Jersey City, NJ — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·New Jersey·Jersey City

Why look at Jersey City?

  • Mid-tier housing market. Median home is $665k.
  • Stable market. Home values -0.9% year-over-year — neither overheated nor falling.
  • Higher tax state. Top marginal income tax rate around 10.8% — factor into salary comparisons.
Jersey City, NJ
Image: Wikipedia · Jersey City, New Jersey
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61
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Jersey City stands

At or near all-time high.

Median home $664,939
1-year -0.9%
5-yr growth +3.1%
vs 5-yr peak -1.1%
Population +0.9%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2025-06$665k$363k$475k$587k$699k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
100/100
Walker's paradise
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
80/100
Excellent transit
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
70/100
Strong remote-work fit
Composite of city size, housing cost, state tax structure, and region's remote-work track record.

Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.

Rent trajectory · last 5 years

Zillow ZORI · monthly
$3,117/mo$2,079$2,691$3,304202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent116141100120140202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 17.8
Lean buy

At a 17.8 price-to-rent ratio, Jersey City is in the 'depends on horizon' zone. Buy if you'll be there 5+ years and value flexibility on the home; rent if you might move, want zero maintenance friction, or expect rates to drop.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →
Home YoY
46 · w22%
Home 5-yr growth
54 · w22%
Distance from peak
84 · w18%
Population growth
63 · w16%
Rent YoY
62 · w12%
Home 10-yr growth
64 · w10%

About Jersey City (Wikipedia)

Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark. It is the county seat of Hudson County, the county's most populous city and its largest by area. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 292,449, an increase of 44,852 (+18.1%) from the 2010 census count of 247,597. With more than 40 languages spoken in more than 52% of homes and as of 2020, 42.5% of residents born outside the United States, it is the most ethnically diverse city in the United States.

Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.

City facts

MayorJames Solomon (D)
Area21.03 sq mi
Elevation20 ft
European Settlement1630
Motto"Let Jersey Prosper""Jersey City, Make It ''Yours''"
Density19835.1/sq mi
Named forNew Jersey

Extracted from the Wikipedia infobox. Values may be slightly out of date relative to the latest sources.

Things to see in Jersey City(Notable landmarks)

  • Statue of Liberty National Monument, Ellis Island and Liberty Island (Liberty Island and part of Ellis Island are located in New York, but both islands are closer to the New Jersey shoreline.)
  • The Liberty Science Center, is a Convert|300000|sqft|adj=on science museum and learning center located in Liberty State Park.
  • The Katyń Memorial by Polish-American artist Andrzej Pitynski on Exchange Place is the first memorial of its kind to be raised on American soil to honor the dead of the Katyń Forest Massacre.
  • The Lincoln the Mystic is a memorial honoring Abraham Lincoln by James Earle Fraser at the entrance to Lincoln Park.
  • The White Eagle Hall is a renovated and re-opened historic theater. Constructed in 1910, it had served as the practice gym for the Saint Anthony High School Friars basketball program.

Extracted from the Wikipedia article. Names linked in the source — open the city’s Wikipedia page for details.

Local safety & alerts

No active National Weather Service alerts for Hudson County right now.

Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Hudson County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.

Neighborhoods of Jersey City

10 tracked · ranked by median home value
1The Waterfront$1,002,610+5.4%
2Downtown$870,521-1.2%
3The Heights$756,523+0.5%
4Bergen-Lafayette$575,792-2.5%
5Greenville$542,758-2.3%
6West Side$542,330-0.7%
7Liberty Park$527,116-2.0%
8Journal Square$520,446-0.9%
9Hackensack Riverfront$513,308-0.7%
10McGinley Square$471,406+3.9%

New Jersey context

Schools

52 public schools32,538 students12.8:1 student-teacher

Jersey City is served by 52 public schools enrolling about 32,538 students, with a student-teacher ratio of 12.8:1 — smaller classes than the US average of ~15:1. Public-school facts are from the NCES Common Core of Data; check ratings and attendance boundaries by exact address below.

Ratings, districts & boundaries:

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.

Climate & natural-disaster risk

Winter (Jan)
38° / 23°
avg high / low
Summer (Jul)
85° / 65°
avg high / low
Sunny days/yr
207
~57% of year
Annual precip
47″ rain
25″ snow
Disaster risk (1=very low, 5=very high)
Hurricane
High
Tornado
Very low
Wildfire
Very low
Earthquake
Very low
Flood
High

State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.

Local sports teams

Major professional teams the New York-Newark-Jersey City area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.

Current weather

Loading current conditions…

7-day forecast on weather.gov →

Find rentals & listings

Open current Jersey City listings on the major real-estate sites.

Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.

Local news & community

Updated 2026-05-28 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Filtered for Jersey City-specific coverage. Headlines link to original sources.

Local economy & environment

Humidity
70%
Humid climate
Median household income
$97,100
New Jersey state median
Top industries (state-level)
FinancePharmaLogistics

Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.

Find more cities like Jersey City

Open the matchmaker pre-filled to match Jersey City’s price band, region, and size — refine to taste.

Find more like Jersey City →

Cities similar to Jersey City

Explore other places with comparable momentum or affordability.

See all New Jersey cities →    Browse best-of lists →

Cost-of-ownership at the median

Tax burden
10.8% top marginal
~31% all-in for a $150k earner
Property tax / yr
$15k
2.23% × median home $665k
Climate / hazard
limited data
Plan for the local hazard profile.

Snapshot assumes a $150k single earner buying at the median home. Your real numbers depend on bracket, deductions, school district, and HOA. Use the affordability calculator and net-pay calculator for your specific case.

Schools & crime context

Schools

School quality is district-by-district and varies dramatically within a city. Check GreatSchools or your state DOE rankings for specific schools before deciding. City-level school data coming soon.

Crime

New Jersey: 195 violent crimes per 100K residents (state avg, FBI UCR). Neighborhood-level rates can vary 10× within one city — research specific areas via CrimeGrade or local police data.

Compare to where you live now

Set your current city once and we’ll show the cost delta on every city profile.

Jobs & hiring

In Jersey City, unemployment sits around 5.5%, and hiring momentum has been steady. The strongest local sectors are tech, healthcare and remote-friendly roles.

5.5% unemployment52/100 hiring momentum$97,710 median household income40/100 remote-work fit

Search current openings: