Practical Living: Daily Life on a Tiny, Water-Dominant Footprint
Longport is a borough in Atlantic County, New Jersey, on the southwest corner of Absecon Island, an 8.1-mile-long barrier island it shares with Margate City, Ventnor City, and Atlantic City. The 2020 census counted 893 year-round residents, essentially flat from 895 in 2010 (down 0.2%), though down 15.1% from 1,054 in 2000. What sets Longport apart practically is its footprint: a total area of just 1.56 square miles, of which only 0.40 square miles is land and 1.16 square miles is water -- meaning the borough is roughly 74.49% water, among the highest water-to-land ratios of any market this site covers. This is this site's tenth New Jersey market, following Cape May, Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, North Wildwood, Stone Harbor, Avalon, Sea Isle City, Ocean City, and Strathmere, so New Jersey's tax and regulatory customs continue to differ from what Delaware buyers may expect. Here is what this research pass could confirm about year-round life on that small a footprint, and where the real gaps are.
A Small, Essentially Stable Year-Round Population
Longport's 2020 census population of 893 was down just 0.2% from 895 in 2010 -- effectively flat over that decade, though the longer trend shows a 15.1% decline from 1,054 residents in 2000. The 2010 census also recorded a population that was 98.88% white, a median age of 58.2, and notably low poverty rates, all consistent with a small, stable, older year-round community rather than a growing one.
This research pass did not confirm a current (2026) permanent population figure beyond that 2020 census count, nor current median home prices, active listing counts, or specific current rental rates for Longport. None of those figures are invented here -- treat the 2020 census numbers as the most recent independently confirmed baseline, and confirm anything more current directly with the Borough of Longport and Atlantic County.
A Borough That Is Nearly Three-Quarters Water
Longport's total area is just 1.56 square miles, and of that, only 0.40 square miles is land -- the remaining 1.16 square miles, roughly 74.49% of the borough, is water. That is among the highest water-to-land ratios of any market this site covers, and it means the amount of buildable, livable land in Longport is genuinely small even by the standards of other small barrier-island towns.
A footprint this compact shapes daily life directly: short distances between any two points in town, limited room for the borough to host services of its own, and a setting where water is never far from view. Anyone weighing year-round life here should factor in just how little land area 0.40 square miles actually is before assuming Longport functions like a larger town.
Leaning on Larger Neighbors for Everyday Services
A borough with only 0.40 square miles of land and 893 year-round residents cannot support the same density of grocery stores, pharmacies, schools, or medical facilities that a larger town can. Longport sits on the southwest corner of Absecon Island, sharing that 8.1-mile-long barrier island with Margate City, Ventnor City, and Atlantic City -- larger neighboring communities that year-round Longport residents typically look to for the everyday services a town this small does not have room for on its own.
This research pass did not confirm specific current grocery store, pharmacy, or school names serving Longport, current school district attendance-zone assignments, or the name of any hospital serving borough residents. None of that is invented here. Confirm current schools, medical facilities, and everyday services directly with the Borough of Longport and Atlantic County, and check current local resources for what is available in Margate City, Ventnor City, and Atlantic City as well.
Commute and Access on a Narrow Barrier Island
Because Longport occupies the southwest tip of Absecon Island alongside Margate City, Ventnor City, and Atlantic City, getting around and getting off the island both run through that shared strip of land. A footprint this small means short local trips, but it also means that access to the mainland, to larger shopping and medical destinations, and to points beyond the island depends on the same limited routes that the neighboring towns rely on too.
This research pass did not confirm current traffic patterns, bridge or roadway conditions, or seasonal congestion specifics for Longport or Absecon Island. Anyone considering year-round life here should factor in that a small, water-dominant borough's access to the wider region runs through shared, island-wide infrastructure, and should confirm current commute realities directly with the Borough of Longport and Atlantic County.
A Historically Documented Loss of Land to the Sea
Longport's water-dominant footprint today is not just a matter of how the borough was originally platted. Between 1900 and 1916, storms eroded 180 acres comprising ten numbered streets on the southern end of the barrier island, a documented, historical loss of platted land that significantly reshaped Longport's geography and still stands behind its water-heavy 74.49% ratio today.
This research pass did not confirm the precise boundaries of those ten lost streets or their original names beyond the general description of "ten numbered streets" and "180 acres." None of that detail is invented here -- it is noted as context for why Longport's land area is so limited relative to its total footprint, not as a current or ongoing event.
This Site's Tenth New Jersey Market: Different Tax and Regulatory Customs
Longport is this site's tenth New Jersey market, following Cape May, Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, North Wildwood, Stone Harbor, Avalon, Sea Isle City, Ocean City, and Strathmere. That matters practically: 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. Buyers coming from a Delaware frame of reference should not assume Delaware's tax framing carries over here.
Dated figures illustrate the scale involved, though they should not be treated as current: Longport ranked 22nd among New Jersey's most expensive ZIP codes in 2018, with a median home sale price of $767,500 in 2017, and its average property tax bill reached $10,872 in 2018, the highest in Atlantic County that year. This research pass did not confirm current Atlantic County or Borough of Longport property tax rates, New Jersey's current state sales tax rate, or specific current assessment figures. Confirm all of it directly with the relevant borough, county, and state offices before treating any of it as settled.
What This Research Pass Did Not Confirm
Current (2026) permanent population beyond the 2020 census figure of 893, 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 Atlantic County and Borough of Longport property tax rates, New Jersey's current state sales tax rate, and specific current assessment figures were likewise not confirmed -- direct those questions to Atlantic County government, the Borough of Longport's own finance office, and the State of New Jersey.
Specific current flood zone designations for individual Longport parcels were not confirmed -- check FEMA's Flood Map Service Center directly for any specific address. This research pass also did not confirm specific grocery store, pharmacy, school, hospital, or business names serving Longport, current school district attendance-zone assignments, current municipal staffing and service levels, or current traffic and commute conditions on Absecon Island. None of that is invented here -- confirm all of it directly with the Borough of Longport, Atlantic County, and the State of New Jersey before treating any of it as settled.
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Get a Free Agent Referral →Independent research. No ads. No sponsored listings. Longport's Atlantic County, New Jersey location on the southwest corner of Absecon Island (8.1 miles long, shared with Margate City, Ventnor City, and Atlantic City); its 2020 census population of 893 (down 0.2% from 895 in 2010, itself down 15.1% from 1,054 in 2000); its total area of 1.56 square miles (0.40 square miles land, 1.16 square miles water, roughly 74.49% aquatic); its documented 1900-1916 storm erosion of 180 acres comprising ten numbered streets; and dated figures including a 2018 ranking of 22nd among New Jersey's most expensive ZIP codes, a $767,500 median home sale price in 2017, and a $10,872 average property tax bill in 2018 (the highest in Atlantic County that year) are confirmed facts, cross-checked against this site's own research notes for Longport. New Jersey's sales-tax and property-tax structure differing from Delaware's no-sales-tax system is likewise confirmed. Current population beyond the 2020 census, current home prices and rental rates, current property tax and sales tax rates, current flood zone designations, specific grocery/pharmacy/school/hospital/business names, current school district assignments, current municipal staffing or service levels, and current traffic or commute conditions were not confirmed this research pass and are not invented here. Confirm current details directly with the Borough of Longport, Atlantic County government, the State of New Jersey, and FEMA's Flood Map Service Center. Nothing on this page is legal, tax, or financial advice.