Cost of living comparison

 Kentucky, USA
compared to
 New Jersey, USA
New Jersey vs. Kentucky Cost of Living Summary

New Jersey is 42.9% more expensive than Kentucky.

Restaurants
pay 20.2% more in New Jersey
Groceries
pay 36.3% more in New Jersey
Transportation
pay 88.7% more in New Jersey
Housing
pay 37.8% more in New Jersey
Childcare
pay 57.5% more in New Jersey
Entertainment and Sports
pay 44.9% more in New Jersey
Clothing
pay 15.1% more in New Jersey

The cost of transportation, childcare, entertainment and sports, housing, groceries, and restaurants in New Jersey are more expensive than in Kentucky. Notably, transportation is significantly more expensive in New Jersey.

New Jersey vs. Kentucky Cost Breakdown

If you lived in New Jersey instead of Kentucky, you would:

pay 20.2% more for restaurants

 
Kentucky
New Jersey
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $14.77
 
$19.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$9.25
 
$11.19
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.21
 
$2.49
 

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pay 36.3% more for groceries

 
Kentucky
New Jersey
Bread
1 loaf
$2.61
 
$3.89
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.61
 
$7.30
 
Milk (1 gallon) $2.62
 
$4.36
 

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pay 88.7% more for transportation

 
Kentucky
New Jersey
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.16
 
$3.49
 
Monthly public transit pass $32.50
 
$133.88
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $34,634.71
 
$31,750.31
 

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pay 37.8% more for housing

 
Kentucky
New Jersey
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$62.62
 
$58.37
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,162.24
 
$2,167.23
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $976.78
 
$1,865.29
 

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pay 57.5% more for childcare

 
Kentucky
New Jersey
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,272.49
 
$1,618.98
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $14,996.29
 
$28,166.67
 

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pay 44.9% more for entertainment and sports

 
Kentucky
New Jersey
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $4.57
 
$6.72
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.73
 
$4.97
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$7.75
 
$11.57
 

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pay 15.1% more for clothing

 
Kentucky
New Jersey
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$45.19
 
$53.04
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$42.32
 
$45.58
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$86.51
 
$91.11
 

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: March 2025
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