Barnegat Light is a tiny coastal borough (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of New Jersey. With a population of 654 people and just one neighborhood, Barnegat Light is the 492nd largest community in New Jersey.
Barnegat Light home prices are not only among the most expensive in New Jersey, but Barnegat Light real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.
Barnegat Light is a decidedly white-collar borough, with fully 86.67% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Barnegat Light is a borough of sales and office workers, professionals, and managers. There are especially a lot of people living in Barnegat Light who work in sales jobs (22.86%), teaching (18.10%), and office and administrative support (16.19%).
One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 17.12% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.
Another notable thing is that Barnegat Light is a major vacation destination. Much of the borough’s population is seasonal: many people own second homes and only live there part-time, during the vacation season. The effect on the local economy is that many of the businesses are dependent on tourist dollars, and may operate only during the high season. As the vacation season ends, Barnegat Light’s population drops significantly, such that year-round residents will notice that the city is a much quieter place to live.
In addition, Barnegat Light is home to many people who could be described as "urban sophisticates". Urban sophisticates are educated, wealthy, executives and professionals, who have urbane tastes in books, food, and travel, whether they actually live in a big city, or choose to reside in a small town. In big or medium-sized cities, urban sophisticates tend to frequent art institutions such as opera, symphonies, ballet, live theatre, and museums.
Because of many things, Barnegat Light is a very good place for families to consider. With an enviable combination of good schools, low crime, college-educated neighbors who tend to support education because of their own experiences, and a high rate of home ownership in predominantly single-family properties, Barnegat Light really has some of the features that families look for when choosing a good community to raise children. Is Barnegat Light perfect? Of course not, and if you like frenetic nightlife, it will be far from your cup of tea. But overall this is a solid community, with many things to recommend it as a family-friendly place to live.
One of the nice things about Barnegat Light is that it is nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Because of this, visitors and locals will often go to these areas to take in the scenery or to enjoy waterfront activities.
One downside of living in Barnegat Light, however, is that residents on average have to contend with a long commute, spending on average 31.96 minutes every day commuting to work.
Do you have a 4-year college degree or graduate degree? If so, you may feel right at home in Barnegat Light. 73.22% of adults here have a 4-year degree or graduate degree, whereas the national average for all cities and towns is just 21.84%.
The per capita income in Barnegat Light in 2022 was $55,214, which is middle income relative to New Jersey, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $220,856 for a family of four. However, Barnegat Light contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
Barnegat Light is a very ethnically-diverse borough. The people who call Barnegat Light home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Barnegat Light residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Barnegat Light include Italian, Irish, English, Polish, and German.
In addition, Barnegat Light has a lot of people living here who were born outside of the US (16.32%).
The most common language spoken in Barnegat Light is English. Other important languages spoken here include Italian and Polish.
Many things matter about a neighborhood, but the first thing most people notice is the way a neighborhood looks and its particular character. For example, one might notice whether the buildings all date from a certain time period or whether shop signs are in multiple languages. This particular neighborhood in Barnegat Light, the neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.
Do you like a coastal setting? If so, this neighborhood may be to your liking. The neighborhood is on the ocean, a bay, or inlet. Often such coastal places have amenities and recreational activities on the waterfront that are attractive to residents and visitors alike. In addition to being coastal, is a very nautical neighborhood, meaning that it is somewhat historic, walkable, densely populated and on the water. This gives the neighborhood a very nautical feel, with some seaside and shipping feel, which some may really enjoy the sights and sounds of. One of the notable things about is that it is one of the quietest neighborhoods in America, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis and quantitative rating of quietness. When you are here, you will find it to be very quiet. If quiet and peaceful are your cup of tea, you may have found a great place for you.
In addition, owner-occupied real estate dominates the neighborhood. In fact, according to NeighborhoodScout research, the percentage of residential real estate occupied by its owner is higher here than in 96.6% of neighborhoods in America. Vacant homes and apartments are a significant characteristic of this neighborhood. In fact, with 82.3% of the residential real estate vacant, the neighborhood claims the distinction of having a higher vacancy rate than 99.9% of the neighborhoods in America. This can either be because much of the property is seasonally occupied, like in many vacation areas, or that much of the real estate is more permanently abandoned.
Furthermore, one way that the neighborhood really stands out, is that it has more large 4, 5, or additional bedroom homes and real estate than 98.9% of the neighborhoods in America. When you walk or drive around this neighborhood, you'll instantly notice the size of the homes here which definitely makes a strong visual statement.
Of note is NeighborhoodScout's research finding that the neighborhood has some of the lowest rates of children living in poverty of any neighborhood in the United States. In a nation where approximately 1 in 4 children are living in poverty, the community truly stands out from the rest in this regard.
In addition, a majority of the adults in the neighborhood are wealthy and educated executives. They own stately homes that tend to maintain high real estate appreciation rates. Their upper-level careers keep them busy, but allow them to live comfortably. If you're an executive and want to keep similar company, consider settling in this neighborhood, rated as an executive lifestyle "best choice" neighborhood for New Jersey by NeighborhoodScout's analysis, which rated it as better for executive lifestyles than 98.6% of the neighborhoods in New Jersey. In addition to being an excellent choice for highly educated executives, this neighborhood is also a very good choice for active retirees and urban sophisticates.
Also, priests and therapists would like to think they know the secrets to a truly successful marriage, but according to NeighborhoodScout's research, the folks of the neighborhood may actually hold the key. 71.5% of its residents are married, which is a higher percentage than is found in 97.4% of the neighborhoods in America.
Finally, the rate of college educated adults in the neighborhood is a unique characteristic of the neighborhood. 73.6% of adults here have received at least a 4-year bachelor's degree, compared to the average neighborhood in America, which has 34.3% of the adults with a bachelor's degree. The rate here is higher than NeighborhoodScout found in 95.5% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
Executives, managers and professionals make up 72.4% of the workforce in the neighborhood which, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis, is a higher proportion of such high-level people than is found in 96.7% of the neighborhoods in America. For this reason, this neighborhood really stands out as unique.
Did you know that the neighborhood has more Austrian and Eastern European ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 1.2% of this neighborhood's residents have Austrian ancestry and 2.0% have Eastern European ancestry.
There are two complementary measures for understanding the income of a neighborhood's residents: the average and the extremes. While a neighborhood may be relatively wealthy overall, it is equally important to understand the rate of people - particularly children - who are living at or below the federal poverty line, which is extremely low income. Some neighborhoods with a lower average income may actually have a lower childhood poverty rate than another with a higher average income, and this helps us understand the conditions and character of a neighborhood.
The neighbors in the neighborhood in Barnegat Light are wealthy, making it among the 15% highest income neighborhoods in America. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 87.9% of the neighborhoods in America. In addition, 0.0% of the children seventeen and under living in this neighborhood are living below the federal poverty line, which is a lower rate of childhood poverty than is found in 100.0% of America's neighborhoods.
What we choose to do for a living reflects who we are. Each neighborhood has a different mix of occupations represented, and together these tell you about the neighborhood and help you understand if this neighborhood may fit your lifestyle.
In the neighborhood, 72.4% of the working population is employed in executive, management, and professional occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants, with 13.6% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (7.8%), and 5.5% in manufacturing and laborer occupations.
The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 96.4% of households.
Boston's Beacon Hill blue-blood streets, Brooklyn's Orthodox Jewish enclaves, Los Angeles' Persian neighborhoods. Each has its own culture derived primarily from the ancestries and culture of the residents who call these neighborhoods home. Likewise, each neighborhood in America has its own culture – some more unique than others – based on lifestyle, occupations, the types of households – and importantly – on the ethnicities and ancestries of the people who live in the neighborhood. Understanding where people came from, who their grandparents or great-grandparents were, can help you understand how a neighborhood is today.
In the neighborhood in Barnegat Light, NJ, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as German (18.0%). There are also a number of people of Italian ancestry (15.6%), and residents who report Irish roots (15.5%), and some of the residents are also of English ancestry (13.5%), along with some Polish ancestry residents (7.0%), among others.
How you get to work – car, bus, train or other means – and how much of your day it takes to do so is a large quality of life and financial issue. Especially with gasoline prices rising and expected to continue doing so, the length and means of one's commute can be a financial burden. Some neighborhoods are physically located so that many residents have to drive in their own car, others are set up so many walk to work, or can take a train, bus, or bike. The greatest number of commuters in neighborhood spend under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (46.0% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.
Here most residents (65.7%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also carpool with coworkers, friends, or neighbors to get to work (6.5%) . In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.