Moving to New Jersey from Texas
What to Expect
Considering a move from Texas to New Jersey? Here's how the two compare on cost, climate, safety, and more.
If you moved from Texas to New Jersey, you would find that New Jersey is 31.6% more expensive than Texas. A $75,000 salary in Texas would need to be roughly $98,700 in New Jersey to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Newark averages 67°F vs 80°F in Houston, making it significantly cooler. Houston and Newark are about 1,400 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 Texas?
How key spending categories compare
Restaurants
pay 5.9% more
Groceries
pay 30.6% more
Transportation
pay 19.7% more
Housing
pay 53.8% more
Childcare
pay 28.3% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 25.5% 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 → $98,700
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 26% more than cities in Texas.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
The numbers behind daily life in New Jersey compared to Texas.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
New Jersey performs significantly better than Texas 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 performs significantly better than Texas across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Texas generally does better on what about housing?, though New Jersey leads in homeownership rate.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Texas 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 Texas 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 Texas 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 Texas
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Houston | Newark |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 67°/48°F (20°/9°C) | 48°/27°F (9°/-2°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 86°/67°F (30°/19°C) | 76°/51°F (24°/11°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 93°/73°F (34°/23°C) | 85°/63°F (29°/17°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 73°/53°F (23°/11°C) | 58°/36°F (14°/2°C) |
View all months
| Month | Houston | Newark |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 63°/43°F (17.2°/6.2°C) | 42°/24°F (5.6°/-4.4°C) |
| Feb | 66°/47°F (19.1°/8.1°C) | 46°/26°F (7.7°/-3.2°C) |
| Mar | 73°/53°F (22.8°/11.4°C) | 55°/32°F (12.7°/0.2°C) |
| Apr | 80°/59°F (26.4°/15.2°C) | 67°/42°F (19.4°/5.3°C) |
| May | 86°/68°F (30.2°/19.8°C) | 76°/51°F (24.6°/10.7°C) |
| Jun | 91°/73°F (33.0°/22.9°C) | 85°/61°F (29.5°/16.3°C) |
| Jul | 94°/75°F (34.3°/23.9°C) | 88°/66°F (31.2°/18.8°C) |
| Aug | 94°/75°F (34.7°/23.8°C) | 87°/65°F (30.4°/18.1°C) |
| Sep | 90°/70°F (32.1°/21.0°C) | 80°/57°F (26.5°/14.0°C) |
| Oct | 82°/61°F (27.8°/16.1°C) | 69°/45°F (20.4°/7.3°C) |
| Nov | 72°/52°F (22.5°/11.2°C) | 58°/36°F (14.2°/2.4°C) |
| Dec | 64°/45°F (17.9°/7.0°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 Texas?
On average New Jersey is around 32% pricier than Texas, with notable variation by city.
How much money do I need to move to New Jersey?
Budget about $24,675 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 Texas across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in New Jersey compared to Texas?
New Jersey performs significantly better than Texas across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in New Jersey compared to Texas?
The average high temperature in Newark is 67°F, compared to 80°F in Houston. Newark receives around 46.2 in of rainfall per year, while Houston gets 49.8 in.
