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Place dossier plate
SheetNJ-WILDWOOD-CREST-NJ · Wildwood Crest, NJ 3,094 pop · income 64th 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 Wildwood Crest
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Wildwood Crest on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Saluda · lowest
40,567
Saluda · lowest
40,567 median HH income
26.0% of the leader · rank #1
Wildwood Crest · this city
82,143
Wildwood Crest · this city
82,143 median HH income
52.6% of the leader · rank #2
Kingston · near
82,143
Kingston · near
82,143 median HH income
52.6% of the leader · rank #3
Rarity Bay · near
82,143
Rarity Bay · near
82,143 median HH income
52.6% of the leader · rank #4
Fayetteville · near
82,144
Fayetteville · near
82,144 median HH income
52.6% of the leader · rank #5
Federal Way · near
82,144
Federal Way · near
82,144 median HH income
52.6% of the leader · rank #6
Turnersville · highest
156,176
Turnersville · highest
156,176 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 Wildwood Crest 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: 3,094.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Wildwood Crest - the verdict
Nationally, Wildwood Crest sits in the 64th percentile for household income and the 32nd percentile for safety among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
64th
percentile, household income
86th
percentile, home value
94th
percentile, median rent
32nd
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: Wildwood Crest, NJ
3,094 people live in Wildwood Crest, New Jersey - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $82,143 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 3.8%. Home values in Wildwood Crest run a median of $526,600, and the median resident age is 61.0 years. Educational attainment runs 45.3% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 47.9% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 52 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Slowing), down 22% from five years earlier. Crime here tracks close to the national norm: the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program logs 1998.7 total incidents per 100,000 residents here, near the national average (agency reporting is voluntary, so this measures reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
New Jersey carries a cost-of-living premium: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, New Jersey scores 108.8 (Well Above Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $2,132 per month statewide. Monthly utility costs average around $275 across New Jersey, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. Natural-hazard exposure scores 90.8 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Very High).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Wildwood Crest'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 population change to work and mobility to reported crime to comparison shortlist to schools and households to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Wildwood Crest, city-specific coverage includes FBI reported-crime rates, local building permits, commute-mode shares, matched public-school count, annual population history.
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. Population change
Is Wildwood Crest growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Recent estimates point downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -95 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -3.1% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 52 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
What does the journey to work look like in Wildwood Crest?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 50.9%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Wildwood Crest?
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 1998.7 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 12% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Which cities make useful reference points for Wildwood Crest?
Within New Jersey, the closest population matches are Moonachie (3,106 residents, $108,359 income); Mount Hope (3,082 residents, $87,927 income); North Middletown (3,081 residents, $146,650 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Bon Secour, AL (3,094 residents); McSherrystown, PA (3,094 residents); El Cerro, NM (3,093 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 Wildwood Crest?
The NCES join finds 1 public school within the city match. 45.3% 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+
45.3%
Poverty estimate
3.8%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
How far does income reach against housing in Wildwood Crest?
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 6.4 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
$82,143
Home value
$526,600
Value / income
6.4×
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 · Wildwood Crest, NJ
51/100
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-
45.3%
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 C+
$82,143
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime F
295 /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.
Wildwood Crest profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 80/100 (A-) · 45.3%
Poverty rate: 73/100 (B) · 3.8%
Household income: 62/100 (C+) · $82,143
Violent crime: 34/100 (F) · 295 /100k
Cost of living: 10/100 (F) · 108.8 index
Where Wildwood Crest sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Wildwood Crest'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 - Wildwood Crest highlighted among 23 peers.Read the chart values
Wildwood Crest, NJ (this city): home $526,600, crime 1,999/100k
McSherrystown, PA : home $188,200, crime 1,081/100k
Saluda, SC : home $81,500, crime 1,866/100k
New York, NY : home $751,700, crime 3,039/100k
Los Angeles, CA : home $879,500, crime 2,212/100k
Chicago, IL : home $315,200, crime 4,012/100k
Houston, TX : home $253,400, crime 5,442/100k
Phoenix, AZ : home $381,900, crime 3,125/100k
Philadelphia, PA : home $232,400, crime 5,457/100k
San Antonio, TX : home $219,700, crime 5,218/100k
San Diego, CA : home $848,500, crime 2,082/100k
Dallas, TX : home $295,300, crime 4,010/100k
San Jose, CA : home $1,187,800, crime 3,195/100k
Austin, TX : home $512,700, crime 3,709/100k
Fort Worth, TX : home $277,300, crime 3,158/100k
Columbus, OH : home $234,500, crime 3,088/100k
Indianapolis, IN : home $207,000, crime 4,214/100k
San Francisco, CA : home $1,380,500, crime 4,526/100k
Seattle, WA : home $912,100, crime 5,783/100k
Denver, CO : home $586,700, crime 5,755/100k
Oklahoma City, OK : home $215,100, crime 3,570/100k
El Paso, TX : home $171,700, crime 1,772/100k
Washington, DC : home $724,600, crime 4,514/100k
How does Wildwood Crest compare to other US cities?
Here's how Wildwood Crest stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income64% higher than other cities
Home value86% pricier than other cities
Median rent94% pricier than other cities
Safety32% 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: Wildwood Crest ranks #184 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 Wildwood Crest 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 Wildwood Crest near the bottom of New Jersey's cities
Among the 686 New Jersey cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Wildwood Crest ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Wildwood Crest only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#503 of 659
24th percentile in New Jersey
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 686
0th percentile in New Jersey
Median Home Value
#196 of 672
71st percentile in New Jersey
Poverty Rate
#297 of 680
56th percentile in New Jersey
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#311 of 686
54th 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
64th percentile nationally for median household income · 32nd percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Wildwood Crest's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Wildwood Crest'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 Wildwood Crest's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$526,60014th percentilemore affordable than 14% 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
Wildwood Crest's home-value-to-income ratio: 6.4×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#14,388 of 15,516
More affordable than 7% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#10,636 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 6.4×, Wildwood Crest sits in the pressured band:
national rank #14,388 of 15,516 and #10,636 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
$82,143Wildwood Crest, NJ median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Wildwood Crest, 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 Wildwood Crest, NJ.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)45.3%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)3.8%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)47.9%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
3,094
Median Income
$82,143
Median Home Value
$526,600
Median Age
61.0
Poverty Rate
3.8%
Labor force participation
47.9%
Bachelor's Degree+
45.3%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
1998.7
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
294.9
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1703.8
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
Wildwood Crest's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
3,095 residents
2021
3,108 residents
2022
3,089 residents
2023
3,067 residents
2024
3,040 residents
2025
3,000 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Slowing
Total Permits (2024)
52
housing units authorized
Single-Family
43
detached homes
Multifamily
9
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
16.8
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
67
10
57
$4.9M
2020
49
19
30
$4.4M
2021
88
62
26
$12.3M
2022
48
44
4
$8.0M
2023
105
52
53
$9.6M
2024
52
43
9
$11.1M
Permit volume decreased 22% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
50.9%
Carpool
19.2%
Public Transit
1.8%
Walk
9.8%
Work from Home
15.2%
Other
3.1%
Based on 1,358 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 Wildwood Crest. 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 Wildwood Crest 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 Wildwood Crest sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Wildwood Crest 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.