Will These 16 Towns in New Jersey Become Ghost Towns By 2100?

People usually think that New Jersey, because it's a smaller state geographically, is a densely population state and in many areas it is. According to Quora, "New Jersey is the most densely populated state in the U.S. at 1263 people per square mile. New York State and Pennsylvania each have more people then NJ but a lot more territory. NY has 429 people per square mile. PA has only 291 people per square mile." However, in some sections of the Garden State, it can seem like a "Ghost Town" without the tumbleweed lol

Get our free mobile app

This article from NJ.com caught my attention because it looked at towns in New Jersey that could become Ghost towns by the year 2100. "The study used population data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau from 2000 and 2020 to identify current population trends." According to NJ.com ...

These 16 New Jersey locations could see population declines of more than 40% by 2100:

• Belleplain (Cape May County): 48.9%
• Vernon Valley (Sussex County): -46.95%
• Woodbine (Cape May County): -46.30%
• Vernon Center (Sussex County): -46.22%
• Layton (Sussex County): -45.44%
• Ross Corner (Sussex County): -45.05%
• Avalon (Cape May County): -44.36%
• Marshallville (Cape May County): -43.49%
• North Wildwood (Cape May County): -42.67%
• Diamond Beach (Cape May County): -42.08%
• Alloway (Salem County): -42.08%
• Wildwood Crest (Cape May County): -41.55%
• Ocean View (Cape May County): -41.27%
• Andover (Sussex County): -40.82%
• Sea Isle City (Cape May County): -40.18%
• North Cape May (Cape May County): -40.05%

A note about this data: The list includes several Jersey Shore towns that often see big population swings through the year due to seasonality and whether homeowners declare properties as year-round residences.