A monthly budget for Burlington County, NJ
What a median household here pays for rent, utilities and childcare, and what each budget line should cost on the county's median income, each from a published rule. Report your own figures in the Treasury and the same goals measure your real month.
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.
Median household income, per month
$9,009
$108,111 a year, all earners under one roof, before tax. US Census ACS 5-year · updated yearly, ACS 2024. Not one person's salary.
What the county's sources say a household pays
| Line | Per month |
|---|---|
| Rent, whole home19.4% of income for a median household. US Census ACS 5-year · updated yearly. | $1,745 |
| Electricity, middle householdA Census bracket midpoint, so the real median sits within about $25. US Census ACS 5-year (B25132) · updated yearly. | ~$175 |
| Gas, middle householdHomes with no gas service are not counted. US Census ACS 5-year (B25133) · updated yearly. | ~$125 |
| Water and sewer, per yearPublished as a yearly bracket, so it is shown per year. US Census ACS 5-year (B25134) · updated yearly. | ~$625 a year |
| Childcare, two children34.0% of income for two children, applied to the county's median household income. County Health Rankings 2025 (CHR/RWJF) · DOL + Census SAIPE. | about $3,067 |
| Property tax, current owners$7,983 a year, paid by current owners; a buyer usually pays more. US Census ACS 5-year (B25103) · updated yearly. | about $665 |
These rows are not added up on purpose. Two are bracket midpoints and one is a burden share, so a single total would print more precision than the sources hold.
What each line should cost on a median income here
The recommended share for each budget line, from the rule that publishes it, applied to $9,009 a month. These are the same goals the Sustainable budget odyssey measures your own month against.
| Goal | Here |
|---|---|
| Housing at or under a third of incomeThe landlord 3x-gross-rent convention; HUD counts a household cost-burdened above 30%. | ≤ $2,973 |
| Utilities at or under 6% of incomeThe Department of Energy's LEAD research calls an energy burden above 6% of income high. The 6% figure covers energy; this line also holds water and internet, so it runs a little strict. | ≤ $541 |
| Food & household near $400 a month, per personUSDA's Moderate-Cost Food Plan prices an adult's groceries near $400 a month. Measured against one person until a household size is known; a family sets its own figure. | ≤ $400, per person |
| Transport at or under 15% of incomeThe 10–15% guideline is an industry convention (AAA's driving-cost studies inform it); no government body publishes one. The weakest anchor in this table; review may demote it to set-your-own. | ≤ $1,351 |
| Debt payments at or under 20% of incomeThe 50/30/20 plan (popularized by Warren & Tyagi, All Your Worth) allots 20% to debt payments and savings together. The 20% share includes savings in the source; debt alone under it is the conservative reading. | ≤ $1,802 |
| Childcare at or under 7% of incomeHHS's federal benchmark counts child care affordable at or under 7% of household income. | ≤ $631 |
| Keep at least 20% of income as cash leftoverThe 50/30/20 plan's savings share — the same 20% savings rate the runway's months-to-ready already assumes. | ≥ $1,802 |
For reference, the county's median rent alone is 19.4% of income for a median household, against the one-third housing goal.
Make it your own month
The Treasury keeps your ledger from imported statements or typed rows, and the Sustainable budget odyssey sets each goal above as a percent or a flat amount and measures your real month against it. Nothing expires and nothing is scored; a goal is an aim.
Every other reading for this county, health and hazard included, is on the Burlington County page.