The Real Cost of Owning in Longport, New Jersey
Longport is a borough of 893 residents (2020 census, down 0.2% from 895 in 2010, itself down 15.1% from 1,054 in 2000) on the southwest corner of Absecon Island in Atlantic County, New Jersey, an 8.1-mile barrier island it shares with Margate City, Ventnor City, and Atlantic City. This page does not state a current median home price, active listing count, property tax rate, or rental-rate figure, because none of those numbers were confirmed during this research pass, and inventing them would do a prospective buyer more harm than good. What is confirmed, and dated, is that 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. Those are 2017 and 2018 figures, not current 2026 numbers, and should not be read as today's pricing or tax reality. What has not changed since is Longport's geography: at just 1.56 square miles total, only 0.40 square miles is land against 1.16 square miles of water, meaning the borough is roughly 74.49% water today, among the highest water-to-land ratios of any market on this site, and that geography carries real, practical cost implications for flood insurance and waterfront upkeep addressed below. Get current numbers from a local real estate agent and Atlantic County records before budgeting a purchase.
This Site's Tenth New Jersey Market: Still Not Delaware
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, and the same caution applies here that applied at each of those: New Jersey's tax structure, coastal-construction customs, and municipal rules are different from Delaware's, and nothing about how costs work in a Delaware market should be assumed to carry over to Longport.
New Jersey has its own state sales tax and its own property-tax structure, genuinely different from Delaware's no-sales-tax system. Atlantic County and the Borough of Longport set their own property tax rates and assessment practices under New Jersey law. Confirming exactly how those rules apply to a specific property is a job for the Borough of Longport's own finance office, Atlantic County government, and the State of New Jersey directly, not something this page will estimate.
Purchase Price: Two Real Numbers, Both from 2017 and 2018
Longport ranked 22nd among New Jersey's most expensive ZIP codes in 2018, with a median home sale price of $767,500 in 2017. Those figures are real and independently documented, but they are also eight years old at the time of this writing, and should not be treated as a current asking price, a current median, or any kind of 2026 valuation. A market that ranked among the state's most expensive in 2018 could easily have moved substantially in either direction since, and this page will not guess which way or by how much.
This page will not state a current median home price, price-per-square-foot figure, or active listing count, because none was confirmed this research pass. Get current pricing and comparable-sale data from a local real estate agent who works Longport and Absecon Island specifically, since pricing dynamics here can differ from neighboring Margate City, Ventnor City, and Atlantic City despite sharing the same barrier island.
Property Tax: A Documented 2018 Figure, Not a Current Rate
Longport's average property tax bill reached $10,872 in 2018, the highest in Atlantic County that year. That figure is real and documented, and it signals that Longport has historically carried a genuinely high tax burden relative to its neighbors, but it is a 2018 average, not a current rate, and it should not be used to estimate a specific property's tax bill today.
A separate, more recent data point comes from litigation rather than routine assessment: court evidence in the Seaview Harbor secession case (addressed in more detail on this destination's other pages) showed that a $1 million home would face roughly $9,800 per year in Longport, versus roughly $31,400 per year in neighboring Egg Harbor Township. That comparison is undated to a specific tax year beyond the case record and comes from litigation evidence, not a current assessment schedule, so it should be read as directional rather than a number to plan a budget around. Before budgeting a purchase, get the current Atlantic County and Borough of Longport property tax rate and the current assessment methodology directly from Atlantic County government and the borough's finance office.
A Borough That Is Three-Quarters Water: What That Means for Insurance
Longport's total area is just 1.56 square miles, and only 0.40 square miles of that 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 built on this site, and it is not an abstract statistic: it reflects a real, dated history. Between 1900 and 1916, storms eroded 180 acres comprising ten numbered streets on the barrier island's southern end, permanently reshaping Longport's geography, a documented historical loss of platted streets to the sea, not merely beach narrowing over time.
A borough this water-dominant means flood insurance and windstorm coverage are a real, ongoing cost of ownership rather than an optional add-on, for a single-family home, a condo, or a waterfront property with its own dock. Properties on or near Longport's extensive shoreline and bayside frontage should also expect dock and bulkhead maintenance as a real, recurring cost category, separate from standard homeowners coverage. This page does not state a specific current flood-insurance premium, bulkhead-repair cost, or dock-maintenance figure, because none was confirmed this research pass. Get a current flood-zone determination for any specific parcel from FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, and get a current premium quote from a licensed insurance agent familiar with coastal Atlantic County property before making an offer.
Maintaining a Property on a Water-Dominant Barrier Island
Salt air, wind-driven moisture, and Longport's low, exposed, water-surrounded position put real, ongoing wear on roofing, siding, HVAC, plumbing, and electrical systems, whether a property is older shore-cottage stock or a newer, larger build. Waterfront and bayside properties with private docks, like those in the neighboring Seaview Harbor enclave just across the municipal line, carry an added maintenance category: docks, bulkheads, and boat-slip infrastructure all need regular upkeep against tidal wear, storms, and marine growth.
Longport also has a real, current civic effort addressed elsewhere on this site's coverage of the town: in July 2025, the borough installed seven educational dune-protection signs along beach crossovers after officials observed beachgoers standing on protective dunes, including to watch July 4th fireworks. The $5,000 initiative, funded through a CAFRA Trust Fund donation with signs costing roughly $700 each to install, is a small but genuine signal that dune stewardship is an active, present-day concern here, not just a historical one. This page does not state a specific current renovation-cost figure, permitting timeline, or review process for exterior or dock work, because none was confirmed this research pass. Get a full inspection from someone experienced with older Jersey Shore and waterfront construction, and ask the Borough of Longport's zoning office directly what review applies to a specific property before buying.
Rental Income Potential in a Small, Dense-Value Market
Longport's year-round population of just 893 sits within a small, 0.40-square-mile land footprint on Absecon Island, shared with the much larger Margate City, Ventnor City, and Atlantic City nearby. That combination of scarce land, a documented history of high per-property values, and proximity to Atlantic City's much larger visitor base is a structurally reasonable foundation for seasonal-rental demand, even though this page cannot state a specific occupancy rate or weekly rental figure.
A seasonal-rental strategy in a market like this carries real cost categories worth planning for: property management and turnover between guests, seasonal staffing and cleaning costs, higher wear on furnishings and systems from short-term guest turnover, and, for waterfront properties, added liability and insurance considerations tied to private docks. This page does not state a specific rental rate, occupancy percentage, or management-fee figure, because none was confirmed this research pass. Ask a local property manager and a local real estate agent who works short-term rentals in Longport specifically for current numbers before budgeting a purchase intended for seasonal income.
The Seaview Harbor Tax Differential: A Real Case Study, Not a Rate Card
Longport's low relative tax burden is not just a historical average, it was also tested in court. Beginning around 2014, owners in Seaview Harbor, a 92-home waterfront subdivision with private docks plus a restaurant and marina with 300 boat slips, technically part of neighboring Egg Harbor Township, petitioned for a decade to secede from Egg Harbor Township and join Longport instead, citing a documented tax differential where a $1 million home faced roughly $31,400 per year in Egg Harbor Township versus roughly $9,800 per year in Longport. Egg Harbor Township's Township Committee denied the petition in 2016, a trial judge ruled against secession in February 2020, the New Jersey Appellate Division affirmed in a 48-page opinion in December 2021, and the New Jersey Supreme Court denied further appeal shortly after, ending the litigation with Seaview Harbor remaining part of Egg Harbor Township.
That saga is real, well documented, and worth knowing as context for how meaningfully municipal boundaries can affect a New Jersey property tax bill even between adjacent towns on the same barrier island, but it is a single litigated comparison from a specific case record, not a current rate schedule, and it should not be used to estimate any specific property's tax bill today. This page has not confirmed whether Seaview Harbor residents pursued any further legal or legislative avenue after the Supreme Court's denial, and does not state one.
Adding It Up: What Is Real, and What We Will Not Invent
What is confirmed and real here: Longport is a borough of 893 residents (2020 census, down 0.2% from 895 in 2010) on the southwest corner of Absecon Island in Atlantic County, with a total area of 1.56 square miles, only 0.40 square miles of land against 1.16 square miles of water, roughly 74.49% water; it ranked 22nd among New Jersey's most expensive ZIP codes in 2018, with a median home sale price of $767,500 in 2017; its average property tax bill reached $10,872 in 2018, the highest in Atlantic County that year; between 1900 and 1916, storms eroded 180 acres comprising ten numbered streets from the barrier island's southern end; the Seaview Harbor secession litigation documented a $31,400-versus-$9,800 annual tax differential for a $1 million home, fully resolved against Seaview Harbor by 2022; and in July 2025 the borough installed seven educational dune-protection signs at a cost of roughly $5,000. This is also this site's tenth New Jersey market, carrying the same different-from-Delaware tax structure flagged at every prior New Jersey build on this site.
What we could not find, and will not fill in with an invented figure: a current median home price, active listing count, typical rental rate, current Atlantic County or Borough of Longport property tax rate, or a specific current flood-insurance or dock-maintenance premium. The 2017 median-sale-price figure and the 2018 tax-bill and ZIP-ranking figures cited above are real but dated, and should not be treated as current pricing or tax levels. Get current numbers directly from a local real estate agent who works this specific borough, current tax and assessment information from Atlantic County records and the Borough of Longport finance office, a current flood-zone determination from FEMA, and a current insurance quote from a licensed agent before budgeting a purchase.
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Get a Free Agent Referral →Independent research. No ads. No sponsored listings. Data drawn from research on Longport, New Jersey, including its location on the southwest corner of Absecon Island in Atlantic County, an 8.1-mile barrier island 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); a total area of 1.56 square miles (0.40 land, 1.16 water, roughly 74.49% water); the borough's 22nd-place ranking among New Jersey's most expensive ZIP codes in 2018, alongside a $767,500 median home sale price in 2017 and a $10,872 average property tax bill in 2018 (Wikipedia); the 1900-1916 storm erosion of 180 acres and ten numbered streets from the barrier island's southern end (Wikipedia); the Seaview Harbor secession litigation (2014-2022), including its 92 homes, private docks, restaurant and marina with 300 boat slips, roughly $100 million combined assessed value, the $31,400-versus-$9,800 annual tax-differential evidence for a $1 million home, the 2016 Township Committee denial, the February 2020 trial ruling, the December 2021 48-page Appellate Division opinion, and the subsequent New Jersey Supreme Court denial of further appeal (The Philadelphia Inquirer; Press of Atlantic City; DownBeach); and the July 2025 installation of seven educational dune-protection signs at a cost of roughly $5,000, funded through a CAFRA Trust Fund donation, including Zoning Officer Bruce Funk's quoted remarks (DownBeach, July 2025). 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, and New Jersey's tax structure and coastal rules are treated as genuinely different from the Delaware markets built earlier on this site rather than assumed to carry over. A current 2026 median home price, active listing count, specific rental rates, current Atlantic County or Borough of Longport property tax rate, and flood-insurance or dock-maintenance premium were not independently confirmed this research pass and are disclosed as gaps rather than invented; the 2017 median-sale-price figure and the 2018 tax-bill and ZIP-ranking figures cited above are real but dated and are not presented as current pricing or tax levels. Prices, tax rates, and insurance requirements change; confirm current numbers with a local real estate agent, Atlantic County government, the Borough of Longport, FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, and a licensed insurance agent before making any purchase decision. Nothing on this page is legal, tax, or financial advice.