Cape May, NJ, Named 2024’s Best Towns in America With Fewer Than 10,000 Residents

It seems that Cape May New Jersey makes the best of list for just about everything.

Well they made another list, landing on Far and Wide’s list of the 100 best Small Towns in America to Live In or Visit. The list focuses on lesser-known towns across the county with 10,000 residents or fewer, and Cape May landed on the list, coming in at No. 49 overall with a year round population of 2,768.

Cape May isn’t shy about boasting its status as “America’s oldest seaside resort.” But this age doesn’t mean it’s rickety or stodgy. On the contrary, its Victorian houses are just as glamorous as when they were built, while its more modern offerings include pedestrian-friendly shops and restaurants, as well as annual jazz and film festivals.

The publication narrowed it down to 100 sorted the towns from the most to least populated, so things like shopping, restaurants, historical landmarks and beaches and other activities were not taken into consideration when the towns were ranked.

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Cape May was one of two New Jersey towns to make the list, with two nearby towns from Delaware also making the list.

The article listed a fun fact when it came to Cape May, talking about its impressive number of maintained Victorian buildings, the entire town is a National Historic Landmark.

Coming in at No. 32 on the list is a quick ferry ride to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

Rehoboth Beach is the perfect place to sit back, relax and feel time slow down. Visitors often feel disconnected from the “real” world, as they spend their days eating fresh seafood, bumming on the beach or  doing excursions to the sand dunes of Cape Henlopen State Park.

The home of Dogfish head has a year-round population of 1,496.

Also making this list is directly on the other side of the Delaware River and a short ferry ride from Cape May, coming in at 54, Lewes Delaware with a population of 3,303.

Found where the Atlantic Ocean joins the Delaware Bay is Lewes, which offers plenty of beaches, water activities and seafood in its charming restaurants. The town center has pedestrian streets and ample shopping locations as well.

A fun fact that Far and Wide points out about Lewes is that its the state's first town in the country's first state.

You can see the full list of 100 towns here.

Going to visit Cape May?  Check out some of these great restaurants!