Community Profile: Atlantic City, NJ Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)

Historical Information

Reflecting its cool breezes, beaches, and generally mild winters, Atlantic City has long been a major tourist resort. Once the summer home of the Lenni-Lenape Indians, the area’s metamorphosis from a quiet coastal fishing community to a vacation resort began in the middle of the 19th century when a group of businessmen secured a railroad charter that provided for the construction of the Camden-Atlantic rail line. In 1854, Atlantic City was incorporated. The city soon began drawing droves of vacationers from up and down the eastern seaboard. Several amusement piers built in the 1880s further enhanced the area’s attractiveness. In the 1920s, Atlantic City became the premier tryout town for theatrical productions headed for Broadway.

The area’s tourism industry deteriorated in the 1950s, as the commercial airline industry began providing tourists with economical passage to more distant destinations. By the 1960s, the city and its hotels were visibly run-down, a situation that was brought home to a national audience at the time of the 1964 Democratic National Convention. In an effort to revitalize the area, gambling was legalized in Atlantic City in the late 1970s. The first casino-hotel, Resorts International, opened in May 1978 and was quickly followed by 10 others. Today, the gaming industry is the metropolitan area’s primary economic engine, attracting more than 30 million visitors annually to the area. Despite the economic impact of casino gaming, large parts of the city still show the scars from decades of neglect and disinvestment.

Historical data for the Atlantic City, NJ MSA can be found on the following websites:

Last updated: Monday, October 29, 2007

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