What Does Living in New Jersey Cost You?

What it costs to live here, and how good a place it is to live, in plain numbers.

Best place to live rank

#29

29th out of 50 states overall.

Below average for overall quality of life.

How we rank states ›

Cost to live here

#46

46th cheapest state, about 24% above average.

To live the way $75,000 affords in an average state, you would need about $92,900 here.

How we measure cost ›

New Jersey ranks 29th of 50 states for overall quality of life and 46th for affordability. It does best on education, walkability, and safety, and struggles most with green space, dog friendly, and cost. A typical household earns about $106,000 a year, and the cost of living runs about 24% above average.

Why New Jersey ranks #29 for living

Our Best Life Rank scores every state on the things that shape daily life, from cost and climate to schools and safety. Here is how New Jersey scores on each, best to worst.

Education
#2 of 50
Walkability
#2 of 50
Safety
#7 of 50
Climate
#18 of 50
Healthcare
#19 of 50
Economy
#22 of 50
Air quality
#26 of 50
Green space
#35 of 50
Dog friendly
#40 of 50
Cost of living
#46 of 50

Each factor is ranked 1 (best) to 50 (worst) across all states. Green is strong, yellow is middling, red is weak.

New Jersey at a glance

Typical household income

$106,000

2nd highest

Typical home price

$521,000

9th highest

Overall cost of living

24% above average

46th cheapest

Total taxes on a typical household

About 19%

4th highest income tax

Typical commute

About 32 min

one way

Taxes in New Jersey

See your real New Jersey take-home pay

Enter your salary and get your actual paycheck after New Jersey taxes.

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Sources: Cost and income from the U.S. Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics. Tax rates from the Tax Foundation. Best Life Rank factors from the Commonwealth Fund, NAEP, FBI, EPA, and NOAA. Cost measured by the BLISS Score, v1.3 method. Updated 2026.