Cost of living comparison
compared to
Jersey City vs. New York City Cost of Living Summary
Jersey City is 20.3% cheaper than New York City.
- Restaurants
-
pay 28.6% less in Jersey City
- Groceries
-
pay 15.5% less in Jersey City
- Transportation
-
pay 9.0% less in Jersey City
- Housing
-
pay 13.7% less in Jersey City
- Childcare
-
pay 43.7% less in Jersey City
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 24.8% less in Jersey City
- Clothing
-
pay 6.7% less in Jersey City
Expenses including childcare, restaurants, entertainment and sports, groceries, housing, and transportation are lower in Jersey City.
Jersey City vs. New York City Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Jersey City instead of New York City, you would:
pay 28.6% less for restaurants
|
New York City
|
Jersey City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$18.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.00
|
$13.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.09
|
$2.28
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.61
|
$1.78
|
|
New York City vs. Jersey City - Cost of restaurants
pay 15.5% less for groceries
|
New York City
|
Jersey City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.75
|
$4.05
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.89
|
$8.73
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.05
|
$4.83
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$7.20
|
$5.33
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.07
|
$5.62
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.29
|
$2.87
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.08
|
$0.89
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.60
|
$2.16
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.68
|
$2.37
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.63
|
$1.41
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.78
|
$1.51
|
|
New York City vs. Jersey City - Cost of groceries
pay 9.0% less for transportation
|
New York City
|
Jersey City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.47
|
$3.30
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$132.00
|
$110.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,344.69
|
$35,911.24
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$22.39
|
$19.40
|
|
New York City vs. Jersey City - Cost of transportation
pay 13.7% less for housing
|
New York City
|
Jersey City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$67.59
|
$63.75
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$4,037.06
|
$3,437.50
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,496.67
|
$2,442.86
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$151.98
|
$103.54
|
|
New York City vs. Jersey City - Cost of housing
pay 43.7% less for childcare
|
New York City
|
Jersey City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$3,154.10
|
$2,250.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$57,250.00
|
$23,666.67
|
|
New York City vs. Jersey City - Cost of childcare
pay 24.8% less for entertainment and sports
|
New York City
|
Jersey City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.71
|
$5.50
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$19.00
|
$11.98
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$150.04
|
$66.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$20.00
|
$17.00
|
|
New York City vs. Jersey City - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 6.7% less for clothing
|
New York City
|
Jersey City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$67.80
|
$67.90
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$49.94
|
$63.33
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$115.58
|
$77.50
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$168.76
|
$133.75
|
|
New York City vs. Jersey City - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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