Avalon is a borough in Cape May County, New Jersey, on Seven Mile Island. As of the 2010 United States Census, the full-time borough population was 1,334, although it swells during the summer months. The population declined by 809 (-37.8%) from the 2,143 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 334 (+18.5%) from the 1,809 counted in the 1990 Census.The community is one of the most affluent communities along the Jersey Shore and is home to some of the most expensive real estate on the East Coast. In 2007, Forbes listed Avalon as the 65th most expensive zip code in the United States. Washingtonian even "named Avalon the 'chicest beach' in the mid-Atlantic, the place to see women in diamonds and designer swimwear." A small portion of Avalon is not on Seven Mile Island. The borough is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area.Avalon was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 18, 1892, from portions of Middle Township, based on the results of a referendum held two days earlier. The borough was reincorporated on March 6, 1896, and again on May 4, 1897. Another portion of Middle Township was annexed in 1910. On December 27, 1941, portions of Avalon were ceded to Stone Harbor. The borough is named for Avalon of Arthurian legend.
