New Jersey vs Pennsylvania

Enter your current annual income to compare its purchasing power between the two states.

A $100,000 income in New Jersey is worth

$91,912

at national prices · RPP 108.8BEA RPP SARPP. Source: BEA Regional Price Parities · SARPP · 2024 vintage · released February 19, 2026 · Official API

In Pennsylvania, the same income is worth

$102,459

at national prices · RPP 97.6BEA RPP SARPP. Source: BEA Regional Price Parities · SARPP · 2024 vintage · released February 19, 2026 · Official API

$100,000 has $10,547 more purchasing power in Pennsylvania.

Decision shortcut

To match $100,000 in New Jersey, you would need about $89,706in Pennsylvania.

Enter a different offer to compare it with your current income after local prices.

Show the math
adjusted = income ÷ (RPP ÷ 100)
New Jersey: $100,000 ÷ (108.8 ÷ 100) = $91,912
Pennsylvania: $100,000 ÷ (97.6 ÷ 100) = $102,459
difference: $102,459 − $91,912 = +$10,547

Where the difference comes from

Price level by component, 100 = US average. Higher means more expensive.

Regional price parity by component for the two states, with the percentage difference.
ComponentNew JerseyPennsylvaniaDifference
All items108.897.6−10.3%
Housing rents134.385.1−36.6%
Goods107.199.4−7.2%
Utilities114.2109.3−4.3%
Other services103.599.8−3.6%

BEA Regional Price Parities · SARPP · 2024 · rel. February 19, 2026 · Official API

Housing reality check

ACS median gross rent, home value, and real estate taxes paid — statewide context beyond the index.

New JerseyMedian rent$1,720/moMedian home$454,400Median property tax paid$9,590/yr
PennsylvaniaMedian rent$1,209/moMedian home$254,500Median property tax paid$3,311/yr

US Census ACS 5-Year Estimates · ACS5 · 2024 · rel. December 2025 · Official API

Tax at a glance

Hand-curated, tax year 2026 · verified 2026-07-20

Top marginal and average combined rates do not estimate a household's total tax liability.

Income and sales tax for the two states.
TaxNew JerseyPennsylvania
Income tax (top rate)10.75%3.07%
Sales tax (combined avg)6.60%6.34%

Tax Foundation (income & sales) · Tax · 2026 · rel. tax year 2026 · Manually maintained · verified 2026-07-20

Official API Manually maintained2 of 3 metrics sourced from official APIs, 1 manually maintained. How every number is calculated →

New Jersey vs Pennsylvania: the read

The bottom line

Compare a $100,000 income in New Jersey and Pennsylvania: its purchasing power is $91,912 and $102,459, respectively, in national-average terms — a gain of $10,547. Pennsylvania is the cheaper of the two, running at 97.6 on the price index versus 108.8.

Where the difference comes from

The widest gap is housing rents: New Jersey sits at 134.3 and Pennsylvania at 85.1 (100 = national). Pennsylvania has the edge there, and it's the main reason the two states diverge.

Housing

Median rent runs $1,720 in New Jersey against $1,209 in Pennsylvania, and the typical home $454,400 versus $254,500. Pennsylvania is the more affordable place to buy.

Taxes

On tax, New Jersey has 10.75% top income tax and a combined sales tax of 6.60%; Pennsylvania has 3.07% top income tax and 6.34%. Those headline rates are useful screening facts, but they do not calculate either household's total liability.

Full profiles: New Jersey ·Pennsylvania. Every figure here is sourced on the pages linked above.

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