Erma is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Lower Township in Cape May County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the CDP's population was 2,031, a decline of 103 from the 2010 census count of 2,134.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP had a total area of 3.360 mi2, including 3.260 mi2 of land and 0.100 mi2 of water (2.97%).

Demographics

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 2,134 people, 821 households, and 596 families in the CDP. The population density was 654.6 /mi2. There were 920 housing units at an average density of 282.2 /mi2. The racial makeup was 95.74% (2,043) White, 1.12% (24) Black or African American, 0.23% (5) Native American, 0.94% (20) Asian, 0.14% (3) Pacific Islander, 0.70% (15) from other races, and 1.12% (24) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.62% (56) of the population. Of the 821 households, 26.6% had children under the age of 18; 55.9% were married couples living together; 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present and 27.4% were non-families. Of all households, 22.9% were made up of individuals and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.04. 21.2% of the population were under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 21.4% from 25 to 44, 34.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44.4 years. For every 100 females, the population had 96.7 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 94.3 males.

2000 census

As of the 2000 United States census of 2000, there were 2,088 people, 751 households, and 561 families living in the CDP. The population density was 240.7 /km2. There were 846 housing units at an average density of 97.5 /km2. The racial makeup of the CDP was 97.22% White, 0.48% African American, 0.05% Native American, 1.05% Asian, 0.48% from other races, and 0.72% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.68% of the population. There were 751 households, out of which 38.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.7% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.2% were non-families. 20.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.24. In the CDP the population was spread out, with 28.4% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 12.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.6 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $64,261, and the median income for a family was $69,063. Males had a median income of $45,694 versus $21,923 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $20,765. About 1.8% of families and 3.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.9% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

The main transportation route for Erma is U.S. Route 9. The Cape May Airport is located in Lower Township, and has an Erma postal address though it is not in the CDP.

Government and infrastructure

The Lower Township Police Department station has an Erma address but is outside of the CDP.

Education

As with other parts of Lower Township, it is served by Lower Township School District for primary grades and Lower Cape May Regional School District (LCMR) for secondary grades; the latter operates Teitelman Middle School and Lower Cape May Regional High School. The LCMR district describes its facilities as being in Erma; the schools and district headquarters are not in the census-designated place. The Cape May County Herald, and the Press of Atlantic City describe the school complex as being in Erma. The elementary schools are in as follows: David C. Douglass Memorial Elementary School (pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten) is in Villas CDP. The other three elementary schools are in Cold Spring: Carl T. Mitnick (grades 1–2), Maud Abrams (grades 3–4), and Sandman Consolidated (grades 5–6). Students are also eligible to attend Cape May County Technical High School in the Cape May Court House area, which serves students from the entire county in its comprehensive and vocational programs, which are offered without charge to students who are county residents. Special needs students may be referred to Cape May County Special Services School District in the Cape May Court House area.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Erma include: