Cost Of Living in Garwood, NJ

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F

36%

Overall NAT. AVG.

7%

Goods & Services NAT. AVG.

104%

Housing NAT. AVG.

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2023 and was released from C2ER in January, 2024; this is the most current data available.

The cost of living index is based on a national average of 100. For example, if the cost of living is 90, then it is 10% lower than average. If the cost of living is 110, then it is 10% higher than average. The breakdown for each index is as follows: goods & services (33%), groceries (13%), health care (5%), housing (30%), transportation (9%) and utilities (10%). If the cost of living data was unavailable for this city, estimates based upon nearby cities were used.
Index	Garwood	New Jersey	National
Cost of living	136	121	100
Goods & Services	107	106	100
Groceries	102	102	100
Health care	96	99	100
Housing	204	158	100
Transportation	108	103	100
Utilities	111	107	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Garwood is 12% higher than the New Jersey average
The cost of living in Garwood is 36% higher than the national average
Garwood housing is 104% higher than the national average
New Jersey general sales tax is 30% higher than the national average
New Jersey state income tax is 46% lower than the national average

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Price difference in compared to

Cost of living index
Goods & Services index
Groceries index
Health care index
Housing index
Transportation index
Utilities index

Median Income & Debt-To-Income Ratio

Median Income	Per Year	Per Month	Max Budget (28% DTI)	Max Budget (36% DTI)
Owners	$111,250	$9,271	$2,596	$3,338
Renters	$87,900	$7,325	$2,051	$2,637

The percent of monthly income spent on housing can be a good indicator of the affordability of housing in Garwood, NJ, as well as the overall cost of living. As a general rule of thumb, the debt-to-income ratio (DTI) for homeowners or renters should be not more than 28 percent of gross income to be spent on housing related costs and not more than 36 percent of income on all expenses, including debts. The median income for Garwood homeowners, is $111,250. This would allow for a maximum of $2,596 per month to be spent on housing costs. For renters, the median monthly income is $87,900 which would result in a maximum of $2,051 to be spent on rental costs.

New Jersey Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
New Jersey	6.625%	12.625%

New Jersey Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
New Jersey	1.4%	10.75%

Goods & Services

Item	Garwood	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$25.62	$24.26	5.6%
Beauty Salon	$41.67	$45.56	8.6%
Toothpaste	$3.72	$3.70	0.4%
Shampoo	$1.48	$1.28	15.6%
Movie	$15.78	$12.13	30.1%
Bowling	$21.00	$18.00	16.7%

Groceries

Item	Garwood	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$5.65	$5.84	3.3%
Fried Chicken	$1.39	$1.57	11.4%
Milk	$4.71	$4.67	0.7%
Potatoes	$5.37	$4.93	8.8%
Pizza	$11.49	$12.09	4.9%
Beer	$11.33	$10.41	8.8%

Health Care

Item	Garwood	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$157.11	$125.68	25.0%
Doctor	$115.59	$135.78	14.9%
Dentist	$124.27	$113.29	9.7%
Ibuprofen	$11.15	$10.65	4.6%
Lipitor	$451.73	$468.60	3.6%

Housing

Item	Garwood	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$409,600.00	$184,700.00	121.8%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$3,568.94	$2,346.69	52.1%
Apartment Rent	$1,552.00	$949.00	63.5%

Transportation

Item	Garwood	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.41	$3.46	1.4%
Tire Balancing	$82.67	$59.92	38.0%

Utilities

Item	Garwood	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$236.04	$193.99	21.7%
Phone	$186.61	$192.25	2.9%

Although the cost of living data is updated regularly, this cost of living information is to be used as estimates only as prices can change on an ongoing basis.

Nearby cities with low cost of living

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Zarephath, NJ	94	108	7.8%
Keansburg, NJ	9,697	110	10.4%
East Orange, NJ	64,650	111	11.1%
Roselle, NJ	21,699	112	12.0%
Silver Lake CDP (Warren County), NJ	320	113	13.2%
Garwood, NJ	4,341	136	35.7%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Tontitown, AR	4,341	107	6.5%
South Haven, MI	4,340	104	3.6%
Elberton, GA	4,342	80	19.5%
Camanche, IA	4,342	89	11.3%
Walton, KY	4,343	98	1.6%
Garwood, NJ	4,341	136	35.7%