Moving to New Jersey from Pennsylvania
What to Expect
Considering a move from Pennsylvania to New Jersey? Here's how the two compare on cost, climate, safety, and more.
If you moved from Pennsylvania to New Jersey, you would find that New Jersey is 23.0% more expensive than Pennsylvania. A $75,000 salary in Pennsylvania would need to be roughly $92,200 in New Jersey to maintain the same lifestyle. Philadelphia and Newark are about 80 mi apart.
Thinking of moving to New Jersey? Get a shortlist of towns in New Jersey that match your priorities: size, cost, taxes, safety, disaster risk, hospitals and transport. Find my towns →Is New Jersey cheaper than Pennsylvania?
How key spending categories compare
Restaurants
pay 7.2% more
Groceries
pay 17.5% more
Transportation
pay 13.8% more
Housing
pay 46.0% more
Childcare
pay 9.1% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 18.3% more
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
What salary do you need in New Jersey?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $92,200
To maintain the same standard of living in New Jersey
Calculate with your salary →Cost of living by city
Cost of living varies a lot by city. Each figure is a city's overall cost of living as a percentage of New York City (the priciest, = 100%).
On average, cities in New Jersey cost about 28% more than cities in Pennsylvania.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
The numbers behind daily life in New Jersey compared to Pennsylvania.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
New Jersey performs significantly better than Pennsylvania across all safety metrics.
How's the healthcare?
share of people without health insurance
share of adults with obesity
share of adults with diabetes
share of adults who smoke
New Jersey generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Pennsylvania leads in uninsured rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Pennsylvania performs better than New Jersey across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Pennsylvania generally does better on infrastructure, though New Jersey leads in internet access.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
typical annual income of a household
share of people below the poverty line
New Jersey generally does better on employment & economy, though Pennsylvania leads in unemployment rate.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
New Jersey performs significantly better than Pennsylvania across all family life metrics.
Sources: US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (2023), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024), OECD Regional Demography (2020). How we calculate this
Weather in New Jersey vs Pennsylvania
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Philadelphia | Newark |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 46°/29°F (8°/-2°C) | 48°/27°F (9°/-2°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 74°/54°F (23°/12°C) | 76°/51°F (24°/11°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 83°/66°F (29°/19°C) | 85°/63°F (29°/17°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 56°/39°F (13°/4°C) | 58°/36°F (14°/2°C) |
View all months
| Month | Philadelphia | Newark |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40°/26°F (4.6°/-3.6°C) | 42°/24°F (5.6°/-4.4°C) |
| Feb | 44°/28°F (6.6°/-2.4°C) | 46°/26°F (7.7°/-3.2°C) |
| Mar | 53°/34°F (11.5°/1.3°C) | 55°/32°F (12.7°/0.2°C) |
| Apr | 64°/44°F (17.7°/6.7°C) | 67°/42°F (19.4°/5.3°C) |
| May | 74°/54°F (23.2°/12.2°C) | 76°/51°F (24.6°/10.7°C) |
| Jun | 83°/64°F (28.2°/17.7°C) | 85°/61°F (29.5°/16.3°C) |
| Jul | 87°/69°F (30.6°/20.7°C) | 88°/66°F (31.2°/18.8°C) |
| Aug | 85°/68°F (29.6°/19.9°C) | 87°/65°F (30.4°/18.1°C) |
| Sep | 78°/60°F (25.6°/15.7°C) | 80°/57°F (26.5°/14.0°C) |
| Oct | 67°/48°F (19.2°/9.1°C) | 69°/45°F (20.4°/7.3°C) |
| Nov | 56°/39°F (13.3°/4.0°C) | 58°/36°F (14.2°/2.4°C) |
| Dec | 45°/30°F (7.1°/-1.1°C) | 46°/28°F (7.8°/-2.2°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in New Jersey than Pennsylvania?
On average New Jersey is around 23% pricier than Pennsylvania, with notable variation by city.
How much money do I need to move to New Jersey?
Budget about $23,050 for 3 months in New Jersey (based on a $75,000 comparable annual salary), then add the one-off costs: movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is New Jersey safe?
New Jersey performs significantly better than Pennsylvania across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in New Jersey compared to Pennsylvania?
New Jersey generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Pennsylvania leads in uninsured rate.
What's the weather like in New Jersey compared to Pennsylvania?
The average high temperature in Newark is 67°F, compared to 65°F in Philadelphia. Newark receives around 46.2 in of rainfall per year, while Philadelphia gets 41.5 in.
