Cost of Living in Iselin, NJ

An Overview of Cost of Living in Iselin, NJ

Knowing the cost of living in Iselin allows individuals to create a realistic budget. This helps them understand how their income will cover expenses and whether they need to make financial adjustments. The cost of living in any region can fluctuate due to various factors. To assess the cost of living consistently across different areas, a national average of 100 serves as the basis for the cost of living index. The cost of living in Iselin stands at 129, marking it 29% higher than the national average.

If you prioritize affordability when seeking a new place to live, Iselin may not be your ideal choice, as it ranks among the most expensive locations in the entire United States. A very small amount of areas exhibit a cost of living at least 20% higher than the national average, and unfortunately, Iselin falls into this category, which may not align with your preferences for a budget-friendly living environment.

Housing costs make up a big chunk of the cost of living in Iselin, and they usually eat into a large part of your take-home pay. Unfortunately, in this area, both buying a home and renting one costs 77.6% more than the average city. This includes stuff like home prices, rent, mortgage rates, and insurance.

Recurring goods and services expenses like haircuts, toothpaste, gym memberships and movie nights are a big part of your spending and make up 33% of the cost of living index. In Iselin, these items will cost you 11.3% more than what most folks pay, making it a bit more expensive to live here.

Is Iselin Affordable?

Is Iselin affordable? It's a key consideration when pondering a move, as affordability often shapes your choices. The cost of living index (we discussed it earlier), coupled with housing costs and income levels, serves as the cornerstone for determining a location's affordability. Take Iselin, for instance, where the median home price falls 71.3% higher than the national average, and monthly rent rates are 92.4% higher than usual. Additionally, median income levels contribute to the equation, with Iselin flaunting a median household income of $101,386, 83.3% higher than the national norm.

What Factors can Influence the Cost of Living in Iselin?

Healthcare: Healthcare expenses and insurance premiums can vary significantly depending on the specific city or state. Factors such as accessibility to healthcare facilities, out-of-pocket expenses for doctor's visits, dental care expenses, prescription costs and specialized medical care fees can all influence the overall cost of living. In Iselin, healthcare costs are 1.9% higher than the national average.

Subsidies: Some areas might offer government subsidies or assistance programs that help lower cost of living for residents. These programs can include anything from Medicare, Medicaid, housing subsidies, low-income home energy assistance programs, school lunch programs, supplemental nutrition assistance programs, student loans, electric vehicle tax credits, affordable care act subsidies and crop subsidies. Areas that offer less subsidies, could see an increase in their cost of living.

Groceries: Grocery costs have continued to increase significantly over the last 2-3 years. In some markets the cost of food has gone up by more than 20% in that period. While other markets have managed to see only a moderate uptick. These food costs can have a major impact on the cost of living in any area. In Iselin, the groceries index is 2.5% higher than the national average.

Where is the Data From?

The Iselin cost of living data displayed above is derived from the C2ER cost of living index to provide a useful and reasonably accurate measure of living cost differences in urban areas. The index takes into account data from 300 independent researches, covering more than 60 goods and services across 6 different categories, to create an overall index for each area, with 100 being the average. The C2ER index does not include sales or income tax rates in their data, however AreaVibes does include both income and sales tax rates in the overall cost of living score for each area.