Situated on the East Coast with close proximity to New York City and Philadelphia, New Jersey geographically rests in an ideal commercial crossroads location. As a result, the economy is very strong and diverse. For example, rather than capitalizing on one industry like many other states, New Jersey is home to printing, electronic, health care, retail, service, food processing, fishing, shipping, and agricultural industries. The state economy produces more than $400 billion every year. The average per capita income is also well above the national average.



Unfortunately, the cost of living in New Jersey probably requires a good portion of those larger salaries. For example, New Jersey carries one of the heaviest tax burdens of any state in the nation. NJ real estate is also very expensive since the average price from a single family home is $400,000 or more; a figure that is double the national average. In some areas, like Morris or Bergen, $800,000 is more of the median home price.

Part of the reason why real estate is so expensive is because of the scarceness of land. Three hundred years of settling and development coupled with an effort to preserve the state's natural beauty leave very little room for new growth. In addition to limiting development land, the untouched reserves also add to the state's appeal though which makes and the real estate value climb even higher.

If you are looking for the most "affordable" part of New Jersey, the southern region of the state, which is also known as the Pine Barrens, is one of the least expensive and least populated areas. The northwest region probably isn't far behind the Pine Barrens because of its mountainous and wooded terrain. A lot of people are drawn to the metropolitan areas of New York City and Philadelphia or the coastal communities along the eastern shore though. If you work in one of the larger cities, affordable housing will probably be hard to come by.

In spite of the high cost of living, New Jersey is a beautiful and industrious place to settle down. It also boasts one of the strongest education systems in the country. That's why New Jersey students consistently earn the highest average scores on Advanced Placement tests in the nation.