work+ 270come in to work= 2,400on a workday

About 2,400 people are in North Cape May on a workday afternoon, 36% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.18jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

0.18 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.

How far

Half of North Cape May commutes less than 10 miles

Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miLower: 24% · 2.1 miMiddle: 18% · 9.8 miCape May: 8% · 3.9 miWildwood: 4% · 7.1 miAtlantic City: 3% · 38.3 miPhiladelphia: 2% · 71.7 miTrenton: 1% · 86.5 miUpper: 1% · 22.6 miDennis: 1% · 17.1 miNorth Wildwood: 1% · 8.4 miLower 24%Middle 18%Cape May 8%Wildwood 4%Atlantic City 3%North Cape May
North Cape MayTop destinations (size = commuters)
51%Under 10 mi835 residents
10%10–24 mi168 residents
12%25–50 mi194 residents
26%Over 50 mi431 residents

About 26% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.

Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Every worker, home to work. The Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.
  • Where the employer says. A job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.
  • Two surveys. Flows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: the Census American Community Survey.
  • Straight lines. Distances are as the crow flies between home and work. Roads, rivers and traffic make the real trip longer.
Beyond the commute

More of North Cape May

North Cape May home →

Commuter talk

Getting to work from North Cape May, from the people who make the trip.

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Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.

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