State relocation profile · Federal data
New Jersey
Cost of living, fair-market rent, wages, safety, schools and childcare for New Jersey - every figure straight from federal data.
- 108.8
- Cost index (US=100)
- $2,131
- 2BR rent / mo
- $80,365
- Median salary
- 37.8
- Life Score
The verdict
As of June 2026, New Jersey scores 37.8/100 (F) on the composite Life Score, with its strongest marks in wages and safety.
- 37.8
- Life Score · F
- 108.8
- Cost of living (US=100)
- $80,365
- Median annual salary (BLS)
- $2,131
- 2BR fair-market rent / mo (HUD)
Weakest dimension: rent (6/100). State-level figures are a benchmark, individual metros can diverge sharply, so weigh each dimension against your own priorities.
According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and five other federal agencies, New Jersey has a cost-of-living index of 108.8 (100 = national average), a median 2-bedroom rent of $2,131/mo, and a median salary of $80,365. Its composite Life Score is 37.8/100 (F), with its strongest marks in wages and safety.
How New Jersey ranks nationally
Where New Jersey's composite Life Score falls among all 51 US states scored.
New Jersey has life score of 37.8. Distribution: 0 US states at 0-10; 0 US states at 10-20; 0 US states at 20-30; 5 US states at 30-40; 16 US states at 40-50; 24 US states at 50-60; 6 US states at 60-70; 0 US states at 70-80; 0 US states at 80-90; 0 US states at 90-100.
Evaluating New Jersey as a relocation target starts with the statewide BEA Regional Price Parity of 108.8 - where 100 is the national average, so every point above or below translates to percent-level cost of living difference. Housing costs in New Jersey index at 134.3, goods at 107.1, and services at 114.2. HUD Fair Market Rents averaged across New Jersey counties put a 2-bedroom at $2,131/month, the figure HUD uses to cap Section 8 voucher payments, so it reflects real submarket rents rather than listings bias.
On the income side, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics report a statewide median salary of $80,365 with a mean of $84,642 across 4,250,070 tracked jobs. For safety context, FBI UCR data shows a violent crime rate of 216 per 100,000 residents and a property crime rate of 1396 per 100K. These state-level reads let you benchmark New Jersey against both your origin state and national medians before zooming into specific metros.
Family and education costs often decide a move. Department of Labor data for New Jersey shows center-based infant care running $15,732/year, preschool at $15,377/year, and toddler care at $15,377/year. New Jersey contains 3 metropolitan statistical areas in our dataset - Atlantic City-Hammonton, Trenton-Princeton, Vineland - each with its own rent, wage and crime profile that can diverge sharply from the statewide average. The composite Life Score of 37.8/100 (F) folds all seven federal sources into one number for quick comparison.
Key Metrics
Childcare Costs
State-average childcare costs for New Jersey (DOL data).
Life Score Breakdown
New Jersey's composite Life Score is 37.8/100 (F), computed across 7 dimensions.
New Jersey - Life Score dimensions
Percentile vs all US states (100 = best in the nation for that dimension)
- Wages
Wages
90 /100
- Safety
Safety
78 /100
- Environment 34
Environment
34 /100
- Childcare 14
Childcare
14 /100
- Schools 12
Schools
12 /100
- Cost of living 6
Cost of living
6 /100
- Rent 6
Rent
6 /100
What this shows New Jersey's strongest dimensions are wages and safety; its weakest is rent at 6/100. Each dimension is a federal-data percentile; the composite folds all seven into one comparable figure.
Metros in New Jersey
Explore detailed relocation data for 3 metropolitan areas in New Jersey.
Relocation Guides
In-depth guides to help with your relocation research.
Relocating within or to New Jersey?
State figures are the benchmark, drill into a metro before you commit.
- New Jersey has 3 metro areas with rent, wage and crime profiles that diverge from the statewide average, start with Atlantic City-Hammonton. View Atlantic City-Hammonton
- Put two places on the same scorecard across cost, rent, wages, safety and schools before you decide. Compare metros
- See how every US metro ranks on the composite LiveAbility Score, then re-weight it to your priorities. Rankings
Cost, rent and wages are state-level reads; safety, schools and childcare use state data where metro-level isn't published. Always verify the latest figures at the official source before you move.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cost of living in New Jersey?
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Is New Jersey a good state to relocate to?
Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026
Data Sources
- Cost of Living: Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) Regional Price Parities
- Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR)
- Wages: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES)
- Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR)
- Schools: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
- Childcare: Department of Labor (DOL)
- Environment: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
This information is for research purposes only.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Related
Verify with U.S. Census Bureau →
Every figure on PlainRelocate is rendered directly from federal source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on federal source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.