New Jersey vs. South Dakota Cost of Living Summary

New Jersey is 63.1% more expensive than South Dakota.

Restaurants
pay 22.4% more in New Jersey
Groceries
pay 21.4% more in New Jersey
Transportation
pay 79.4% more in New Jersey
Housing
pay 56.2% more in New Jersey
Childcare
pay 3.2 times more in New Jersey
Entertainment and Sports
pay 31.8% more in New Jersey
Clothing
pay 14.3% more in New Jersey

The cost of childcare, transportation, housing, entertainment and sports, restaurants, and groceries in New Jersey are more expensive than in South Dakota. Notably, childcare and transportation are significantly more expensive in New Jersey.

New Jersey vs. South Dakota Cost Breakdown

If you lived in New Jersey instead of South Dakota, you would:

pay 22.4% more for restaurants

 
South Dakota
New Jersey
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $12.33
 
$19.95
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.19
 
$12.40
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $3.03
 
$2.60
 

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pay 21.4% more for groceries

 
South Dakota
New Jersey
Bread
1 loaf
$3.01
 
$4.17
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.97
 
$8.09
 
Milk (1 gallon) $3.68
 
$4.78
 

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pay 79.4% more for transportation

 
South Dakota
New Jersey
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.00
 
$3.24
 
Monthly public transit pass $30.00
 
$116.02
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $35,568.55
 
$32,841.50
 

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pay 56.2% more for housing

 
South Dakota
New Jersey
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$49.40
 
$62.68
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,053.00
 
$2,279.92
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $974.82
 
$1,885.98
 

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pay 3.2 times more for childcare

 
South Dakota
New Jersey
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $715.00
 
$2,023.96
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $7,800.00
 
$27,267.62
 

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pay 31.8% more for entertainment and sports

 
South Dakota
New Jersey
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $4.42
 
$6.95
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.69
 
$5.20
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$9.38
 
$12.79
 

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pay 14.3% more for clothing

 
South Dakota
New Jersey
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$47.89
 
$57.64
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$42.78
 
$49.26
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$89.39
 
$99.28
 

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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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