What is the cost of living in New York-Newark-Jersey City?

New York-Newark-Jersey City has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 112.6, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 148.6, which is above the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $2,324/month.

What is the median salary in New York-Newark-Jersey City?

The median salary in New York-Newark-Jersey City is $87,148 annually (mean: $92,296). Top occupations include Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Retail Salespersons, Registered Nurses.

How safe is New York-Newark-Jersey City?

The violent crime rate in the New York-Newark-Jersey City area is 380 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1661 per 100K.

What are the schools like in New York-Newark-Jersey City?

The state of NY has 4,812 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 11.8:1. Charter schools make up 7.1% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in New York-Newark-Jersey City?

Infant center-based childcare in the New York-Newark-Jersey City area averages $13,869 per year. Preschool averages $11,679/year. These are state-level averages.

Is New York-Newark-Jersey City a good place to relocate?

New York-Newark-Jersey City has a Life Score of 34.9/100 (F), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This places New York-Newark-Jersey City in the bottom decile of scored metros; compare individual dimensions to see where the biggest gaps are.

Where does New York-Newark-Jersey City sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, New York-Newark-Jersey City ranks #344 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ

BEA RPP 112.6 ranks #384 of 387 scored metros for higher prices (dearer third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

112.6
Cost index (US=100): $2,324
2BR rent / mo: $87,148
Median salary: 36.9
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, New York-Newark-Jersey City ranks #344 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (36.9/100), with its strongest marks in job market and schools.

#344
of 387 US metros · Below median: 19,867,248
metro-area population: 380
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 4,812
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: cost of living (1/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), New York-Newark-Jersey City ranks #344 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 112.6 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $2,324/mo, median salary $87,148; LiveAbility Score 36.9/100, strongest in job market and schools.

Signature: BEA RPP 112.6 ranks #384 of 387 scored metros for higher prices (dearer third).

Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP 112.6 lands in the dearer third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $2,324/mo.

LiveAbility 36.9/100 puts New York-Newark-Jersey City in the bottom third (#344 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the New York-Newark-Jersey City area is 9,414,820.

New York-Newark-Jersey City vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

37 Top 89% higher than 11% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

New York-Newark-Jersey City housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the New York-Newark-Jersey City MSA; housing RPP 148.6 (100 = national average); 2BR $2,324/mo.

Studio

$1,778

/month

1 Bedroom

$2,024

/month

2 Bedroom

$2,324

/month

3 Bedroom

$2,835

/month

4 Bedroom

$3,618

/month

New York-Newark-Jersey City wages and employment

New York-Newark-Jersey City posts 9,414,820 total employment with median salary $87,148 against a dearer-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$87,148

Mean Salary

$92,296

Total Employment

9,414,820

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	$39,680
Retail Salespersons	$38,280
Registered Nurses	$119,720
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners	$42,840
General and Operations Managers	$157,000

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the New York-Newark-Jersey City area from NCES.

Schools

4,812

Enrollment

2,505,133

Student:Teacher

11.8:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the New York-Newark-Jersey City area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$13,869

per year

Toddler (Center)

$12,979

per year

Preschool (Center)

$11,679

per year

Life Score Breakdown

New York-Newark-Jersey City's composite Life Score is 34.9/100 (F), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

1/100

Bottom decile

Wages

99/100

Elite

Rent

5/100

Bottom decile

Crime

37/100

Below average

Schools

5/100

Bottom decile

Childcare

19/100

Bottom decile

Environment

63/100

Above average

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

New York-Newark-Jersey City ranks #344 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 36.9/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Job market (99/100)

Job market

99
Schools

95
Safety

37
Climate

23
Low hazard

21
Air quality

14
Housing

5
Cost of living

1

What this shows New York-Newark-Jersey City's strongest dimensions are job market and schools; its weakest among scored dims is cost of living at 1/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare New York-Newark-Jersey City to

Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro Prescott Valley-Prescott Providence-Warwick Provo-Orem-Lehi Pueblo Punta Gorda

Metros near New York-Newark-Jersey City on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to New York-Newark-Jersey City on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

New York-Newark-Jersey City cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; New York-Newark-Jersey City wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about New York-Newark-Jersey City?

New York-Newark-Jersey City runs a $87,148 median salary at a 112.6 cost index, ranking #344 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what New York-Newark-Jersey City's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put New York-Newark-Jersey City head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare New York-Newark-Jersey City
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.