Island Heights is a very small coastal borough (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of New Jersey. With a population of 1,695 people and just one neighborhood, Island Heights is the 447th largest community in New Jersey. Island Heights has a large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic boroughs in the country.
Housing costs in Island Heights are among some of the highest in the nation, although real estate prices here don't compare to real estate prices in the most expensive communities in New Jersey.
Island Heights is a decidedly white-collar borough, with fully 87.50% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Island Heights is a borough of professionals, sales and office workers, and managers. There are especially a lot of people living in Island Heights who work in sales jobs (14.29%), teaching (13.65%), and healthcare (11.22%).
Of important note, Island Heights is also a borough of artists. Island Heights has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Island Heights’s character.
One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 14.86% 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.
In addition, Island Heights is home to many people who could be described as "urban sophisticates". Urban sophisticates are people who are both educated and wealthy, and thus tend to be older, richer, and more established than young professionals. "Urban sophisticates" is not just about being educated and well-off financially: it is a point of view and state of mind, one that you might call 'urbaneness'. But such people can and do regularly live in small towns, suburbs and rural areas, as well as in big cities. They read, support the arts and high-end shops, and love travel.
Because of many things, Island Heights 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, Island Heights really has some of the features that families look for when choosing a good community to raise children. Is Island Heights 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.
Island Heights is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Such areas are often places that visitors and locals go for waterfront activities or taking in the scenery.
One downside of living in Island Heights, however, is that residents on average have to contend with a long commute, spending on average 30.21 minutes every day commuting to work.
The citizens of Island Heights are among the most well-educated in the nation: 49.67% of adults in Island Heights have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree, whereas the average US city has 21.84% holding at least a bachelor's degree.
The per capita income in Island Heights in 2022 was $70,755, which is upper middle income relative to New Jersey, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $283,020 for a family of four.
The people who call Island Heights home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Island Heights residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Island Heights include Irish, Italian, German, English, and Polish.
The most common language spoken in Island Heights is English. Other important languages spoken here include Italian and Spanish.
When you see a neighborhood for the first time, the most important thing is often the way it looks, like its homes and its setting. Some places look the same, but they only reveal their true character after living in them for a while because they contain a unique mix of occupational or cultural groups. This neighborhood is very unique in some important ways, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive exploration and analysis.
is a neighborhood that is on the ocean, a bay, or inlet. Many times, such places have amenities that bring locals and visitors to the waterfront for recreational activities or to check out the scenery. In some densely populated areas that are less financially well-off, the neighborhood waterfront can be relatively industrial and less open to recreation. 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.
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, for many reasons, is rated by NeighborhoodScout as one of the top 3.4% of ideal neighborhoods for first-time home buyers in the state of New Jersey. Homes here are priced below median housing values in the state, yet the neighborhood has a track record according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive neighborhood home appreciation rates of above average real estate appreciation over the last five years compared to other NJ neighborhoods, protecting your investment in your first home, while simultaneously making it less risky for your lender. Not only does this neighborhood stand out for combining price and home value stability or increases, it also is a neighborhood with a high quality resident population according exclusive data, meaning this is likely a good place to buy, live, and enjoy. While many first time home buyers focus purely on low cost and convenient location, which can risk your investment in your first home and put you in a less than desirable neighborhood, this neighborhood is a true standout for a lot of reasons, and definitely worth a look if you are a first time home buyer. In addition to being an excellent choice for first-time home buyers, this neighborhood is also a very good choice for urban sophisticates and active retirees.
Did you know that the neighborhood has more Lithuanian and Italian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 2.4% of this neighborhood's residents have Lithuanian ancestry and 27.2% have Italian ancestry.
is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 24.5% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Italian at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 99.9% of the neighborhoods in America.
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 Island Heights are upper-middle income, making it an above average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 79.1% 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.
The old saying "you are what you eat" is true. But it is also true that you are what you do for a living. The types of occupations your neighbors have shape their character, and together as a group, their collective occupations shape the culture of a place.
In the neighborhood, 57.1% 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 23.5% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (12.5%), and 7.1% in government jobs, whether they are in local, state, or federal positions.
The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 97.8% of households. Some people also speak Italian (24.5%).
Culture is shared learned behavior. We learn it from our parents, their parents, our houses of worship, and much of our culture – our learned behavior – comes from our ancestors. That is why ancestry and ethnicity can be so interesting and important to understand: places with concentrations of people of one or more ancestries often express those shared learned behaviors and this gives each neighborhood its own culture. Even different neighborhoods in the same city can have drastically different cultures.
In the neighborhood in Island Heights, NJ, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Irish (27.4%). There are also a number of people of Italian ancestry (27.2%), and residents who report German roots (18.0%), and some of the residents are also of English ancestry (11.7%), along with some Polish ancestry residents (8.1%), among others.
Even if your neighborhood is walkable, you may still have to drive to your place of work. Some neighborhoods are located where many can get to work in just a few minutes, while others are located such that most residents have a long and arduous commute. The greatest number of commuters in neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (31.4% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.
Here most residents (80.2%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.