You have to make $100k to live in these 10 NJ counties

You already knew New Jersey was too expensive but here's another way of saying it.

A national real estate data company, ATTOM, crunched some numbers from the final quarter of 2022 and came up with something jaw-dropping. If you want to own a median-priced home in New Jersey there are 10 counties where you'll have to earn bare minimum $100k to be able to do that.

Before I give you the counties, here's what they took into consideration.

ATTOM calculated affordability by looking at salaries, home deeds, how much it would cost for property taxes, mortgage payments and homeowner insurance.

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They assumed a 28% debt-to-income ratio and paying 20% down. Think of how high home prices have gone in the Garden State and how many people can realistically come up with 20% down payments.

So where are the 10 counties you'll need to earn at least $100k to be able to buy a median-priced home?

Bergen County

Wages required for home ownership $171,319

Morris County

Wages required for home ownership $152,944

Essex County

Wages required for home ownership $138,948

Union County

Wages required for home ownership $136.356

Somerset County

Wages required for home ownership $135,675

Passaic County

Wages required for home ownership $131,315

Hunterdon County

Wages required for home ownership $131,306

Monmouth County

Wages required for home ownership $123,063

Middlesex County

Wages required for home ownership $119,958

Ocean County

Wages required for home ownership $103,615

No wonder average people seem to never be able to get ahead. These numbers are demoralizing.

At least we're not the very worst in the nation. The top 10 counties requiring the biggest wages for home ownership belong to California and New York. The number 1 is San Mateo County, California where you need to earn $367,563.

That's even more costly than where Nancy Pelosi lives.

The county in New Jersey requiring the least income to afford a median-priced home is Cumberland where you need $54,125.

How much does the average NJ home cost? Median prices by county

Everything is costing more these days — and housing is certainly no exception in New Jersey.

Data for 2023 from January through May, compiled by New Jersey Realtors, shows that homes hit the market and sell in two months or less, on average.

Median prices for single-family homes have reached $500,000 and above in nine counties.

Most counties have seen houses go for more than the list price this year, while the rest have been very close to asking — on average.

Gallery Credit: Erin Vogt

LOOK: Here's where people in every state are moving to most

Stacker analyzed the Census Bureau's 2019 American Community Survey data to determine the three most popular destinations for people moving out of each state.

Gallery Credit: Amanda Silvestri

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