Ocean Gate 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 1,987 people and just one neighborhood, Ocean Gate is the 427th largest community in New Jersey.
Unlike some boroughs where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Ocean Gate is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Ocean Gate is a borough of professionals, sales and office workers, and service providers. There are especially a lot of people living in Ocean Gate who work in office and administrative support (15.81%), sales jobs (11.29%), and management occupations (11.29%).
Also of interest is that Ocean Gate has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.
Another notable thing is that Ocean Gate 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, Ocean Gate’s population drops significantly, such that year-round residents will notice that the city is a much quieter place to live.
Ocean Gate 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. Quite often, nautical areas such as these attract visitors and locals who come to enjoy the scenery and various waterfront activities.
Being a small borough, Ocean Gate does not have a public transit system used by locals to get to and from work.
The overall education level of Ocean Gate citizens is substantially higher than the typical US community, as 33.15% of adults in Ocean Gate have at least a bachelor's degree, and the average American community has 21.84%.
The per capita income in Ocean Gate in 2022 was $44,655, which is lower middle income relative to New Jersey, and upper middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $178,620 for a family of four. However, Ocean Gate contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
The people who call Ocean Gate home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Ocean Gate residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Ocean Gate include Irish, German, Italian, Polish, and English.
The most common language spoken in Ocean Gate is English. Other important languages spoken here include Italian and Armenian.
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 Ocean Gate, 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.
In addition, vacant homes and apartments are a significant characteristic of this neighborhood. In fact, with 38.7% of the residential real estate vacant, the neighborhood claims the distinction of having a higher vacancy rate than 97.5% 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.
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.
While most Americans do drive to work alone each day, the neighborhood stands out by having 90.3% of commuters doing so, which is a higher proportion of people driving alone to work than NeighborhoodScout found in 97.5% of all American neighborhoods.
Did you know that the neighborhood has more Irish and Polish ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 35.5% of this neighborhood's residents have Irish ancestry and 11.8% have Polish ancestry.
is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 38.8% 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 100.0% of the neighborhoods in America.
How wealthy a neighborhood is, from very wealthy, to middle income, to low income is very formative with regard to the personality and character of a neighborhood. Equally important is the rate of people, particularly children, who live below the federal poverty line. In some wealthy gated communities, the areas immediately surrounding can have high rates of childhood poverty, which indicates other social issues. NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals both aspects of income and poverty for this neighborhood.
The neighbors in the neighborhood in Ocean Gate are middle-income, making it a moderate income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 50.0% 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, 42.4% of the working population is employed in executive, management, and professional occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations, with 23.0% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants (18.7%), and 15.9% in manufacturing and laborer occupations.
The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 98.6% of households. Some people also speak Italian (38.8%).
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 Ocean Gate, NJ, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Irish (35.5%). There are also a number of people of German ancestry (16.5%), and residents who report Italian roots (15.3%), and some of the residents are also of Polish ancestry (11.8%), along with some English ancestry residents (7.4%), 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 (38.3% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.
Here most residents (90.3%) 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.