Lakewood, New Jersey Cost Of Living

F

34%

Overall NAT. AVG.

8%

Goods & Services NAT. AVG.

96%

Housing NAT. AVG.

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2023 and was released from C2ER in January, 2023; 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	Lakewood	New Jersey	National
Cost of living	134	120	100
Goods & Services	108	103	100
Groceries	105	107	100
Health care	91	94	100
Housing	196	158	100
Transportation	109	106	100
Utilities	110	108	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Lakewood is 11% higher than the New Jersey average
The cost of living in Lakewood is 34% higher than the national average
Lakewood housing is 96% higher than the national average
New Jersey general sales tax is 30% higher than the national average
New Jersey state income tax is 38% 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	$95,833	$7,986	$2,236	$2,875
Renters	$37,725	$3,144	$880	$1,132

A good way to judge both the affordability of the housing and the cost of living in Lakewood is by simply calculating the maximum that should be spent on housing, otherwise known as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). The plan is to avoid spending more than 28 percent of the gross income on costs that pertain to housing and no more than 36 percent on all expenses and debts. Lakewood has a median income of about $95,833 for people who own homes. Based on that number, a maximum of $2,236 should be spent on expenses related to housing. Renters have a slightly different median income, which is $37,725. Based on this average, renters should spend no more than $880 on all rental costs if they want to maintain a non-impoverished standard of living.

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	Lakewood	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$24.07	$22.08	9.0%
Beauty Salon	$39.87	$42.88	7.0%
Toothpaste	$2.39	$2.57	6.8%
Shampoo	$1.27	$1.15	10.1%
Movie	$13.01	$11.51	13.1%
Bowling	$20.00	$16.62	20.4%

Groceries

Item	Lakewood	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$4.58	$4.98	8.1%
Fried Chicken	$1.98	$1.58	24.8%
Milk	$2.87	$2.42	18.6%
Potatoes	$3.56	$3.54	0.6%
Pizza	$12.07	$11.49	5.1%
Beer	$9.26	$10.04	7.8%

Health Care

Item	Lakewood	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$110.33	$117.76	6.3%
Doctor	$88.30	$125.34	29.6%
Dentist	$104.11	$107.52	3.2%
Ibuprofen	$9.58	$10.26	6.6%
Lipitor	$532.34	$459.24	15.9%

Housing

Item	Lakewood	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$497,300.00	$184,700.00	169.2%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$2,325.02	$1,697.41	37.0%
Apartment Rent	$1,419.00	$949.00	49.5%

Transportation

Item	Lakewood	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$4.03	$3.85	4.8%
Tire Balancing	$67.04	$57.01	17.6%

Utilities

Item	Lakewood	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$209.11	$177.27	18.0%
Phone	$187.37	$189.62	1.2%

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.
Cedar Glen West, NJ	1,804	81	19.1%
Cedar Glen Lakes, NJ	1,604	86	14.5%
Pine Ridge at Crestwood, NJ	2,611	90	10.4%
Crestwood Village, NJ	8,063	90	9.7%
Leisure Village, NJ	4,714	95	5.1%
Lakewood, NJ	55,039	134	33.8%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Manhattan, KS	55,045	99	0.7%
Southaven, MS	55,026	88	11.9%
Bel Air South, MD	55,024	118	17.9%
Dollard-Des Ormeaux, QC	55,066	n/a
Hempstead, NY	55,153	130	29.8%
Lakewood, NJ	55,039	134	33.8%

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