Practical Living: Groceries, Getting Around, and City Government
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, on Absecon Island, incorporated May 1, 1854, from portions of Egg Harbor Township and Galloway Township. The 2020 census counted 38,497 year-round residents, down 2.7% from 39,558 in 2010, itself down from 40,517 in 2000, with a median age of 37.9. This is this site's thirteenth New Jersey market, following Cape May, Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, North Wildwood, Stone Harbor, Avalon, Sea Isle City, Ocean City, Strathmere, Longport, Margate City, and Ventnor City. Atlantic City is best known for its casinos and its boardwalk, but this page sets that aside to cover the practical, day-to-day realities of living here year-round -- including a real and currently unresolved grocery-access gap that deserves honest, careful treatment rather than a footnote.
The Food-Desert Reality: One Functioning Supermarket-Type Store
In 2022, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority ranked Atlantic City second on its list of the state's food desert communities, behind only Camden. As of 2024, only one functioning supermarket-type store operated within city limits: a Save-A-Lot in Renaissance Plaza. The nearest full-service supermarket sits three miles away, in neighboring Ventnor City. This is a serious, real fact affecting real year-round residents of a city of nearly 40,000 people, not a passing inconvenience, and anyone weighing year-round life in Atlantic City should understand it plainly before assuming grocery access will look like it does in a typical mid-sized town.
The gap has not been for lack of trying, and the record shows real money and real setbacks. A previously announced ShopRite project broke ground in October 2021 after Village Super Market secured $18.7 million in public funding from the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority -- yet the project ultimately failed to open. In October 2025, the city announced a new attempt: a $20 million redevelopment deal for Renaissance Plaza that would expand the existing Save-A-Lot by 50%, to 28,000 square feet, with completion targeted for the end of 2026. As of this writing, that project is announced and in progress, not completed, and this research pass did not confirm whether it remains on track for that end-of-2026 target. Anyone considering year-round life in Atlantic City should treat current grocery access as a genuine, unresolved planning factor and confirm the Renaissance Plaza project's current status directly with the city and the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority before relying on it.
Getting Around: A City Built on Rail and Road Access Since the 1850s
Atlantic City's connection to the mainland has been a defining practical fact of the city since its founding. The Camden and Atlantic Railroad began service to Atlantic City in 1854, the same year the city was incorporated, and by 1874 roughly 500,000 passengers annually were traveling to the city by rail. The first road connecting Atlantic City to the mainland was completed in 1870, initially charging a 30-cent toll -- meaning for over a decade after incorporation, rail was the primary way in and out. That history matters less for the specific commute today than for understanding why the city was built the way it was: as a resort reachable from Philadelphia and beyond by train, with road access arriving later.
This research pass did not confirm current NJ Transit rail or bus schedules, current highway conditions or commute times, current parking availability or costs, or current airport service levels for year-round residents. None of that is invented here -- confirm current transportation realities directly with NJ Transit, Atlantic City, and Atlantic County.
Faulkner Act Mayor-Council Government
Atlantic City has operated as a Faulkner Act Mayor-Council municipality (Plan D) since July 1, 1982. Under this structure, voters elect a mayor and a nine-member City Council -- six ward seats and three at-large seats -- to four-year terms, a more familiar mayor-council arrangement than the commission-style governments used in some neighboring New Jersey shore towns. As of a 2026-dated source, Mayor Marty Small Sr., a Democrat, held office with a term ending December 31, 2029, having succeeded Frank M. Gilliam Jr. after Gilliam's October 3, 2019 resignation. In a court-ordered special election in November 2024, Republican Maria Lacca won the 5th Ward seat -- the first Republican win in that ward since 1988 -- after Democrat Muhammed "Anjum" Zia was removed from office for not residing in the city.
This research pass did not confirm the current (2026) full City Council roster beyond the November 2024 5th Ward result, current department structure, or how the Faulkner Act Plan D system affects day-to-day permitting, zoning, or municipal service delivery for residents. Confirm the current mayor, council, and how city government functions directly with Atlantic City and Atlantic County.
This Site's Thirteenth New Jersey Market: Different Tax Customs
Atlantic City is this site's thirteenth New Jersey market, following Cape May, Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, North Wildwood, Stone Harbor, Avalon, Sea Isle City, Ocean City, Strathmere, Longport, Margate City, and Ventnor City. New Jersey has its own state sales tax and its own municipal and county property-tax structure, genuinely different from Delaware's no-sales-tax system used across this site's earlier Delaware markets, and buyers coming from a Delaware frame of reference should not assume Delaware's tax framing carries over here. Atlantic City adds a further wrinkle: a reduced local sales tax rate has historically applied within the Atlantic City Tourism District, distinct from the rate elsewhere in the city and the state.
This research pass did not confirm current Atlantic City or Atlantic County property tax rates, the current Atlantic City Tourism District sales tax rate, New Jersey's current state sales tax rate, or specific current assessment figures. Confirm all of it directly with Atlantic City's own finance office, Atlantic County government, and the State of New Jersey before treating any of it as settled.
What This Research Pass Did Not Confirm
Current (2026) permanent population beyond the 2020 census figure of 38,497, current median home price, active listing counts, and specific current rental rates were not confirmed this research pass, and none of those figures are invented here. Current unemployment or poverty rate figures beyond dated historical figures were likewise not confirmed as current 2026 conditions -- do not treat older figures as describing today.
Whether the October 2025 Renaissance Plaza redevelopment and expanded Save-A-Lot remain on track for their end-of-2026 completion target was not confirmed this research pass -- treat that project as announced and in progress, not completed. Current Atlantic City and Atlantic County property tax rates, the current Atlantic City Tourism District sales tax rate, New Jersey's current state sales tax rate, specific current assessment figures, specific current flood zone designations for individual parcels, current NJ Transit schedules and fares, current restaurant, shop, or non-casino business names, and the current (2026) full City Council roster were also not confirmed. None of that is invented here -- confirm all of it directly with Atlantic City, Atlantic County, NJ Transit, the State of New Jersey, the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, and FEMA's Flood Map Service Center before treating any of it as settled.
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Get a Free Agent Referral →Independent research. No ads. No sponsored listings. Atlantic City's Atlantic County, New Jersey location on Absecon Island, incorporated May 1, 1854, from portions of Egg Harbor Township and Galloway Township; its 2020 census population of 38,497 (down 2.7% from 39,558 in 2010, itself down from 40,517 in 2000) and median age of 37.9; the 2022 New Jersey Economic Development Authority ranking of Atlantic City second among the state's food desert communities (behind Camden); the 2024 status of only one functioning supermarket-type store in the city (a Save-A-Lot in Renaissance Plaza), with the nearest full-service supermarket three miles away in Ventnor City; the failed ShopRite project (October 2021 groundbreaking, $18.7 million in Casino Reinvestment Development Authority funding to Village Super Market); the October 2025 announcement of a new $20 million Renaissance Plaza redevelopment expanding the Save-A-Lot by 50% to 28,000 square feet, targeted for completion by the end of 2026; the Camden and Atlantic Railroad's 1854 start of service (roughly 500,000 annual rail passengers by 1874) and the first mainland road's 1870 completion (initial 30-cent toll); and the Faulkner Act Mayor-Council (Plan D) government in place since July 1, 1982 (mayor plus nine-member City Council of six ward and three at-large seats, four-year terms, with a 2026-dated source naming Mayor Marty Small Sr. and a November 2024 special election result for the 5th Ward) are confirmed facts, cross-checked against this site's own research notes for Atlantic City. New Jersey's sales-tax and property-tax structure differing from Delaware's no-sales-tax system, and Atlantic City's historically reduced local sales tax rate within the Atlantic City Tourism District, are likewise confirmed as structural facts, though current rates are not stated here. Current population beyond the 2020 census, current home prices and rental rates, current property tax and sales tax rates, current flood zone designations, whether the October 2025 Renaissance Plaza redevelopment remains on track for its end-of-2026 target, current NJ Transit schedules and fares, specific current business names, and the current (2026) full City Council roster were not confirmed this research pass and are not invented here. Confirm current details directly with Atlantic City, Atlantic County government, NJ Transit, the State of New Jersey, the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, and FEMA's Flood Map Service Center. Nothing on this page is legal, tax, or financial advice.