COMPARE COST OF LIVING

Essex County, NJ→Pierce County, WA

Equivalent salary in Pierce County, WA

$50,595

+1.19% higher

Current salary: $50,000

Household: 1 adult · 0 children

Median Income in Essex County, NJ: $101,256

Median Income in Pierce County, WA: $111,126

Living Index in Essex County, NJ 52.33

Living Index in Pierce County, WA 48.24

This estimate matches your purchasing power (equivalent salary) when moving from Essex County, NJ to Pierce County, WA.

* Living index is estimated from (estimated total cost / median_income of area) * 100.A living index above 100% means costs exceed median income.

Cost of Living Breakdown by Category

Summary/TLDR:

Total costs in Essex County, NJ and Pierce County, WA are within about 1.19% of each other. The move is less about overall savings and more about swapping which categories are expensive: you’ll feel the difference in specific areas like Healthcare, not in your entire budget. Moving can lead to meaningful savings especially in Food, Healthcare, and Taxes According to the Economic Policy Institute’s 2025 Family Budget data, Essex County, NJ's Healthcare costs are 18.88% higher ($5,470 vs. $4,437), driving a large part of the cost difference. Movers could potentially save $1,033 in annual expenses. Housing, Transport and Other Costs costs for Pierce County, WA , however, rise slightly.

Since Healthcare is one of the biggest drivers of living costs, this gap alone can noticeably change how the move feels month to month. If you have ongoing medical needs or dependents, this difference can be especially important over time.

Below we break down the key differences driving this gap.

What changed the most?

The following numbers represent which categories have the highest and lowest cost increase when moving to Pierce County, WA.

Biggest Increase

Highest new COST when moving to Pierce County, WA

Average Cost:

$15,327 per year

HOUSING costs are highest in Pierce County, WA.

Smallest Increase

Highest money SAVE when moving to Pierce County, WA

Average Cost:

$4,437 per year

HEALTHCARE costs are lowest in Pierce County, WA.

Breakdown of price percentages per category.

Numbers are average costs per section.

Category	Difference
Housing	11.96% higher
Essex County, NJ Pierce County, WA Average Cost $15327.00 $17160.00 INFO: Housing costs are based on the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The data represented shows the rental cost at the 40th percentile at a given area for privately owned, rental unit. Studio apartments were paired with 1 adult families, 1 Bedroom apartments with 2 Adult families, and 2 bedroom apartments for families with 1 or 2 children.
Food	-6.59% lower
Essex County, NJ Pierce County, WA Average Cost $4963.00 $4636.00 INFO: Food cost are based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's food plan. Numbers are normalized to each area using weights from Feeding America and the Meal Gap data. This number assumes most food is bought at a local grocery store and then prepared at home.
Transport	2.43% higher
Essex County, NJ Pierce County, WA Average Cost $12157.00 $12452.00 INFO: Transportation costs are a combination of auto ownership, auto use, and public transit. Data is collected from the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT).
Healthcare	-18.88% lower
Essex County, NJ Pierce County, WA Average Cost $5470.00 $4437.00 INFO: Health care expenses come from an average of insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs. The data assumes families purchase the lowest cost available insurance plan under the Affordable Care Act. Data comes from Kaiser Family foundation and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Other Costs	7.43% higher
Essex County, NJ Pierce County, WA Average Cost $6827.00 $7334.00 INFO: This cost is calculated through the average spending of categories deemed necessary by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey. These include apparel, personal care, household supplies, reading materials, and school supplies.
Taxes	-7.84% lower
Essex County, NJ Pierce County, WA Average Cost $8238.00 $7592.00 INFO: Taxes are calculated from the National Bureau of Economic Research. The number weighs in personal income tax, state income tax, federal Social Security, and Medicare taxes.

In your new location your total average costs would be $53611.00 compared to your previous average costs of $52983.00.

The higher price could be attributed to different factors. For example, larger differences, the delta could be attributed to the fact that a city is a metropolitan location.

In this case Pierce County, WA and Essex County, NJ are both metropolitan locations.

Use our map to visually compare multiple counties at once.

Use the Cost of Living Map