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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 2020.
So where is the most expensive place to live in New Jersey? That would be Englewood Cliffs.
the 2014-2018 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 2020:
- Englewood Cliffs (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Palisades Park (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Ridgefield (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Asbury Park (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Edgewater (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Belmar (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Passaic (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Cliffside Park (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Fairview (Homes For Sale)
- Lodi (Photos | Homes For Sale)
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 Stratford (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 2020
/10
Population: 5,356
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 7.1x (6th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 44.7x (29th most expensive)
More on Englewood Cliffs: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Englewood Cliffs comes in at $145,729 and the median home value is $1,041,200 for 2020.
/10
Population: 20,554
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 8.1x (4th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 43.8x (26th most expensive)
More on Palisades Park: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Palisades Park comes in at $64,684 and the median home value is $525,600 for 2020.
/10
Population: 11,248
Rank Last Year: 3 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 6.5x (11th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 43.4x (25th most expensive)
More on Ridgefield: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Ridgefield is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 11,032, reflecting an increase of 202 from the 10,830 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 834 from the 9,996 counted in the 1990 Census.
The median income in Ridgefield comes in at $67,500 and the median home value is $436,200 for 2020.
/10
Population: 15,674
Rank Last Year: 5 (Up 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 8.4x (2nd most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 33.6x (8th most expensive)
More on Asbury Park: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Asbury Park is a city in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States, located on the Jersey Shore and part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 16,116, reflecting a decline of 814 from the 16,930 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 131 from the 16,799 counted in the 1990 Census.
The median income in Asbury Park comes in at $41,336 and the median home value is $346,300 for 2020.
/10
Population: 12,184
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 5.3x (35th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 45.3x (32nd most expensive)
More on Edgewater: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Edgewater is a borough located along the Hudson River in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough had a population of 11,513, reflecting an increase of 3,836 from the 7,677 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 2,676 from the 5,001 counted in the 1990 Census.
The median income in Edgewater comes in at $107,143 and the median home value is $563,800 for 2020.
/10
Population: 5,647
Rank Last Year: 6 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 7.5x (5th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 54.5x (75th most expensive)
More on Belmar: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Belmar comes in at $79,706 and the median home value is $600,800 for 2020.
/10
Population: 70,131
Rank Last Year: 7 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 9.0x (1st most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 30.8x (3rd most expensive)
More on Passaic: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Passaic is a city in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 69,781, maintaining its status as the 15th largest municipality in New Jersey with an increase of 1,920 residents from the 2000 Census population of 67,861, which had in turn increased by 9,820 from the 58,041 counted in the 1990 Census. Passaic is the tenth most densely populated municipality in the entire United States with 22,000+ people per square mile.
The median income in Passaic comes in at $36,226 and the median home value is $325,800 for 2020.
/10
Population: 24,883
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 4)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 6.6x (9th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 48.1x (44th most expensive)
More on Cliffside Park: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Cliffside Park comes in at $66,952 and the median home value is $443,300 for 2020.
/10
Population: 14,269
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 6.1x (14th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 41.7x (20th most expensive)
More on Fairview: Real Estate | Data
The median income in Fairview comes in at $57,706 and the median home value is $354,300 for 2020.
/10
Population: 24,498
Rank Last Year: 8 (Down 2)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 6.2x (13th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 46.1x (34th most expensive)
More on Lodi: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Lodi comes in at $60,651 and the median home value is $376,200 for 2020.
How We Determined The Most Expensive Places To Live In The Garden State For 2020
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 2014-2018 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 2020
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:
- Stratford
- Audubon
- Somerdale
For more New Jersey reading, check out:
- 10 Best Places To Live In New Jersey
- These Are The 10 Best Counties To Live In New Jersey
- 10 Cheapest Places To Live In New Jersey
- 10 Best Places To Raise A Family In New Jersey
- These Are The 10 Best Places To Retire In New Jersey
- These Are The 10 Richest Cities In New Jersey
- 10 Safest Places In New Jersey
Detailed List Of The Most Expensive Cities In New Jersey
| Rank | City | ExpensiveScore |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Englewood Cliffs | 12.33 |
| 2 | Palisades Park | 23.33 |
| 3 | Ridgefield | 31.67 |
| 4 | Asbury Park | 33.67 |
| 5 | Edgewater | 34.67 |
| 6 | Belmar | 36.33 |
| 7 | Passaic | 36.67 |
| 8 | Cliffside Park | 36.67 |
| 9 | Fairview | 38.67 |
| 10 | Lodi | 40.0 |
| 11 | Union City | 43.0 |
| 12 | Red Bank | 43.33 |
| 13 | Long Branch | 43.67 |
| 14 | Franklin Lakes | 47.33 |
| 15 | Ocean City | 48.33 |
| 16 | Florham Park | 49.0 |
| 17 | Garfield | 50.0 |
| 18 | Jersey City | 52.67 |
| 19 | West New York | 53.67 |
| 20 | New Brunswick | 54.33 |
| 21 | Old Tappan | 54.67 |
| 22 | Cresskill | 54.67 |
| 23 | Guttenberg | 56.0 |
| 24 | Newark | 56.67 |
| 25 | Hoboken | 57.33 |
| 26 | Wallington | 58.0 |
| 27 | Freehold | 58.0 |
| 28 | Elizabeth | 58.33 |
| 29 | Morristown | 58.33 |
| 30 | Wildwood | 58.33 |
| 31 | Upper Saddle River | 59.0 |
| 32 | Paterson | 59.33 |
| 33 | Margate City | 60.0 |
| 34 | Paramus | 60.67 |
| 35 | Little Ferry | 61.33 |
| 36 | Rumson | 61.33 |
| 37 | East Rutherford | 62.33 |
| 38 | Harrison | 62.33 |
| 39 | Woodland Park | 63.0 |
| 40 | Summit | 63.0 |
| 41 | Bayonne | 63.33 |
| 42 | Closter | 63.67 |
| 43 | Prospect Park | 65.67 |
| 44 | Princeton | 66.67 |
| 45 | Atlantic City | 67.0 |
| 46 | Tinton Falls | 68.0 |
| 47 | Mountainside | 68.0 |
| 48 | Caldwell | 68.0 |
| 49 | Elmwood Park | 68.67 |
| 50 | North Haledon | 68.67 |
| 51 | Madison | 69.33 |
| 52 | Perth Amboy | 72.67 |
| 53 | Raritan | 73.67 |
| 54 | Tenafly | 74.33 |
| 55 | Manasquan | 74.33 |
| 56 | Leonia | 74.67 |
| 57 | Fort Lee | 75.67 |
| 58 | Roseland | 75.67 |
| 59 | Norwood | 76.33 |
| 60 | Clifton | 77.0 |
| 61 | Brigantine | 77.33 |
| 62 | Kearny | 77.67 |
| 63 | Ventnor City | 78.0 |
| 64 | Eato | 78.0 |
| 65 | Englewood | 78.33 |
| 66 | Westwood | 79.0 |
| 67 | Hackensack | 79.33 |
| 68 | Montvale | 79.67 |
| 69 | East Orange | 79.67 |
| 70 | North Arlington | 80.0 |
| 71 | Fair Haven | 80.67 |
| 72 | Morris Plains | 81.33 |
| 73 | Fanwood | 82.0 |
| 74 | Highland Park | 82.33 |
| 75 | Bernardsville | 83.0 |
| 76 | Woodcliff Lake | 83.0 |
| 77 | Secaucus | 84.0 |
| 78 | Rutherford | 84.33 |
| 79 | Wharton | 85.33 |
| 80 | Park Ridge | 85.33 |
| 81 | Allendale | 85.67 |
| 82 | Maywood | 86.33 |
| 83 | Watchung | 86.67 |
| 84 | Ridgewood | 87.0 |
| 85 | New Milford | 87.0 |
| 86 | Haledon | 87.67 |
| 87 | Middlesex | 88.0 |
| 88 | Mount Arlington | 88.33 |
| 89 | Hasbrouck Heights | 88.67 |
| 90 | Keyport | 89.67 |
| 91 | Chatham | 89.67 |
| 92 | New Providence | 90.67 |
| 93 | Midland Park | 92.33 |
| 94 | Westfield | 93.0 |
| 95 | Keansburg | 93.33 |
| 96 | Oceanport | 95.67 |
| 97 | South River | 96.33 |
| 98 | Emerson | 96.67 |
| 99 | Boonton | 96.67 |
| 100 | Plainfield | 97.33 |
