Beach Erosion Reality: Avalon, New Jersey
Avalon is a borough in Cape May County, New Jersey, occupying the northern half of Seven Mile Island, which it shares with Stone Harbor to the south. Per Wikipedia's own figures, its 2020 census population was 1,243 -- down 91 people, or 6.8 percent, from 1,334 in 2010 -- though the summer population swells to as many as 45,000, across a total area of 5.06 square miles (4.27 square miles of land, 0.79 square miles of water), at an elevation of just 7 feet above sea level. Those are the plain facts of a small, low-lying barrier-island community that fills up dramatically every summer, and they are the honest starting point for any discussion of beach erosion here. Wikipedia also confirms that Avalon maintains extensive rock jetties and ongoing beach-replenishment efforts to protect against erosion -- a real, documented piece of the town's relationship with its own shoreline. What this page does not do is attach an invented jetty count, a specific current project name, a dollar figure, or a completion date to that effort, because none of those specifics were confirmed in the research behind this page. What follows lays out the geographic risk context that is documented, describes what is and is not confirmed about the jetty and replenishment program, names the agencies that track the real current numbers, and does not invent anything in between.
A Barrier Island at 7 Feet Above Sea Level
Seven Mile Island -- the barrier island Avalon shares with Stone Harbor -- is a classic Jersey Shore barrier formation: a narrow strip of sand separating the Atlantic Ocean from back bays and salt marsh, built and reshaped over time by wind, waves, tides, and storms. Avalon's own elevation, per Wikipedia, is just 7 feet above sea level, across a 5.06-square-mile footprint of which roughly 0.79 square miles is water. Barrier islands are, by their basic geology, dynamic rather than fixed landforms -- they naturally accrete sand in some seasons and lose it in others, and they sit on the front line of exposure during coastal storms and elevated tides.
Wikipedia also notes that Avalon's native landscape was originally a juniper forest, one that has largely disappeared due to development, making hills and native juniper "extremely rare" in the town today. That is a genuine before-and-after ecological fact about how thoroughly this barrier island has been built out -- and it is a useful reminder that the sandy, low-lying land under Avalon's homes and streets was not always shaped the way it is now. None of this amounts to a specific erosion-rate figure for Avalon's beaches, and no such figure is stated here because none was confirmed in the research behind this page.
What Is Confirmed About Avalon’s Jetties and Replenishment -- and What Is Not
Wikipedia confirms, in plain terms, that Avalon maintains extensive rock jetties along its beachfront and carries out ongoing beach-replenishment efforts to protect against erosion. That is a real, documented fact about the town's shoreline infrastructure, and it is treated as such on this page. What Wikipedia's entry does not confirm -- and what this page therefore does not state -- is the current number of jetties, the name of any specific current replenishment project, its cost, or its completion date. Those are exactly the kind of specific operational details that change over time as new work is authorized, funded, and completed, and repeating an old or guessed figure as if it were current would do readers a disservice.
Readers who have seen a specific jetty count, a named project, a cost figure, or a completion date attached to Avalon elsewhere should treat this page as a prompt to verify that information directly against the primary sources named below, rather than assume this page's silence means no such project exists. Given that jetties and replenishment are already confirmed as ongoing activities here, it would be reasonable to expect current, named work to exist -- this page simply does not have a confirmed specific to report.
The Agencies That Track the Real Numbers
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is the federal agency responsible for large-scale beach-replenishment and storm-risk-management projects along the New Jersey coast, including any current or planned work affecting Seven Mile Island. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) is the state counterpart, and is the right source for state-level coastal-management data, permitting status, and any state-funded shore-protection work touching Avalon or Stone Harbor.
For flood risk specifically, FEMA's Flood Map Service Center is the authoritative source for current flood-zone designations on any individual Avalon parcel -- a designation that shifts periodically as FEMA updates its maps, and one this page does not attempt to state for any specific address. A prospective buyer should confirm a property's current flood-zone status directly through FEMA before making an offer, and should ask a New Jersey-licensed insurance agent about current flood-insurance requirements and costs for that specific parcel.
A Town Built on Shoreline Engineering Since 1892
Avalon was incorporated as a borough on April 18, 1892, from portions of Middle Township, following a referendum held two days earlier. That means the town's entire built history, on a barrier island that Wikipedia describes as having lost most of its native juniper forest to development, has run alongside some form of shoreline management for well over a century. The presence of extensive rock jetties and an ongoing replenishment program today fits that same long pattern: shoreline engineering on Seven Mile Island is not a new phenomenon, it is a continuous, working part of how a narrow barrier island stays inhabitable at all.
That history does not translate into any specific current erosion measurement, jetty count, or replenishment schedule, and none is stated here. It simply establishes that shoreline management has been, and remains, a permanent feature of Avalon's relationship with its own geography.
What This Page Does Not Confirm
No confirmed current jetty count for Avalon was found in the research behind this page, and none is invented here. No specific current beach-replenishment project name, funding figure, or completion date tied to Avalon was confirmed, and no such project is named or implied. No current (2025-2026) storm-damage event specific to Avalon was confirmed, and no erosion-rate figure is stated for Avalon's beaches.
Beyond erosion specifically, no current permanent population figure beyond the 2020 census count of 1,243, no current median home price, no current active-listing count, and no specific current rental rate for Avalon was confirmed. The 2007 Forbes 65th-most-expensive-ZIP-code ranking and the 2010 census income figures (median household income of $88,527, median family income of $135,781, per capita income of $99,655) are real but dated, and should not be treated as current. No current Cape May County or Borough of Avalon property tax rate, and no current New Jersey state sales tax rate, was confirmed -- readers should not assume Delaware's no-sales-tax framework, since New Jersey has its own state sales tax and a genuinely different property-tax structure. No current FEMA flood-zone designation for any individual Avalon parcel was confirmed, and no specific current restaurant, shop, or business name is asserted anywhere on this page.
Where to Find Current Data
Because the specific current status of Avalon's jetty and replenishment program was not confirmed in this research, the most useful step for a prospective buyer is to check the primary sources directly rather than rely on any secondhand figure. Start with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) for the current status of any coastal-management or beach-replenishment work affecting Seven Mile Island, and search current news coverage for any recent Avalon-specific storm damage or shoreline project that may have occurred since this page was researched.
Confirm current FEMA flood-zone status for any specific Avalon parcel directly through FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, and speak with a New Jersey-licensed insurance agent about flood and storm coverage for that property. Cape May County government and the Borough of Avalon's own finance office are the right sources for current property tax figures, and a New Jersey-licensed real estate attorney or tax professional is the right source for any legal, tax, or insurance question specific to a property. This page is independent research for general orientation only. It is not legal, insurance, engineering, or financial advice, and nothing here substitutes for direct confirmation from the Borough of Avalon, the New Jersey DEP, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Cape May County, FEMA, current news reporting, and a licensed professional.
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Get a Free Agent Referral →Independent research. No ads. No sponsored listings. Avalon's location on the northern half of Seven Mile Island in Cape May County, New Jersey, its 2020 census population of 1,243 (down 6.8 percent from 1,334 in 2010, with a summer population of up to 45,000), its 5.06-square-mile total area (4.27 sq mi land, 0.79 sq mi water), its 7-foot elevation, its April 18, 1892 incorporation, its loss of native juniper forest to development, and its maintenance of extensive rock jetties and ongoing beach-replenishment efforts against erosion are sourced from Wikipedia's own Avalon, New Jersey entry. The 2007 Forbes 65th-most-expensive-ZIP-code ranking and the 2010 census income figures are likewise sourced from Wikipedia and are dated, not current. No confirmed current jetty count, specific current beach-replenishment project name, cost, or completion date tied to Avalon was found in the research behind this page, and none is invented here. No current population figure beyond the 2020 census count, no current median home price, no current property tax rate, no current New Jersey state sales tax rate, and no current FEMA flood-zone designation specific to Avalon was confirmed via primary-source research this pass. Confirm current erosion, flood-zone, and shoreline-project status directly with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, Cape May County government, the Borough of Avalon, current news coverage, and a licensed local professional before making any purchase decision. Nothing on this page is legal, insurance, engineering, or financial advice.