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Place dossier plate
SheetNJ-BELMAR-NJ · Belmar, NJ 5,861 pop · income 73rd pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Belmar
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Belmar on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Estherville · lowest
54,624
Estherville · lowest
54,624 median HH income
27.4% of the leader · rank #1
Prague · near
92,857
Prague · near
92,857 median HH income
46.6% of the leader · rank #2
Reno city (Pa… · near
92,857
Reno city (Pa… · near
92,857 median HH income
46.6% of the leader · rank #3
Palmyra · near
92,857
Palmyra · near
92,857 median HH income
46.6% of the leader · rank #4
Stockton · near
92,857
Stockton · near
92,857 median HH income
46.6% of the leader · rank #5
Belmar · this city
92,859
Belmar · this city
92,859 median HH income
46.6% of the leader · rank #6
Old Tappan · highest
199,250
Old Tappan · highest
199,250 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Belmar on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 5,861.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Belmar - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Belmar lands in the 73rd percentile for household income and the 33rd percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
73rd
percentile, household income
94th
percentile, home value
94th
percentile, median rent
33rd
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Belmar, NJ
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 5,861 residents in Belmar, a small town within New Jersey. Households in Belmar report a median income of $92,859 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 3.8%. Typical homes in Belmar are valued around $771,400, and the median resident age is 43.6 years. 51.1% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 68.3% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 10 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Construction Slowdown), down 72% from five years earlier. Crime here tracks close to the national norm: per-100,000 total crime stands at 1985.5 in FBI UCR data, near the national average (a voluntary reporting program, read this as reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
New Jersey carries a cost-of-living premium: the state registers 108.8 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Well Above Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $2,132 per month. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts New Jersey's average monthly utility costs around $275 (state average). Workers in Belmar report an average commute of 29.1 minutes, with 67.2% driving alone and 11.7% working from home. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 90.8 out of 100 (Very High).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Belmar's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from reported crime to work and mobility to population change to schools and households to comparison shortlist to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Belmar, city-specific coverage includes local building permits, commute-mode shares, annual population history, FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in Belmar?
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 1985.5 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 13% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
What does the journey to work look like in Belmar?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 67.2%. The reported mean trip to work is 29.1 minutes.
The recent population line is broadly flat. That makes the composition of change more important than the headline count: housing turnover, household size, and age structure can shift even when the total barely moves.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -38 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -0.6% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 10 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Which cities make useful reference points for Belmar?
Within New Jersey, the closest population matches are Hightstown (5,869 residents, $107,431 income); Vauxhall (5,875 residents, $106,962 income); Old Tappan (5,896 residents, $199,250 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Steele Creek, AK (5,861 residents); Estherville, IA (5,865 residents); Spring Grove, IL (5,866 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Schools and households
What does the education layer cover for Belmar?
The NCES join finds 1 public school within the city match. 51.1% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
The matched institution count is small, so district boundaries and schools outside the city line may matter more than the municipal count suggests. Use the number as a coverage cue, then verify attendance zones with the district before making a household decision.
Matched public schools
1
Bachelor's degree+
51.1%
Poverty estimate
3.8%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
How far does income reach against housing in Belmar?
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 8.3 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 3.8%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.
Household income
$92,859
Home value
$771,400
Value / income
8.3×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Above median income · poverty 3.8% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
108.8 (US=100)
High cost · BEA RPP 2024, New Jersey average
C+
City profile score · Belmar, NJ
61/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Bachelor's+ share A
51.1%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate B
3.8%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income B
$92,859
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime B-
121 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Cost of living F
108.8 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Belmar profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 85/100 (A) · 51.1%
Poverty rate: 73/100 (B) · 3.8%
Household income: 72/100 (B) · $92,859
Violent crime: 66/100 (B-) · 121 /100k
Cost of living: 10/100 (F) · 108.8 index
Where Belmar sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Belmar's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Belmar highlighted among 8 peers.Read the chart values
Belmar, NJ (this city): home $771,400, crime 1,986/100k
Estherville, IA : home $96,300, crime 585/100k
Spring Grove, IL : home $371,200, crime 416/100k
Bartonville, IL : home $128,000, crime 2,408/100k
Hightstown, NJ : home $333,200, crime 754/100k
Old Tappan, NJ : home $910,600, crime 239/100k
Mount Arlington, NJ : home $393,400, crime 148/100k
Manasquan, NJ : home $947,100, crime 1,058/100k
How does Belmar compare to other US cities?
Belmar measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income73% higher than other cities
Home value94% pricier than other cities
Median rent94% pricier than other cities
Safety33% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
Zoom in to just New Jersey and the picture shifts: Belmar ranks #181 of 238 New Jersey cities by lowest crime rate, a different read than the national percentile above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Belmar against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to New Jersey only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
New Jersey-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Belmar near the bottom of New Jersey's cities
Among the 686 New Jersey cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Belmar ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Belmar only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#424 of 659
36th percentile in New Jersey
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 686
0th percentile in New Jersey
Median Home Value
#74 of 672
89th percentile in New Jersey
Poverty Rate
#297 of 680
56th percentile in New Jersey
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#247 of 686
64th percentile in New Jersey
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within New Jersey only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
73rd percentile nationally for median household income · 33rd percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Belmar's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Belmar's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Belmar's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$771,4006th percentilemore affordable than 6% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Belmar's home-value-to-income ratio: 8.3×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#15,117 of 15,516
More affordable than 3% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#11,088 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 8.3×, Belmar sits in the pressured band:
national rank #15,117 of 15,516 and #11,088 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median, a comparison flag, not a verdict on any household.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$92,859Belmar, NJ median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Belmar, NJ median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Belmar, NJ.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)51.1%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)3.8%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)68.3%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
5,861
Median Income
$92,859
Median Home Value
$771,400
Median Age
43.6
Poverty Rate
3.8%
Labor force participation
68.3%
Bachelor's Degree+
51.1%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
1985.5
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
120.9
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1864.6
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Schools
Total Schools
1
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Belmar's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
5,891 residents
2021
5,893 residents
2022
5,859 residents
2023
5,848 residents
2024
5,857 residents
2025
5,853 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
10
housing units authorized
Single-Family
10
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
1.7
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
36
11
25
$5.2M
2020
8
8
0
$1.7M
2021
0
0
0
-
2022
67
7
60
$4.9M
2023
0
0
0
-
2024
10
10
0
$10.3M
Permit volume decreased 72% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
29.1 minutes
Drive Alone
67.2%
Carpool
9.6%
Public Transit
3.9%
Walk
3.1%
Work from Home
11.7%
Other
4.5%
Based on 3,380 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
New Jersey statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $275
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across New Jersey at $275 (electricity about $120 , water and sewer about $60 ).
These are New Jersey statewide averages, not a meter reading for Belmar. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
New Jersey's BEA cost-of-living index is 108.8 (Well Above Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Belmar is $2,132/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to New Jersey statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 90.8 / 100 (Very High).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a New Jersey statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Belmar sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Belmar compares to similar-size New Jersey cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.