You’ll be blown away at the cheapest NJ city to build a home in

If you’ve ever thought of building a house, you may have wondered how much it might cost to do so in NJ. And in your town in particular.

Estimation QS did the research for you.

They found that overall New Jersey is one of the most expensive states to build a new home in. According to Estimation QS, it costs 9% more than the national average to build a home here.

The only states where it’s more expensive to build a home than it is in New Jersey are the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Hawaii and the number one most expensive U.S. state in which to build a home: Alaska. It has a home building cost that is 23% more than the national average.

According to their study, the construction costs per square foot in each state varies by a certain amount.

The regional building cost per square foot based on the local construction index, roughly follows this formula:

If $X is the average national building cost in the USA, then here is what it would cost to build a home in each of these NJ metros.

Here are the top 5…
New Jersey 9% (9% more than X)
District of Columbia 12% (12% more than X)
Massachusetts 12% (12% more than X)
Hawaii 20% (20% more than X)
Alaska 23% (23% more than X)

But the study went further to find out which ZIP codes within the state of New Jersey are the most expensive to build homes in. And again, they listed the percentage deviation from X, (if X stands for the average national building cost)

That makes Edison the most expensive city in which to build a home in New Jersey. And that’s because of the priciest construction in all of Edison, that of ZIP codes that begin with 088 and 089.

At 13% higher than the average, those ZIP codes make Edison number one on the list followed closely by Passaic (070,) Monmouth County (all the ZIP Codes that begin with 077,) and Newark (071-073.)

They report the percentage deviation of building costs from the National Average for 10 cities/areas in NJ.

OK let’s recap. If $X is the Average National Building Cost in the USA, then here is what it would cost to build a home in each of these NJ metros.

Brick 087 2%
Atlantic City 080-084 4%
Paterson 074-075 7%
Dover 078 9%
Hackensack 076 10%
Princeton 085 10%
Newark 071-073 11%
Monmouth 077 12%
Passaic 070 12%
Edison 088-089 13%

So if you’re looking to build, according to this report, you should be looking for property in Brick. Who knew?

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Judi Franco only.

You can now listen to Dennis & Judi — On Demand! Hear New Jersey’s favorite best friends anytime, anywhere and any day of the week. Download the Dennis & Judi show wherever you get podcasts, on our free app, or listen right now.

Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom