Is Atlantic City the last affordable Shore town?

Atlantic City is the closest beach to Philadelphia, a straight shot southeast from the bridges.

Depending on the time of year, how heavy your foot is, and whether you have E-ZPass, day-trippers can dig their toes into the sand while other tourists are still driving south on the Garden State Parkway or down Route 72 into Long Beach Island.

Visitors can grab a meal and maybe catch a show before heading home. Or not: The city boasts a whopping 17,000-plus hotel rooms.

“We live in Center City, around Spring Garden, and unless there’s traffic, we can get to Atlantic City in 58 minutes,” said Philadelphia resident Andrew Kleeman.

Kleeman, 62, doesn’t get a room or drive back to Philly, though. He purchased an Atlantic City condo with a gym, pool, and balcony ocean views last year in the Lower Chelsea district for $250,000. He thinks it’s one of the safer bets he’s ever made.

“We were renting, for many, many years in Ventnor and Margate, and the prices were just getting insane,” he said.

When it comes to summer vacations, whether it’s the dream of a second home or even a weekly rental, Atlantic City has, for the most part, not been in the conversation. Perceptions of safety have played a part in that, but Atlantic City’s also been thought of as a playground for adults, not families.

“That’s strictly because of the gaming element,” said Gary Musich, CEO of Visit Atlantic City. “But there is more to this region. This is the Jersey Shore.”

The family markets, for decades now, have centered on Shore towns like Ocean City or Sea Isle City, and, if you’re higher up the economic ladder, Stone Harbor or Cape May. Wildwood, once considered the Shore’s most affordable option, regularly sees homes selling for over $1 million.

And all this time, Atlantic City’s been the most affordable option, with free beaches too. According to Redfin, the median sale price there over the last year is $175,000. In Ocean City, the median is $1.3 million. In Ventnor, just south of Atlantic City, the median is $775,000.

Since the Jersey Shore is, by geography, a finite resource, real estate agents in Atlantic City expect the rising tide of demand to hit soon.

“There’s nowhere else to go. All the other Shore towns are too expensive, and Atlantic City is wide open,” said local broker Sheldon Grace. “I’ve been here 44 years selling real estate, and mostly, people were scratching their heads, wondering what was going on. That’s about to change, though.”

Kurt Kwart, an Atlantic City firefighter, is investing in local properties and owns a short-term rental on Ocean Avenue with his wife, Beth, in the city’s up-and-coming Orange Loop district. The Kwarts, who met in Atlantic City and live there, said families can come to the city and drive to the boardwalk in Ocean City at night, and still save money.

“Plus, it’s a year-round destination, unlike a lot of other Shore towns,” Kwart said.

The reason Atlantic City hasn’t had the hottest second-home or rental market isn’t a mystery, even for its enthusiasts. It is, after all, a true city, unlike Ocean City. Atlantic City has approximately 38,497 residents who also need housing. There are higher levels of poverty and crime there than in most other Shore towns. For example, approximately 135 robberies were reported in the city from March 2025 to March 2026. Wildwood reported three. Avalon had none.

Atlantic City enthusiasts say crime is situational, like in most cities, and rarely random.

“There are places in Atlantic City where you don’t run into that at all,” Beth Kwart said. “There are neighborhoods, like Lower Chelsea and Venice Park, that are like any other Shore town.”

Kurt Kwart pointed out that Atlantic City is “full of cameras.”

“Things have changed quite a bit,” he said. “There’s major surveillance here, 24 / 7.”

Kleeman says he’s accustomed to city living, and that made the transition to Atlantic City a little easier.

“I don’t feel unsafe there,” he said.

Mayor Marty Small, a lifelong resident, is biased, but says Atlantic City has always offered more than every other Shore town.

“It’s a tourist destination that just happens to have the best, free beaches and the best boardwalk in the world,” he said.

Small said he didn’t think a burgeoning residential or rental market would affect the city’s full-time residents and wasn’t concerned that a growing short-term rental market would affect locals, as it does in resort towns like Key West or Aspen.

“Airbnbs, as long as they follow the rules and aren’t a nuisance to neighbors, are not a problem,” Small said. “Now is the time, because we have amazing potential in the real estate market.”

While Atlantic City has a free beach, its own amusement pier, and a waterpark, the Kwarts said the bulk of their renters are young adults having bachelor or bachelorette parties, convention center attendees, or people celebrating milestones.

“For anyone coming here to celebrate anything, this is still the place to be,” Beth Kwart said.

Currently, you can buy a fully renovated three-bedroom town house within walking distance of the Boardwalk and beach in the Inlet neighborhood for $199,000. An empty, 1,742-square-foot lot is for sale for $220,000, and, if you’re looking to invest in rentals, a six-unit, 11-bedroom building with ocean views is up for $999,000.

“If you want to invest,” Grace said, “now’s the time to jump in.”

The view from the back deck of the Kwarts’ short-term rental reflects the new Atlantic City: There’s a beer garden in the backyard, basically, along with a yoga studio, new town houses, and apartments just blocks away.

A boutique hotel was under construction next door in early March. It’s clear developers are jumping in.

“There’s so much going on here,” Kurt Kwart said.