What is now the City of Absecon was originally incorporated as a town by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 29, 1872, from portions of Egg Harbor Township and Galloway Township. The City of Absecon was incorporated on March 24, 1902, replacing Absecon town.
As of the census of 2000, there were 7,638 people, 2,773 households, and 2,085 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,336.0 people per square mile (515.6/km²). There were 2,902 housing units at an average density of 507.6/sq mi (195.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 83.31% White, 6.01% African American, 0.17% Native American, 7.46% Asian, 1.51% from other races, and 1.54% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.77% of the population.
There were 2,773 households out of which 32.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.6% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.8% were non-families. 19.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.08.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.5% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 25.1% from 45 to 64, and 16.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 92.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $55,745, and the median income for a family was $61,563. Males had a median income of $47,984 versus $31,663 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,615. About 3.2% of families and 4.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.9% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over.
Absecon Station is served by New Jersey Transit's Atlantic City Line trains, with east-west service between Philadelphia and Atlantic City.
Highways and roads in Absecon include U.S. Route 9, U.S. Route 30, Route 157 and County Route 585. The now-defunct Route 43 also passed through the city.