Cape May County has the highest percentage of people over age 65 of any region in New Jersey – with its year-round senior citizen population now outnumbering the children in its schools.
For a tourism-rich county whose summertime inhabitants swell to as many as 820,000 and then recede like the tide to about 93,000 in the winter months, the aging of its elastic population is a significant new planning challenge.
The county’s population of seniors is 33% of its total population, while the percentage of those under 18 is slightly less than 16%, according to U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey data compiled in 2025.
The early steps taken in 2026 to build an Age-Friendly Cape May Coalition come at a crucial time for New Jersey’s southernmost county, whose 274 square miles stretch from the sandy beaches of the Atlantic Ocean to the natural strands along Delaware Bay.
The efforts, which have included conducting “key informant” interviews, focus groups and a community needs assessment, are being led by the Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Cape May County’s Family and Community Health Sciences (FCHS) Department.
“Cape May is unique in so many ways,” said Christine Zellers, an assistant professor with Rutgers Cooperative Extension, who is leading Cape May’s grant project in partnership with county government and key health care and civic organizations.
“This grant presented us with an exciting opportunity to build on Cape May County’s strengths and create a more inclusive, supportive environment for older adults,” Zellers said. “By engaging our community and aligning with national best practices, we ensure all CMC residents can age healthy.”
In many ways, Cape May County – which officially joined the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities in February 2026 – is a textbook example of why the worldwide age-friendly movement emphasizes the need to adopt local strategies to address the global challenges and opportunities of population aging.
Local governments, police forces, public health officials and other providers in Cape May have for decades had to plan how to both stretch and retract their services to accommodate tourists and seasonal residents. They’ve also had to adapt to a growing trend of older residents who are now making what used to be their second homes their permanent residences in retirement.
“Many older homeowners give up what had been their primary residences and make Cape May their year-round home,” Zellers said. “For many, this means they end up living a greater distance away from their families and support networks.”
“It’s really interesting to us as we’ve been conducting research for this grant the number of times that people say they routinely check in on their neighbors,” Zellers added. . “Residents of Cape May County often look out for their aging neighbors, regularly checking in and, in some cases, providing extraordinary levels of support and care to individuals who are not family members.”
The Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Cape May County has sought to be strategic in its information gathering, seeking out one-on-one interviews and focus groups with key providers such as Meals on Wheels delivery representatives, public health nurses, the police chiefs’ association and the heads of county human services and aging divisions. Other partners in the effort include the local AARP and RSVP chapters as well as representatives from the Atlantic Care and Cooper Hospital systems.
The results of the community assessment and other research was still being tabulated and analyzed when the grant period ended June 30, but Zellers said Rutgers Cooperative Extension will continue its work, including the next step of helping local leaders develop a multi-year age-friendly action plan and Age-Friendly Coalition to carry out work to make healthy aging in the county more expansive.
“Our focus will continue to be on laying the groundwork for a sustainable age-friendly initiative,” Zellers said.