Year-Round Living: This Site's Largest New Jersey Community, Honestly Examined
Atlantic City counted 38,497 year-round residents at the 2020 census -- down 2.7% (1,061 people) from 39,558 in 2010, which itself was down from 40,517 in 2000. That two-decade trend is a real, ongoing decline, but the resulting population is still, by a wide margin, the largest permanent community among this site's New Jersey markets built so far -- nearly four times Ventnor City's 9,210 and well beyond any smaller shore town covered here before it. The confirmed 2020 snapshot also shows a median age of 37.9, meaningfully younger-skewing than several neighboring shore communities, and a demographic composition of roughly 26.5% white, 38.3% Black or African American, 15.6% Asian, and 30.5% Hispanic or Latino residents -- a genuinely diverse city, not a homogenous seasonal enclave. Year-round life here also means living with a real, current, and honestly sobering fact: as of 2024, only one functioning supermarket-type store operates within city limits, with the nearest full-service supermarket three miles away. This page does not state a current (2026) population figure, current home prices, current property tax rates, or specific current school, hospital, or grocery names beyond what is noted below -- none of that was independently confirmed for this page, and none of it is invented here.
A Large, Genuinely Diverse Permanent Population -- Still Declining
The 2020 census recorded 38,497 people living in Atlantic City year-round -- down 2.7% from 39,558 in 2010, which itself was down from 40,517 counted in 2000. That is a real, sustained decline across two decades, and it should not be minimized. At the same time, 38,497 is by far the largest year-round population among this site's New Jersey shore markets built to date -- nearly four times Ventnor City's 9,210 and dwarfing the smaller barrier-island towns covered on this site before it. Anyone comparing Atlantic City to those smaller neighboring communities should understand that day-to-day civic life, traffic, services, and municipal government here operate at a genuinely different scale.
The city's demographic composition at the 2020 census was approximately 26.5% white, 38.3% Black or African American, 15.6% Asian, and 30.5% Hispanic or Latino -- a genuinely diverse population profile, distinct from the more homogenous seasonal-resort demographics of several smaller nearby shore towns. We do not have a confirmed current (2026) population figure beyond the 2020 census count of 38,497, and we are not going to estimate one. Anyone evaluating a year-round move here should treat 38,497 as the most recent hard number available and confirm anything more current directly with Atlantic City government or Atlantic County.
A Median Age of 37.9 -- A Younger-Skewing City
The confirmed 2020 census median age in Atlantic City was 37.9, meaningfully younger than several neighboring shore communities on this site, which have skewed into the 50s. Combined with the city's size and diversity, that points toward a permanent community with a real working-age and family presence, not primarily a retirement or vacation-home town. Anyone weighing a full-time move here with children, a career, or a young family should read this as a genuinely different demographic profile than the smaller, older-skewing barrier-island towns nearby.
We do not have a confirmed current (2026) median age or current age-distribution breakdown for this page, and demographic patterns can shift, so 37.9 should be read as the most recent independently confirmed data point rather than a current fact.
The Honest Reality: A Real, Current Food-Desert Challenge
Year-round life in Atlantic City means living with a real and currently unresolved grocery-access gap. 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 -- with the nearest full-service supermarket located three miles away in neighboring Ventnor City. A previously announced ShopRite project broke ground in October 2021 after Village Super Market obtained $18.7 million in public funding through the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, but that project ultimately failed to open. This is a genuine, documented daily-life consideration for anyone considering a full-time move, and it deserves to be stated plainly rather than glossed over.
There is real, current momentum toward change: in October 2025, the city announced a new $20 million Renaissance Plaza redevelopment deal, expanding the existing Save-A-Lot by 50% to 28,000 square feet, with completion targeted for the end of 2026. That is an announced, in-progress project, not a completed one, and we do not have confirmation of whether it remains on track as of today. Both things are true at once: Atlantic City is a major tourism and casino economy, and it is also a city with a documented, serious grocery-access gap for its own year-round residents. Anyone evaluating a year-round move here should weigh this honestly and confirm current grocery access directly by visiting or contacting Atlantic City government.
Civic Life Under a Faulkner Act Mayor-Council Government
Atlantic City has operated under the Faulkner Act Mayor-Council form of government (Plan D) since July 1, 1982 -- a mayor elected alongside a nine-member City Council (six ward seats and three at-large seats), each serving four-year terms. For a city of this size, that is a substantially larger and more structurally formal government than the small commission or council setups found in this site's smaller New Jersey shore towns. As of 2026, Marty Small Sr. serves as Mayor, a term running through 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 council 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.
We do not have confirmation that Mayor Small or the current City Council composition remains accurate as of today, and elected officials and council seats can change; anyone evaluating civic engagement in Atlantic City should confirm the current mayor and council roster directly with Atlantic City government.
A Boom-Bust Casino Economy Shapes the Local Job Base
New Jersey voters approved casino gambling in Atlantic City via a 1976 referendum (56%-44%), and Resorts Atlantic City opened May 26, 1978, as the first legal casino in the eastern United States. For anyone considering year-round employment or a career here, it is worth understanding the industry's real volatility: four casinos closed in 2014 alone -- Atlantic Club, Showboat, Revel, and Trump Plaza -- and the Trump Taj Mahal closed in October 2016. The industry has since stabilized to nine operating casinos, generating $2.79 billion in gross gaming revenue in 2022 (a 9% increase from 2021's $2.55 billion), though the city continues to face real competitive pressure from casinos in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and New York.
We do not have confirmed current (2025 or 2026) gross gaming revenue figures, current casino employment numbers, or current unemployment rates for this page, and none is invented here. Anyone weighing a year-round move tied to casino-industry employment should confirm current job-market conditions directly with Atlantic City government and current employers.
A New Jersey Market: Taxes Work Differently Than Delaware
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, and that matters for anyone comparing it to Delaware coastal towns. New Jersey has its own state sales tax and its own municipal and county property-tax structure, both genuinely different from Delaware's no-sales-tax system. Atlantic City itself has historically applied a distinctive reduced local sales-tax rate within its Tourism District, but we do not have a confirmed current rate for that district and none is invented here.
We do not have a confirmed current New Jersey state sales-tax rate, current Atlantic City property-tax rate, or current assessment figures for this page. Anyone evaluating a year-round move to Atlantic City should confirm current tax rates and rules directly with Atlantic County government, Atlantic City's own finance office, and the State of New Jersey.
What This Means for Anyone Considering a Year-Round Move
Put together: a 2020 census population of 38,497 (down 2.7% from 39,558 in 2010, itself down from 40,517 in 2000), a median age of 37.9, a genuinely diverse population of roughly 26.5% white, 38.3% Black, 15.6% Asian, and 30.5% Hispanic residents, and a real, current food-desert reality with only one functioning supermarket-type store as of 2024 and the nearest full-service supermarket three miles away -- these are all real, confirmed facts pointing toward a large, diverse, younger-skewing city that is also honestly still working through a serious grocery-access gap. Civic life runs through a Faulkner Act Mayor-Council government, the local economy is genuinely shaped by a boom-bust casino industry now stabilized around nine operating casinos, and a real $20 million Renaissance Plaza redevelopment announced in October 2025 -- targeting completion by the end of 2026 -- is a concrete, current sign of change underway, even if not yet finished.
This page does not state current (2026) population figures, current median home prices, active listing counts, specific current rental rates, current Atlantic City or Atlantic County property tax rates, current New Jersey sales-tax rates, current gross gaming revenue figures, or confirmation that the Renaissance Plaza redevelopment remains on schedule -- none of that was independently confirmed for this page, and none of it is invented here. Anyone evaluating a year-round move to Atlantic City should confirm current civic, tax, economic, and grocery-access details directly with Atlantic City government and Atlantic County government, and consult a licensed local real estate, tax, or legal professional before making a decision. Nothing on this page is legal, tax, or financial advice.
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Get a Free Agent Referral →Independent research. No ads. No sponsored listings. Data sourced from the competitive research file for Atlantic City, New Jersey: the 2020 census population of 38,497, down 2.7% (1,061 people) from 39,558 in the 2010 census, itself down from 40,517 in the 2000 census; a median age of 37.9; a demographic composition of approximately 26.5% white, 38.3% Black or African American, 15.6% Asian, and 30.5% Hispanic or Latino residents; a total area of 17.21 square miles (10.76 land, 6.45 water) on Absecon Island, bordering Absecon, Brigantine, Egg Harbor Township, Galloway Township, Pleasantville, and Ventnor City; incorporation on May 1, 1854 from portions of Egg Harbor Township and Galloway Township; a 2022 New Jersey Economic Development Authority ranking of Atlantic City as the state's second-worst food-desert community (behind Camden); as of 2024, 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; a failed ShopRite project (groundbreaking October 2021, $18.7 million in Casino Reinvestment Development Authority funding to Village Super Market) that ultimately did not open; a new $20 million Renaissance Plaza redevelopment deal announced October 2025, expanding the Save-A-Lot by 50% to 28,000 square feet, targeted for completion by the end of 2026; the Faulkner Act Mayor-Council municipal government (Plan D) in place since July 1, 1982, with a mayor and nine-member City Council (six ward seats, three at-large) serving four-year terms; as of 2026, Mayor Marty Small Sr. (term ending December 31, 2029), successor to Frank M. Gilliam Jr. following his October 3, 2019 resignation; a November 2024 court-ordered special election in which Republican Maria Lacca won the 5th Ward council seat, the first Republican win there since 1988, following the removal of Democrat Muhammed "Anjum" Zia for not residing in the city; casino gambling approved by a 1976 New Jersey referendum (56%-44%); Resorts Atlantic City's May 26, 1978 opening as the first legal casino in the eastern United States; the 2014 closures of Atlantic Club, Showboat, Revel, and Trump Plaza, plus the Trump Taj Mahal's October 2016 closure; nine currently operating casinos generating $2.79 billion in gross gaming revenue in 2022 (up 9% from 2021's $2.55 billion); and ongoing competitive pressure from casinos in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and New York. Current (2026) population, home price, rental rate, tax-rate, gross-gaming-revenue figures, and confirmation that the Renaissance Plaza redevelopment remains on schedule were not independently verified this research pass and are not invented here, nor are specific current school, hospital, or non-casino business names -- confirm directly with Atlantic City government, Atlantic County government, and the State of New Jersey. Nothing on this page is legal, tax, or financial advice.