Lakewood is a larger medium-sized town located in the state of New Jersey. With a population of 69,398 people and 20 associated neighborhoods, Lakewood is the 15th largest community in New Jersey. Lakewood has seen a significant amount of newer housing growth in recent years. Quite often, new home construction is the result of new residents moving in who are middle class or wealthier, attracted by jobs, a healthy local economy, or other amenities as they leave nearby or far away areas for greener pastures. This seems to be the case in Lakewood, where the median household income is $54,826.00.
Lakewood home prices are not only among the most expensive in New Jersey, but Lakewood real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.
One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 12.94% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.
Another interesting thing about Lakewood, despite not being a huge town, is that there is a relatively high proportion of people living here who are young, single, and upwardly-mobile professionals. This makes it a good choice for other relocating single professionals. Here, these young singles will find many others like themselves, with opportunities for friendships, socializing, romance, and fun.
In terms of college education, Lakewood is substantially better educated than the typical community in the nation, which has 21.84% of the adults holding a bachelor's degree or graduate degree: 32.69% of adults in Lakewood have a college degree.
The per capita income in Lakewood in 2022 was $17,817, which is low income relative to New Jersey and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $71,268 for a family of four. However, Lakewood contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Lakewood also has one of the higher rates of people living in poverty in the nation, with 30.14% of its population below the federal poverty line.
Lakewood is a somewhat ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Lakewood home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Lakewood residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Lakewood also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 11.68% of the town’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Lakewood include Polish, European, Hungarian, Russian, and German.
The most common language spoken in Lakewood is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and German/Yiddish.