Northeast · Updated October 2026
New Jersey in numbers, from the same public data Locustep uses to rank all 50 states: rent, pay, taxes, safety, disaster risk and weather, plus the cities worth a look.
Two-bedroom rent
$2,268/mo
U.S. average $1,759
HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 (40th percentile, population-weighted across the state)
Rent vs. income
26.1%
of median household income for a year of two-bedroom rent
HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 ÷ 2024 ACS 1-year estimates (Census B19013)
State income tax
10.75%
top marginal rate, single filer
State revenue departments, 2026 income tax rates (sources listed per state)
Property tax
1.89%
effective rate on owner-occupied homes
Everyday costs
104.9
index, housing excluded (U.S. = 100)
BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (released February 2026), housing and utilities removed
Natural disaster risk
54th
percentile, FEMA expected annual loss (lower is safer)
Where New Jersey stands out: the 8th lowest violent crime and the 2nd highest median household income among the 50 states.
What to weigh: the 2nd heaviest state and local tax bill, the 5th most expensive two-bedroom rent, the 8th biggest rent-to-income bite, the 2nd highest property taxes, the 3rd highest everyday costs and the 4th highest top income-tax rate.
Overall, a married couple on the U.S. median household income would pay about 14.3% of it in state and local income, property and sales tax here, the 2nd highest of the 50 states.
Average afternoon highs and overnight lows in Newark (Newark Intl Airport station), NOAA 1991–2020 normals.
| Season | High | Low |
|---|---|---|
| Winter (Dec–Feb) | 43°F | 28°F |
| Spring (Mar–May) | 62°F | 44°F |
| Summer (Jun–Aug) | 85°F | 67°F |
| Fall (Sep–Nov) | 66°F | 50°F |
$2,792/mo two-bedroom · $2,514 one-bedroom (Jersey City, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area)
Jersey City is dense, diverse and directly across the Hudson from Manhattan, with a PATH commute of minutes and skyline views. Expensive but cheaper than New York, with a strong food scene and rapid high-rise development.
$2,233/mo two-bedroom · $1,850 one-bedroom (Newark, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area)
Newark is New Jersey's largest city — a major airport and port, several universities, and the cheapest housing with genuine Manhattan train access. Gritty, diverse, and in the middle of long-running redevelopment.
$2,792/mo two-bedroom · $2,514 one-bedroom (Jersey City, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area)
Hoboken is a compact, walkable, young, expensive square mile on the Hudson with brownstones, bars and a fast PATH ride to Manhattan. Flood-prone, dense, and heavily populated by twenty- and thirty-somethings.
$2,242/mo two-bedroom · $1,764 one-bedroom (Trenton-Princeton, NJ MSA)
Princeton is a wealthy university town with a beautiful campus, top schools and a train link toward both New York and Philadelphia. Very expensive, very quiet, and academically oriented.
$1,899/mo two-bedroom · $1,567 one-bedroom (Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area)
Atlantic City is a casino resort on the Jersey Shore that has struggled for decades, with cheap housing, a boardwalk and beaches. Seasonal employment and real economic distress outside the strip.
$2,282/mo two-bedroom · $1,987 one-bedroom (Bergen-Passaic, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area)
Hackensack is the Bergen County seat, a short trip into Manhattan, with a major hospital and a redeveloping downtown. Expensive, with very high property taxes, but more affordable than the city itself.
$2,623/mo two-bedroom · $2,103 one-bedroom (Middlesex-Somerset-Hunterdon, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area)
New Brunswick is the home of Rutgers University and Johnson & Johnson, with a large hospital complex and a busy restaurant scene. On the train line to New York and Philadelphia, with high costs and taxes.
$1,857/mo two-bedroom · $1,521 one-bedroom (Cape May County, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area)
Cape May is a Victorian seaside resort at New Jersey's southern tip — beaches, birdwatching and painted gingerbread houses. Very seasonal, expensive in summer, and near-silent in winter.
Rents: HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 (40th percentile, population-weighted across the state) (metro areas). City notes: Locustep.
Closest on Locustep’s match factors: cost, housing, taxes, safety, jobs, schools, healthcare, outdoors, disaster risk and climate.
Ranks compare the 50 states. Locustep updates these figures when the agencies publish new data.
Yes. New Jersey’s top marginal income-tax rate for a single filer is 10.75% (New Jersey tax law, 2026). Counting property and sales tax too, a married couple on the U.S. median household income would pay about 14.3% of income in state and local taxes (Locustep estimate, 2026).
A typical two-bedroom rents for about $2,268 a month and a one-bedroom for about $1,891, using HUD’s FY2027 Fair Market Rents averaged across the state by population. That is $509 more than the U.S. average of $1,759. Rent in the bigger metros can be well above the state figure.
Leaving housing aside, everyday prices (goods and services other than housing) index at 104.9 against a U.S. average of 100 (BEA, 2024), and the median home value indexes at 137.5 against the U.S. median (Census, 2024). Two-bedroom rent takes 26.1% of the state’s median household income of $104,294.
New Jersey recorded 217.7 violent crimes per 100,000 residents in 2024 (FBI), the 8th lowest rate of the 50 states. Crime varies a lot between and within cities, so check the specific area you’re considering.
The main hazards are hurricanes and flooding. On FEMA’s National Risk Index, New Jersey’s expected yearly loss from natural hazards sits at the 54th percentile nationally (lower is safer). Risk differs sharply by county, so look up the county too.
Places people most often weigh include Jersey City, Newark, Hoboken, Princeton and Atlantic City. Each has a different cost, climate and character; Locustep compares their rent, disaster risk, weather and pay side by side.