Living in Jersey City, NJ

Jersey City sits comfortably below national crime averages. The violent crime index is 55 against a national baseline of 100, and property crime registers at 66. Most neighborhoods feel safe for walking, errands, and daily life. Like anywhere, some areas need more caution than others — ask locals or check precinct maps before picking a neighborhood. Data from the FBI UCR.

Housing costs in Jersey City are reasonable. Median rent sits at $1,902/month with median household income at $94,813/year — a 24.1% rent-to-income ratio. That's well within the comfort zone that most financial advisors recommend. It's not dirt cheap, but most working households can afford rent here without financial strain. Other costs like groceries and utilities will vary, but the rent picture is solid. Census ACS 2023 data.

It can be. The mean commute is 29 minutes, a bit above the national average. 28.1% of workers drive solo, which means congestion during rush hour is real. 37.1% rely on public transit, and 21.6% skip the commute by working from home. If you're choosing between neighborhoods, proximity to your workplace should rank high on the list — a few miles can mean 20 extra minutes each way during peak hours.

Not particularly. The climate risk score is 27/100, which puts Jersey City in the low-risk tier. Flood, Hurricane, and Heat Wave are the most relevant hazards, but none of them are frequent concerns. Standard insurance should have you covered. It's one less thing to worry about if you're comparing this city to higher-risk metros along the coast or in tornado alley. Data from FEMA disaster declarations and NOAA.

For most families, yes. Graduation rates run at 90.0% with a 13:1 student-teacher ratio, which is respectable. The best schools in Jersey City compete with any in the state, though weaker ones pull the city-wide average down. If schools drive your housing decision, focus on specific attendance zones — the right neighborhood makes all the difference.

Good, overall. The median AQI sits at 44, which falls within the EPA's "Good" category, and Jersey City logs 255 clean-air days annually. PM2.5 is the main pollutant. Occasional spikes happen — wildfire smoke, temperature inversions, or high-ozone days — but they're the exception, not the rule. Check AirNow.gov during allergy season or summer heat waves.

Mostly, yes. The system scores 75/100, with 0 health-based violations on record and a "medium" lead risk rating. That's a solid track record. Most residents drink tap water without issues. If you're in an older building with pre-1986 plumbing, a basic filter is a cheap precaution. For detailed contaminant info, check EWG's Tap Water Database.

Everything on this page is built from public government sources: rent and income figures from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS 5-Year Estimates, 2023); commute and transportation data from Census ACS tables B08303 and B08006; crime rates from the FBI Uniform Crime Report; climate risk assessments using FEMA disaster declarations and NOAA storm records; air quality measurements from the EPA's Air Quality System database; water quality compliance data from EPA records and the EWG Tap Water Database; school data from the National Center for Education Statistics. We refresh each dataset monthly through an automated pipeline and cross-check for anomalies. No surveys, no user-submitted guesses — just official federal data presented in a way that's actually useful for people researching a move.