Cost of living in New Jersey

New Jersey at a glance

Median rent

$1,720

Census ACS, B25064, monthly

Median household income

$103,556

Census ACS, B19013, yearly

Median home value

$454,400

Census ACS, B25077

Median property tax bill

$9,590

Census ACS, B25103, yearly, current owners

Mean commute

31 min

Census ACS, DP03, one way

Unemployment

6.3%

Census ACS, DP03

New Jersey's own published state rows, never an average of its counties. Prices overall run 9% above the national average (BEA regional price parity, 2024).

Figures from the 2024 release of the Census American Community Survey, checked September 2026. Health, hazard and price-level readings name their own release beside them.

The three most populous counties in New Jersey

These are the most populous places in New Jersey, not a match to you. Set what matters to you on Find your fit and this becomes your three closest matches here. Made-up answers work too. This is a tool, not a survey.

• Bergen County

  Population

  962K

  Rent

  $1,914

  Household income

  $124,884

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  —

  Set as targetPlan

• Middlesex County

  Population

  871K

  Rent

  $1,871

  Household income

  $111,549

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $9,712

  Set as targetPlan

• Essex County

  Population

  863K

  Rent

  $1,531

  Household income

  $80,789

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  —

  Set as targetPlan

New Jersey, worth the trip

Ratified the Constitution on December 18, 1787, as the third state. The Dutch established the first permanent European settlement at Bergen, now Jersey City, in 1660, four years before the colony came under English rule. More than 100 battles of the American Revolution took place in New Jersey.

• Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

  Quiet landscapes and historic sites along 40 miles of the longest free-flowing river east of the Mississippi.

• Thomas Edison National Historical Park

  Thomas Edison's home and laboratory in West Orange, from the days of belts, pulleys and phonographs.

• Morristown National Historical Park

  The sites where George Washington and the Continental Army camped from December 1779 to June 1780.

History: Encyclopaedia Britannica. Each place links to the page of the agency that looks after it.

Property tax in New Jersey

Current owners in New Jersey pay a median 2.11% of home value a year in property tax. Example: $9,590 a year, the median bill. By county, the median bill runs from $5,052 in Cumberland County to $9,712 in Middlesex County. These are bills that current owners pay, as the Census measures them. Each county's own figure is in the table below.

Health in New Jersey

Life expectancy

79.0 yrs

County Health Rankings, from CDC NCHS vital statistics

No health insurance

8.0%

County Health Rankings, from Census SAHIE, people under 65

Poor or fair health

14.5%

County Health Rankings, from CDC BRFSS. Modeled, not counted

Injury deaths per 100K people

66

County Health Rankings, from CDC NCHS, counted deaths

Each is the figure County Health Rankings publishes for New Jersey as a whole, never an average of its counties. Each county's own health readings are on its page.

Natural hazards in New Jersey

Expected yearly loss, statewide

$3.2B

All natural hazards, an average year. Larger states lose more

Building loss rate

$1.51

Per $1,000 of building value, each year. Fair to compare between states

Costliest hazard

Inland flooding

$2.0B of the expected yearly loss, the largest share of any hazard FEMA assesses

Air quality

—

The EPA publishes air quality by county and metro area, never by state. It is on each county's page

FEMA publishes a risk score for counties and none for states, so none is shown here. Each county's score is on its own page.

Side by side

Bergen County, NJ is the largest county here. Set it beside another place, reading by reading.

All 21 counties in New Jersey

Each has its published readings on its own page. Press a column to sort by it. Pick one, or open the map to see them shaded side by side.

Household income, home value and population are on each county's own page, and in this table on a wider screen.

Where these numbers come from

Each reading is the published figure, not an estimate. A dash means the source did not publish one, or published one too uncertain to print.

• State figures: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 20245-year estimates, the state's own row (tables B25064, B19013, B25077, B25103, B01003, DP03).
• County figures: the same survey, each county's own row, as on every county page.
• Price level: Bureau of Economic Analysis, regional price parities, 2024, all items, state-level.
• Health: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025, University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, the state's own row. Poor or fair health is a modeled estimate from CDC survey data. The other three are counted or calculated.
• Natural hazards: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025, state table, expected annual loss. This product uses FEMA data but is not endorsed by FEMA.
• Air quality has no state figure: the EPA publishes it by county and metro area only.
• Photographs: Wikimedia Commons and the county photo feed, each credited to its photographer under its own licence, beneath the picture.