Wildwood Crest, New Jersey
Wildwood Crest, New Jersey | |
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Wildwood Crest arch | |
Location of Wildwood Crest in Cape May County highlighted in red (left). Inset map: Location of Cape May County in New Jersey highlighted in orange (right). | |
Census Bureau map of Wildwood Crest, New Jersey | |
Location in Cape May County Location in New Jersey | |
| Coordinates: 38°58′N 74°50′W / 38.97°N 74.83°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New Jersey |
| County | Cape May |
| Incorporated | April 6, 1910 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Walsh Act |
| • Body | Board of Commissioners |
| • Mayor | Donald Cabrera (term ends December 31, 2025) |
| • Municipal clerk | Patricia A. Feketics |
| Area | |
• Total | 1.48 sq mi (3.84 km2) |
| • Land | 1.30 sq mi (3.36 km2) |
| • Water | 0.18 sq mi (0.48 km2) 12.50% |
| • Rank | 452nd of 565 in state 13th of 16 in county |
| Elevation | 3 ft (0.9 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 3,101 |
• Estimate (2023) | 3,063 |
| • Rank | 445th of 565 in state 8th of 16 in county |
| • Density | 2,388.6/sq mi (922.2/km2) |
| • Rank | 260th of 565 in state 2nd of 16 in county |
| Time zone | UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT)) |
| ZIP Code | 08260 |
| Area code | 609 |
| FIPS code | 3400981200 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0885445 |
| Website | www |
Wildwood Crest is a borough in Cape May County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The borough, and all of Cape May County, is part of the Ocean City metropolitan statistical area, and is part of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD combined statistical area, also known as the Delaware Valley or Philadelphia metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 3,101, a decrease of 169 (−5.2%) from the 2010 census count of 3,270, which in turn reflected a decline of 710 (−17.8%) from the 3,980 counted in the 2000 census.
Wildwood Crest was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 6, 1910, from portions of Lower Township. The area of the borough was first developed by Philip Baker in the 1910s as a southern extension to the resort of Wildwood. The borough's name comes from Wildwood, which in turn was named for the area's wild flowers.
It is a dry town, where alcohol cannot be sold, affirmed by the results of a referendum held in 1940. Wildwood Crest joins Cape May Point and Ocean City among municipalities in Cape May restricting the sale of alcohol. Adjoining Wildwood allows the sale of alcohol, including at bars on its boardwalk.
The borough was ranked the second-best beach in New Jersey in the 2008 "Top 10 Beaches Contest" sponsored by the New Jersey Marine Sciences Consortium. Wildwood Crest is one of five municipalities in the state that offer free public access to oceanfront beaches monitored by lifeguards, joining Atlantic City, North Wildwood, Wildwood and Upper Township's Strathmere section.