JON HURDLE / NJ SPOTLIGHT NEWS – New Jersey has the largest number of affordable-housing units exposed to sea-level rise among all coastal states and can expect that number to surge as waters climb in the next 30 years, according to a new report led by a Princeton-based research group.

In the first national assessment of how affordable housing will be affected by sea-level rise, Climate Central and its partners estimate that New Jersey currently has 1,640 affordable housing units that are subject to coastal flooding at least once a year, according to the report released on Tuesday.

That is already the highest in the country, and by 2050, the number is expected to increase more than four times to 6,825, or 3.7% of total affordable-housing stock, as seas rise under a scenario of high global-carbon emissions, the report said. That compares with about 5,300 and 4,800 in New York and Massachusetts, respectively, which have the next-highest totals of affected units …