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Everyone wants a home that mixes affordability with comfort and New Jersey does this very well. Families love the Garden State's beaches, midlands, and mountains as tourists before moving here and calling it home.
But before you decide to relocate, you have to do some research into the exact cost of living around the state -- and that's how we're going to help you.
These are the places in New Jersey that cost a pretty penny -- the most expensive cities in the state.
After we saved up for months and could finally afford it, we landed on this list of the ten most expensive cities in New Jersey for 2021.
So where is the most expensive place to live in New Jersey? That would be Englewood Cliffs.
the 2015-2019 American Community Survey for the 186 places in New Jersey with more than 5,000 people.
Here are the 10 most expensive places to live in New Jersey for 2021:
What's the most expensive place to live in New Jersey? Well, HomeSnacks crunched the numbers and discovered that Englewood Cliffs is the most expensive place to live in New Jersey.
So hopefully Somerdale (the cheapest place to live in New Jersey) can show these guys how to live on a budget in the coming years. Read on for how these places had costs rise faster than inflation.
And if you already knew these places were expensive, check out some more reading about New Jersey and the most expensive cities in the country:
The 10 Most Expensive Places To Live In New Jersey For 2021
/10
Population: 5,371
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 6.7x (8th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 44.5x (25th most expensive)
More on Englewood Cliffs: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Englewood Cliffs comes in at $148,446 and the median home value is $997,100 for 2021.
/10
Population: 20,604
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 8.2x (most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 44.9x (26th most expensive)
More on Palisades Park: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Palisades Park comes in at $68,245 and the median home value is $558,400 for 2021.
/10
Population: 15,597
Rank Last Year: 4 (Up 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 7.9x (3rd most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 38.9x (12th most expensive)
More on Asbury Park: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Asbury Park comes in at $47,841 and the median home value is $377,400 for 2021.
/10
Population: 11,227
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 2)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 6.2x (12th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 45.3x (27th most expensive)
More on Ridgefield: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Ridgefield comes in at $71,699 and the median home value is $442,500 for 2021.
/10
Population: 8,227
Rank Last Year: 31 (Up 25)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 5.6x (24th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 55.5x (78th most expensive)
More on Upper Saddle River: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Upper Saddle River comes in at $158,536 and the median home value is $885,900 for 2021.
/10
Population: 14,258
Rank Last Year: 9 (Up 3)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 6.3x (9th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 39.3x (14th most expensive)
More on Fairview: Real Estate | Data
The median income in Fairview comes in at $57,698 and the median home value is $364,900 for 2021.
/10
Population: 70,019
Rank Last Year: 7 (Down 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 8.1x (2nd most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 34.5x (8th most expensive)
More on Passaic: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Passaic comes in at $40,865 and the median home value is $332,700 for 2021.
/10
Population: 25,126
Rank Last Year: 7 (Down 2)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 6.2x (13th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 49.5x (46th most expensive)
More on Cliffside Park: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Cliffside Park comes in at $72,633 and the median home value is $447,900 for 2021.
/10
Population: 68,226
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 7.0x (6th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 40.0x (16th most expensive)
More on Union City: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Union City comes in at $48,992 and the median home value is $340,800 for 2021.
/10
Population: 5,624
Rank Last Year: 6 (Down 5)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 6.8x (7th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 55.9x (85th most expensive)
More on Belmar: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Belmar comes in at $87,639 and the median home value is $599,900 for 2021.
How We Determined The Most Expensive Places To Live In The Garden State For 2021
The two most important things to think about when it comes to being able to afford if you can live comes down to:
- How much do money do I make?
- How much do I have spend to live there?
You need to understand your costs in the context of how much money you make.
For example, if the median household earns $100,000 and spends $40,000 on housing it's actually cheaper to live there than a place with a median income of $50,000 and housing costs of $21,000. You might spend more on housing, but you have more money overall to play with.
With that example in mind, we derived several statistics from the latest Census American Community Survey 2015-2019 around incomes and costs. They are:
- Median Home Price / Median Income (lower is better)
- Median Income / Median Rent (Higher is better)
- Median Home Price
We added simply median home price because high home prices generally correlate with higher expenses for all costs related to homes (heating, electricity, etc).
You can then compare these metrics in each of the places in New Jersey to figure out which is the most expensive.
What you are left with is a "Cost of Living Index" by taking the average rank of each of these metrics for each city.
So we used that cost of living index in order to rank all of the 186 places in New Jersey that have more than 5,000 people.
The place with the highest cost of living in New Jersey according to the data is Englewood Cliffs. You can download the data here.
Taking A Chunk Out Of Your Paycheck In New Jersey For 2021
Well there you have it, the places in New Jersey that have the highest cost of living, with Englewood Cliffs ranking as the most expensive city in the Garden State.
Here's a look at the most affordable cities in New Jersey according to the data:
- Somerdale
- Stratford
- Audubon
For more New Jersey reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In New Jersey
- Cheapest Places To Live In New Jersey
- Most Dangerous Cities In New Jersey
- Best Places To Raise A Family In New Jersey
- Safest Places In New Jersey
- Worst Places To Live In New Jersey
