Community & Lifestyle in Avalon
Avalon's community character rests on two real, independently confirmed facts rather than marketing language. Per Wikipedia, Forbes named Avalon the 65th most expensive ZIP code in the United States in 2007, and the 2010 census recorded a median household income of $88,527, a median family income of $135,781, and a per capita income of $99,655 -- richer, more specific wealth figures than this site has documented for any other Jersey Shore market so far. Washingtonian magazine has separately described Avalon as the "chicest beach" in the Mid-Atlantic. That affluence sits alongside a genuinely unique civic story: the town takes its name from the mythical Isle of Avalon of Arthurian legend, a deliberate literary choice made around 1887-1888. Layered onto both is a 2020 census population of just 1,243 -- down from 1,334 in 2010 -- against a summer population that swells to as many as 45,000, a gap that defines what year-round life here actually looks like.
A Real, Independently Confirmed Affluent Identity
Avalon's upscale reputation is not invented for this page -- it is documented with real, dated statistics. Per Wikipedia, Forbes ranked Avalon the 65th most expensive ZIP code in the United States in 2007. The 2010 census recorded a median household income of $88,527, a median family income of $135,781, and a per capita income of $99,655 for Avalon. Wikipedia describes Avalon as one of the most affluent communities along the Jersey Shore, with some of the most expensive real estate on the East Coast, and notes that Washingtonian magazine named Avalon the "chicest beach" in the Mid-Atlantic. Taken together, these are more specific, numbers-driven confirmations than this site has found for other Jersey Shore markets built so far.
These figures are real but dated, and this site does not have independently confirmed data on Avalon's current (2026) median home price, active listing counts, specific current rental rates, or current household income. The 2007 Forbes ranking and 2010 census figures should not be treated as current pricing or income data. Confirm current market figures directly with a licensed local real estate professional.
A Small and Shrinking Year-Round Population, a Massive Summer Surge
Per the 2020 census, Avalon's year-round population was 1,243, a decline of 91 people, or 6.8%, from the 1,334 counted in 2010. The borough sits on 5.06 square miles of the northern half of Seven Mile Island -- 4.27 square miles of land and 0.79 square miles of water -- at an elevation of 7 feet above sea level, per Wikipedia. Against that year-round base, a summer population of up to 45,000 represents a seasonal surge of more than thirty-five times the off-season count, among the largest gaps of any market this site has profiled.
That gap matters for anyone weighing year-round life here against a summer visit: the town a July vacationer experiences is not necessarily the same town its roughly 1,200 year-round residents inhabit each winter. This site does not have independently confirmed data on Avalon's current (2026) population -- no figure beyond the cited 2020 census count is stated here. Confirm current demographic detail directly with the Borough of Avalon and Cape May County.
A Real Arthurian-Legend Naming Story
Avalon's civic identity is not defined by affluence alone -- it carries a genuine, dated literary story unlike anything else on this site. Per the Seven Mile Times' own feature on the town's naming, around 1887-1888, during the Seven Mile Beach Company's early development of the island, Rev. Charles Henry Bond proposed the name "Avalon" to his colleagues because the island's then-untamed landscape -- forests, dunes, ponds, marshes, flowers, and large cedar and oak trees -- reminded him of the mythical Isle of Avalon near Glastonbury, England, the legendary resting place of King Arthur.
Bond later served as corporate secretary of the Seven Mile Beach Company and went on to found the town's first newspaper, deliberately naming it The Round Table as a second nod to the same Arthurian legend. This is a genuinely unique, dated, citable naming story that sets Avalon apart from every other Jersey Shore market this site has built so far. This site does not have independently confirmed information on whether that original newspaper still publishes today, and no current publication status is stated here.
"Cooler by a Mile": A Motto Grounded in Real Geography
Avalon's motto, "Cooler by a Mile," is not just a marketing phrase -- per Wikipedia, it reflects the town's actual position extending roughly one mile farther into the Atlantic Ocean than neighboring barrier islands, a real geographic fact behind the slogan. Separately, Avalon's native landscape was originally a juniper forest; that landscape has largely disappeared due to development, making hills and native juniper extremely rare in the town today, an honest before-and-after ecological story rather than an unqualified conservation success.
Avalon also maintains extensive rock jetties and ongoing beach-replenishment efforts against erosion, per Wikipedia. This site does not have independently confirmed data on the current jetty count, a specific current beach-replenishment project name, its cost, or its completion date -- no such details are invented here. Confirm current coastal-protection specifics directly with the Borough of Avalon.
Seven Mile Island's Northern Half, This Site's Sixth New Jersey Market
Avalon sits on the northern half of Seven Mile Island, with Stone Harbor occupying the southern half -- both towns founded by the same Seven Mile Beach Company in 1887, incorporated as a borough on April 18, 1892, following an April 16, 1892 referendum, per Wikipedia. Avalon is this site's sixth New Jersey market, following Cape May, Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, North Wildwood, and Stone Harbor. New Jersey's state sales tax and its municipal and county property tax structure remain a genuinely different system from what Delaware markets built on this site operate under.
This site does not have independently confirmed current New Jersey state sales tax rates or current Cape May County or Borough of Avalon property tax rates or assessment figures -- confirm those directly with the State of New Jersey, Cape May County government, and the Borough of Avalon's own finance office before making any financial comparison to a Delaware market or to this site's other New Jersey builds. Where Stone Harbor's identity rests on its Bird Sanctuary and a description of gleaming McMansions, Avalon's rests on its own richer wealth statistics and its unique Arthurian naming story -- a shared island, a shared founder, and two genuinely distinct civic identities.
What This Means for Buyers and Residents
Put together, Avalon offers a distinct kind of Jersey Shore life: a small and shrinking year-round population -- 1,243 residents per the 2020 census, down from 1,334 in 2010 -- absorbing a summer population surge of up to 45,000, a real and specific set of wealth statistics headlined by Forbes's 2007 65th-most-expensive-ZIP-code ranking and a 2010 median household income of $88,527, and a genuine civic point of pride in a literary Arthurian-legend naming story unlike anything else on this site. Anyone drawn to Avalon should understand that its affluent character and its naming story are real and independently documented, even as specific current prices, listings, and amenities require direct confirmation.
None of the current (2026) population, home price, rental rate, or property tax figures are stated here beyond what's confirmed above, and none are invented. Anyone evaluating property in Avalon should confirm current civic, tax, and demographic details directly with the Borough of Avalon and Cape May County government, check current flood-zone status directly with FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, 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 Avalon, New Jersey: the 2020 census population of 1,243 (down 91, or 6.8%, from 1,334 in 2010), total area of 5.06 square miles (4.27 square miles land, 0.79 square miles water), elevation of 7 feet above sea level, and summer population of up to 45,000, all per Wikipedia's Avalon, New Jersey entry; incorporation as a borough on April 18, 1892, from portions of Middle Township, following an April 16, 1892 referendum, per Wikipedia; Forbes's 2007 ranking of Avalon as the 65th most expensive ZIP code in the United States, the 2010 census figures of $88,527 median household income, $135,781 median family income, and $99,655 per capita income, Wikipedia's description of Avalon as one of the most affluent communities along the Jersey Shore with some of the most expensive real estate on the East Coast, and Washingtonian magazine's naming of Avalon as the chicest beach in the Mid-Atlantic, per Wikipedia; the naming of Avalon by Rev. Charles Henry Bond around 1887-1888 after the mythical Isle of Avalon of Arthurian legend, and his later founding of the town's first newspaper, The Round Table, per the Seven Mile Times' feature on Avalon's naming; the "Cooler by a Mile" motto reflecting Avalon's real position roughly one mile farther into the Atlantic than neighboring barrier islands, and the town's largely-vanished native juniper forest and ongoing rock-jetty and beach-replenishment efforts, per Wikipedia; and the shared founding of Avalon and Stone Harbor by the Seven Mile Beach Company in 1887 on Seven Mile Island's northern and southern halves, respectively, per Wikipedia. This is this site's sixth New Jersey market, following Cape May, Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, North Wildwood, and Stone Harbor; New Jersey's state sales tax and property tax structure are genuinely different from Delaware's no-sales-tax system, and current rates were not independently confirmed this research pass. Current (2026) population, median home price, active listing counts, rental rates, property tax figures, current jetty count or beach-replenishment project details, whether The Round Table newspaper still publishes today, specific current business or restaurant names, specific current flood zone designations, and any 2025-2026 storm or erosion events were not independently verified this research pass and are not invented here -- confirm directly with the Borough of Avalon, Cape May County government, the State of New Jersey, and FEMA's Flood Map Service Center. Nothing on this page is legal, tax, or financial advice.