Census-designated place · Cape May County, New Jersey

Erma, New Jersey

Erma is a census-designated place in Cape May County, New Jersey, part of the Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ metro area. It has 1,959 residents. Erma, New Jersey has a quality-of-life score of 68 out of 100 (high), ranking #4,998 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within New Jersey it ranks #387 of 552 cities and towns. It ranks best on restaurants and bars (high), arts, entertainment and recreation (high) and income inequality (Gini index) (low). It ranks worst on natural hazard risk (high), drug overdose deaths (high) and child care cost burden (high).

68High

Quality-of-life score: #4,998 of 15,651 cities and towns
New Jersey: #387 of 552 in NJ
Population: 1,959 (2020-2024)
Land area: 3 mi²
Density: 671.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 3421660

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety57#6,649/15,637
Economy57#6,646/15,631
Housing20#12,040/14,977
Health55#7,003/15,609
Healthcare48#8,152/15,650
Environment57#6,615/15,453
Education76#3,788/15,649
Infrastructure48#8,151/15,650
Community95#754/15,651
Leisure & amenities100#64/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Erma, New Jersey ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Cape May County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Restaurants and bars · high32.0 /10k
100/100New Jersey 8.8 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCape May County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · high16.3 /10k
98/100New Jersey 4.6 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCape May County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.307
98/100New Jersey 0.478United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Pharmacies · high3.3 /10k
98/100New Jersey 2.4 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCape May County value
Students per teacher · low10.2×
97/100New Jersey 12.0×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsCape May County value
Gyms and fitness centers · high2.3 /10k
95/100New Jersey 1.7 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCape May County value

Weaknesses

Natural hazard risk · high91.6
8/100New Jersey 54.42025Federal Emergency Management AgencyCape May County value
Drug overdose deaths · high29.6 /100k
9/100New Jersey 15.8 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataCape May County value
Child care cost burden · high39.6%
10/100New Jersey 34.2%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCape May County value
Time spent in the emergency room · high222 min
12/100New Jersey 185 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesCape May County value
Average weekly wage · low$964
13/100New Jersey $1,659United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCape May County value
Unemployment rate · high8.3%
15/100New Jersey 5.2%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
20.4% (2015-2019) → 35.1% (2020-2024)
+15 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Average commute timeWorsening
16.3 min (2015-2019) → 22.1 min (2020-2024)
+36%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Rent as share of incomeImproving
25.9% (2015-2019) → 19.7% (2020-2024)
−6.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
3.5× (2015-2019) → 4.2× (2020-2024)
+20%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Poverty rateWorsening
1.0% (2015-2019) → 5.0% (2020-2024)
+3.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
42.9% (2015-2019) → 39.0% (2020-2024)
−3.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Erma, New Jersey improved on 1 of 9 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 8 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Bachelor's++15 points20.4% → 35.1%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 9 measures

Change of every measure of Erma, New Jersey between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	16.3 min2015-2019	22.1 min2020-2024	+5.8 min	Within the margin of error	8%
Bachelor's degree or higher	20.4%2015-2019	35.1%2020-2024	+15 points	Improved	97%
Broadband subscriptions	93.7%2015-2019	91.3%2020-2024	−2.3 points	Within the margin of error	4%
Child poverty rate	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Effective property tax rate	1.60%2015-2019	1.22%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	83%
High school diploma or higher	94.9%2015-2019	95.6%2020-2024	+0.7 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Home price to income ratio	3.5×2015-2019	4.2×2020-2024	+0.7×	Within the margin of error	36%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3062015-2019	0.3072020-2024	+0.001	Within the margin of error	49%
Median household income	$84,8032015-2019	$96,8852020-2024	+14%	Within the margin of error	22%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Erma, New Jersey five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Erma, New Jersey in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Erma, New Jersey itself moved −5.6 points in standing on average over the same 8 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

1,959 residents (±388)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Under 10 women (+6.5 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

1,959 residents (±388)

Erma, New Jersey
New Jersey share

White77%1,503
Black0.9%†17
Hispanic or Latino7.4%†145

Education

1,417 residents (±277)

Erma, New Jersey
New Jersey share

No high school diploma4.4%†62
High school or GED31%435
Some college21%†299

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

794 households (±147)

Erma, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Under $25k3.3%†26
$25k–50k12%†99
$50k–75k21%†164
$75k–100k15%†123
$100k–150k28%†223
$150k–200k9.2%†73
$200k or more11%†86

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $200k or more (+9.4 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

794 households (±147)

Erma, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Own79%631
Rent21%†163

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

154 households (±82)

Erma, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Under $7500.0%0
$750–1,00020%†31
$1,000–1,50029%†44

Home values

631 homes (±134)

Erma, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Under $150k5.5%†35
$150k–250k21%†134
$250k–400k22%†137

Age of homes

836 homes (±155)

Erma, New Jersey
New Jersey share

2010 or later1.6%†13
2000–20096.1%†51
1980–199937%†306

Size of homes

836 homes (±155)

Erma, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Studio1.9%†16
1 bedroom2.6%†22
2 bedrooms20%†165

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

966 workers (±212)

Erma, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Drive alone73%708
Carpool14%†139
Public transit0.2%†2
Walk3.5%†34
Bike0.3%†3
Work from home8.3%†80
Other0.0%0

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

886 workers (±199)

Erma, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Under 15 min43%†385
15–29 min31%†274
30–44 min8.0%†71

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Cape May County, the county holding most of Erma's residents.

Cape May County has 3,816 employer establishments, 403 for every 10,000 residents (1.63× the US rate of 248; 1.59× New Jersey's), with 28,065 paid employees at an average annual pay of $54,736. The Census Bureau also counts 9,271 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 3,816; 9,271 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 403; US 248 · New Jersey 253
Paid employees: 28,065
Average annual pay: $54,736; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Cape May County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Restaurants and other eating places	612	64.7	3.52×More than typical	4,237	$53,499	54
Full-service restaurants	302	31.9	4.16×More than typical	3,193	$57,384	18
Specialty trade contractors	292	30.9	1.99×More than typical	1,513	$54,675	612
Traveler accommodation	202	21.4	11.8×More than typical	1,236	$65,708	63
Lessors of real estate	190	20.1	1.63×More than typical	745	$59,091	2,234
Limited-service restaurants	184	19.5	2.43×More than typical	683	$41,615	27
Construction of buildings	178	18.8	2.49×More than typical	762	$60,042	344
Services to buildings and dwellings	173	18.3	2.71×More than typical	812	$46,717	446
Ambulatory health care services	159	16.8	0.81×About typical	1,355	$74,917	296
Clothing and accessories stores	150	15.9	4.37×More than typical	614	$39,493	128
Building equipment contractors	124	13.1	2.18×More than typical	685	$55,369	113
Amusement, gambling and recreation industries	122	12.9	4.85×More than typical	712	$79,524	122

Rank places for an industry Open Cape May County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 94,577 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $62.2M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Erma, New Jersey: $31,733 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $62.2M; +1,031% vs FY2025
Per resident: $31,733; US $1,994
Sole-source: 1.2%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.9%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

U.S. Coast Guard$62.1M99.8%
Department of the Army$86.8K0.1%
Federal Acquisition Service$9,3950.0%
Federal Prison Industries / Unicor$3,8590.0%
Defense Logistics Agency$2,2450.0%

Top recipients

WHITING-TURNER CONTRACTING COMPANY, THE$57M92%
DISTRICT VETERANS CONTRACTING, INC.$1.6M2.6%
B3 ENTERPRISES LLC$1M1.6%
CCI ENERGY AND CONSTRUCTION SERVICES, LLC$627.5K1.0%
TERRA SITE CONSTRUCTORS LLC$528K0.8%

Spending by fiscal year

3.1MFY2017
2.4MFY2018
9.3MFY2019
3.9MFY2020
4.3MFY2021
5.1MFY2022
5.8MFY2023
3.1M

Top industries (NAICS)

Nonresidential building construction · 2362$60.7M98%
Utility system construction · 2371$264.7K0.4%
Highway, street, and bridge construction · 2373$263.3K0.4%
Ship and boat building · 3366$179.6K0.3%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$171.2K0.3%
Special food services · 7223$134.6K0.2%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Erma, New Jersey, so they do not add up across cities.

Erma, New Jersey's figures are part of those of Cape May County, NJ ($506.6M in FY2026), never added to them: 12% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Erma is mostly in Cape May County.

See federal money in Cape May County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Erma, New Jersey is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Jefferson Van DrewR-NJ-2 · 100% of residentsWith party 95%Missed 1.5%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Cape May County84100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ70

Other cities and towns in Cape May County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/3421660

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends