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Living in the Garden State with kids won’t save you much green.
The cost of living in New Jersey has risen by $40,800 for families since the pandemic — making it no longer significantly cheaper to move from the Big Apple across the Hudson River, according to new data.
A massive spike in the cost of childcare, housing and healthcare is breaking the bank for families in New Jersey — where costs have soared a whopping 38.2% over the past six years, according to the Living Wage Institute.
By contrast, the cost of living rose 25 % in New York and 31.1% in Pennsylvania during the same time period, according to the data.
“At this phase, it’s more expensive for us to raise kids in New Jersey than New York,” Kristyna Frantz, who moved from Washington Heights to Fanwood, New Jersey in 2024, told Bloomberg.
“We’re paying more in child care, commuting costs and our mortgage is more than our rent in the city. It’s crazy to think about the cost savings we could have had if we could have universal child care for all three kids and just pay for after-school care.”
Frantz said her family is forking over $5,000 for childcare for three kids per month — and that they would be paying $1,000 less if they still lived in the city, where their oldest was enrolled in a free city program.
Indeed, childcare in the Garden State was the biggest financial burden on two-child families, soaring a whopping 57% statewide since 2021, according to the data.
The price of housing in New Jersey, meanwhile, rose 37.5% since 2021 while healthcare increased 55.5%, according to the data.
Overall, the cost of living in New Jersey rose annually by 6.7%—well higher than the 4.5 % national average.
Prices are soaring in the Garden State in part because the housing market got more competitive during the pandemic, Bloomberg reported.
“Pre-pandemic it was affordable everywhere in New Jersey for a family to lay down roots outside of the city,” said Jeffrey Otteau, chief economist of his namesake real estate firm. “Today, if your household is making $150,000 or less, it’s not a safe haven for affordability.”
Overall, the state’s childcare and healthcare cost growth more than tripled since 2023, according to the report.
“For many young families living in New Jersey today, child care is their biggest expense,” in some cases topping their mortgage or rent payment, said Sharon Levine, campaign director for childcare advocacy group Start Strong NJ.
