Cape May County, New Jersey

Cape May County population, land area and income

Cape May County had 93,875 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 251.5 square miles of land. It ranks 20th of 21 in New Jersey by population and 14th by land area. That works out to 373.2 people per square mile, 3.9 times the US average of 96.3, and in the top quarter nationally.

The median county-equivalent in New Jersey has 475,515 residents, so Cape May County has 20% of the typical county's population.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $81,007 is in the top quarter among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Cape May County's population changed since 2020

Cape May County lost 1,176 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 1.2%. That ranks 21st of 21 in New Jersey for growth. The median New Jersey county changed by +2.3%, and the state as a whole by +2.5%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Cape May County recorded 3,169 births and 6,133 deaths, a natural change of -2,964. Net international migration added +308 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to +1,355. The largest single component was natural change, which removed 2,964 people.

Where Cape May County is

The Census internal point of Cape May County is at 39.085800, -74.846400. It sits in UTM zone 18N. The map shades New Jersey's 21 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Cape May County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in Cape May County

8 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Cape May County, 31,110 people together, or 33% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Cape May County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Ocean City with 11,219.

Counties bordering Cape May County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 4 neighbors for Cape May County, including 2 across a state line. The most populous is Atlantic County, NJ, with 279,114 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

• Atlantic County

  279,114 people

  29 mi NNE

• DE

  Sussex County, DE

  271,134 people

  39 mi SW

• DE

  Kent County, DE

  192,690 people

  35 mi W

• Cumberland County

  155,678 people

  22 mi NW

Distance to Trenton and the nearest big city

Trenton is 78.6 miles N of Cape May County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Philadelphia, PA (population 1,573,916), 65.6 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Ocean City, NJ (population 11,219), 18.3 miles away.

Cape May County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Cape May County is 34009: state code 34 for New Jersey plus county code 009. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $81,007.