Updated at 6:45 a.m. on 2/16/22
Two new studies paint a mixed picture of the finances of Jersey City residents. On the one hand—and this may not come as a surprise—it costs a lot to live in New Jersey’s second largest city. On the other, residents manage their money relatively well.
According to a new study from doxoINSIGHTS, the average person in Jersey City spends $2,734 per month on the ten most common household bills, 36.5 percent higher than the national average of $2,003.
Jersey City looks cheap, however, when compared to Hoboken, where residents pay an average of $3,575 per month on those same bills, a whopping 78.5% higher than the national average. Bayonne is only slightly less expensive to live in at $2,489 per month.
Seattle-based Doxo, which prepared the report, says it provides a bill-pay service to over 6 million people representing “all U.S. income and regional demographic segments.” According to the company, “By incorporating tens of millions of payments, the 2022 U.S. Bill Pay Market Size & Category Breakout Report is a true, direct representation of what Americans actually pay on bills.”
Given the high cost of living, one might expect that Jersey City residents have difficulty managing their money. But no, according to another new study, this one from financial website WalletHub. Of 2,572 small to large U.S. cities, Jersey City ranked a very respectable 409 on that count.
Unsurprisingly, the wealthiest communities seem to have done the best, with Scarsdale, New York; Cupertino, California; and Los Altos, California ranking 1, 2 and 3 respectively.
Jersey City’s northern neighbor, Hoboken, did substantially better than “Chilltown” in terms of “difficulty managing money” with a ranking of 78. The primary difference appears to have been much less student- and auto-related debt. Bayonne, conversely, clocked in at number 831 as a result of more late bill payments, bigger student loans, and more credit card debt.
Willis, Texas, a tiny northern suburb of Houston with big personal debt problems, placed dead last. The full report can be seen here.
To arrive at its rankings, WalletHub looked at a variety of metrics including debt-to-income ratios, credit scores, and bankruptcies.
Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash