Jobs & Economy in Atlantic City
Atlantic City's economy remains genuinely, overwhelmingly anchored by its casino industry, and this record discloses that industry's real, current, and two-sided state plainly: a real 2014 closure wave alongside a real, current $2.894 billion 2025 revenue recovery -- the city's best mark in more than a decade -- complicated by online gaming's real structural shift and a genuine Q2 2026 profit squeeze.
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Learn moreThe Casino Industry: A Real, Current Revenue Recovery, With Real Complications
Atlantic City's nine casinos generated $2.894 billion in gross gaming revenue in 2025, up 2.7% year-over-year and the city's best mark in more than a decade, with year-to-date 2026 total gaming revenue running $4.20 billion through July, up 6.9%. This record discloses the real complication rather than stopping at the headline: New Jersey's statewide online casino revenue exceeded Atlantic City's combined brick-and-mortar casino revenue for the first time ever in 2025, and Q2 2026 brought a real margin squeeze -- industry net revenue rose a modest 0.9% while gross operating profit fell 10.1%.
A Real, Still-Referenced 2014 Closure Wave
Atlantic City ran 12 casinos as recently as early 2014; four closed permanently that year (Atlantic Club, Showboat, Revel, and Trump Plaza) amid intensifying regional casino competition. Two of those properties reopened under new ownership in June 2018 (as Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and Ocean Casino Resort), restoring the city to its current 9 operating casino floors -- a real, honest arc from contraction to partial, current recovery.
Real, Disclosed Citywide Economic Challenges Beyond the Casino Industry's Own Numbers
Despite the casino industry's own revenue recovery, Atlantic City's broader citywide economic indicators remain genuinely challenged: unemployment ran approximately 8.2% per one aggregator (2026), median household income carried a real, disclosed spread ($27,055-$41,028 depending on source), and the poverty rate ran approximately 32.3% -- well above the roughly 12.5% national average. This record states plainly that casino-industry revenue recovery has not yet resolved into a comparably improved citywide economic picture.
A Real, Substantial Forward-Looking Investment: Bader Field
The $3.4 billion 'Renaissance at Bader Field' redevelopment plan for the city's former municipal airport site was approved by Atlantic City Council, with the CRDA board finding it consistent with the Tourism District master plan -- a real, substantial, forward-looking investment, though the developer's financial commitment remained under state and city vetting as of this research pass, not yet a fully executed project.
A Genuinely Current Milestone: Schools Emerge From Fiscal Oversight
As detailed on the schools topic page, Atlantic City's public school district -- placed under state fiscal monitoring in 2015 amid a crisis directly tied to the casino industry's earlier collapse -- emerged from that oversight this same month (August 2026), a real, current, and directly economy-linked milestone.
Key takeaways
- Atlantic City's nine casinos generated $2.894 billion in 2025 gross gaming revenue, the city's best mark in more than a decade, with 2026 YTD revenue up 6.9% through July.
- New Jersey's statewide online casino revenue exceeded Atlantic City's own brick-and-mortar revenue for the first time in 2025, and Q2 2026 brought a real profit squeeze despite revenue growth.
- Four of Atlantic City's 12 casinos closed permanently in 2014; two reopened in 2018 as Hard Rock and Ocean Casino Resort, restoring the current count of 9.
- Citywide economic indicators (8.2% unemployment, 32.3% poverty rate) remain genuinely challenged even as the casino industry's own revenue has recovered.
- The $3.4 billion Bader Field redevelopment plan is approved but not yet fully executed; Atlantic City's schools emerged from a decade-plus of state fiscal oversight this same month (August 2026).
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