What does the Kern County, CA vs Monmouth County, NJ comparison show?

It compares estimated living costs by category, including housing, food, transportation, healthcare, childcare, other necessities, taxes, and income context.

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Yes. The comparison calculator supports salary and family type inputs so you can model costs for different households.

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Kern County, CA vs Monmouth County, NJ: Cost of Living Difference

Name: WatchPennies cost of living dataset
Creator: WatchPennies

Is it cheaper?

Kern County, CA is cheaper than Monmouth County, NJ.

Moving to Monmouth County, NJ is estimated to cost $11,081 more per year.

Cheaper County

Kern County, CASpend $11,081 more per year.

Salary needed

$50,000 in Kern County, CA is about $61,155 in Monmouth County, NJ.

Biggest drivers

Housing increases by $5,355 per year. Transport saves $633 per year.

Housing: $5,355 higher in Monmouth County, NJ

Taxes: $3,020 higher in Monmouth County, NJ

Childcare: about the same in both counties

Healthcare: $556 higher in Monmouth County, NJ

Food: $854 higher in Monmouth County, NJ

Transport: $633 lower in Monmouth County, NJ

Kern County, CA→Monmouth County, NJ

Equivalent salary in Monmouth County, NJ

$61,155

+22.31% higher

Current salary: $50,000

Household: 1 adult · 0 children

Median Income in Kern County, CA: $75,186

Median Income in Monmouth County, NJ: $155,779

Living Index in Kern County, CA 66.06%

Living Index in Monmouth County, NJ 39.00%

This estimate matches your purchasing power (equivalent salary) when moving from Kern County, CA to Monmouth County, NJ.

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

Cost of Living Breakdown by Category

Summary

Moving from Kern County, CA to Monmouth County, NJ is estimated to cost $11,081 more per year. To maintain similar purchasing power, a $50,000 salary in Kern County, CA would need to be about $61,155 in Monmouth County, NJ. The biggest increase is housing, followed by taxes.

This is a 22.31% increase in modeled annual costs. Housing is $5,355 per year higher (42.18%); Taxes is $3,020 per year higher (33.43%).

Below we break down the annual categories behind the difference using Economic Policy Institute 2026 Family Budget data.

What changed the most?

The following cards show the annual category differences that most affect the move to Monmouth County, NJ.

Biggest Cost

Largest annual cost increase when moving to Monmouth County, NJ

Annual Increase:

$5,355 per year

HOUSING has the largest annual increase when moving to Monmouth County, NJ.

Biggest Savings

Largest annual savings when moving to Monmouth County, NJ

Annual Savings:

$633 per year

TRANSPORT has the largest annual savings when moving to Monmouth County, NJ.

Breakdown of price percentages per category.

Numbers are average costs per section.

Category	Difference
Housing	42.18% higher
Kern County, CA Monmouth County, NJ Average Cost $12696.00 $18051.00 INFO: Housing costs are based on Department of Housing and Urban Development data. The estimate uses 40th percentile rent for privately owned rental units in each area. Studio apartments are paired with one-adult households, one-bedroom apartments with two-adult households, and two-bedroom apartments with households that have children.
Food	21.39% higher
Kern County, CA Monmouth County, NJ Average Cost $3992.00 $4846.00 INFO: Food costs are based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's food plans. Numbers are normalized to each area using Feeding America and Meal Gap data. This estimate assumes most food is bought at local grocery stores and prepared at home.
Transport	-4.61% lower
Kern County, CA Monmouth County, NJ Average Cost $13742.00 $13109.00 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	11.07% higher
Kern County, CA Monmouth County, NJ Average Cost $5024.00 $5580.00 INFO: Healthcare expenses come from average insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs. The estimate assumes families purchase the lowest-cost available insurance plan under the Affordable Care Act. Data comes from Kaiser Family Foundation and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Other Costs	37.21% higher
Kern County, CA Monmouth County, NJ Average Cost $5181.00 $7109.00 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.
Childcare	0.00% higher
Kern County, CA Monmouth County, NJ Average Cost $0.00 $0.00 INFO: Childcare expenses are based on combined costs for center-based care and family-based care for 4-year-olds and school-aged children. For households with one child, the estimate assumes the child is 4 years old. For households with two children, the estimate assumes the second child is 8 years old.
Taxes	33.43% higher
Kern County, CA Monmouth County, NJ Average Cost $9035.00 $12055.00 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 Monmouth County, NJ, modeled annual costs are $60,751 compared with $49,670 in Kern County, CA.

Overall, annual costs are higher in Monmouth County, NJ. The category breakdown above shows whether housing, taxes, transportation, healthcare, food, childcare, or other necessities are driving the increase.

In this case Monmouth County, NJ and Kern County, CA are both metropolitan locations.

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