COMPARE COST OF LIVING
Essex County, NJ→San Mateo County, CA
This estimate matches your purchasing power (equivalent salary) when moving from Essex County, NJ to San Mateo County, CA.
* 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:
Moving from Essex County, NJ to San Mateo County, CA can actually lead to higher overall expenses. You would end up spending an estimated 65.01% ($34,446) more per year. Unless your move comes with a significant salary jump, this new location will feel much tighter in day-to-day spending. In fact you would not get any savings from any of the major cost of living categories. According to the Economic Policy Institute’s 2025 Family Budget data, Essex County, NJ's costs are all lower (none vs. none), driving a large part of the cost difference. Movers could end up paying about $34,446 in annual expenses. Housing, Food, Transport, Healthcare, Other Costs and Taxes costs for San Mateo County, CA , however, rise slightly.
Because all the major cost-of-living categories are higher in San Mateo County, CA, the higher cost of living will be spread across housing, everyday expenses, and taxes rather than concentrated in just one area. Even though it’s not always the first thing people look at, these expenses still add up over a full year.
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 San Mateo County, CA.
$15,327 per year
HOUSING costs are highest in San Mateo County, CA.
NONE per year
costs are highest in San Mateo County, CA.
Breakdown of price percentages per category.
Numbers are average costs per section.
| Category | Difference | |
|---|---|---|
| Housing | 99.70% higher | |
| Food | 5.46% higher | |
| Transport | 15.44% higher | |
| Healthcare | 28.28% higher | |
| Other Costs | 76.64% higher | |
| Taxes | 124.28% higher |
In your new location your total average costs would be $87429.00 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 San Mateo County, CA and Essex County, NJ are both metropolitan locations.
Use our map to visually compare multiple counties at once.
