Everything else equal, we can all agree that living in a cheaper place is better than living in a more expensive place.
I’d much rather pay $500/mo in rent than $1,000. And I’d rather pay $2 for coffee than $5.
And while every neighbhorhood in Jersey City might be more expensive than living in rural New Jersey, there are certain neighborhoods that are definitely cheaper.
What exactly are those Jersey City neighborhoods where your dollar goes a little further — you can get that one bedroom instead of the studio?
Instead of relying on public opinion and speculation, we wanted to get the facts straight and determine which neighborhoods in Jersey City are the cheapest using Saturday Night Science.
What’s the cheapest neighborhood to live in Jersey City for 2024? According to the most recent census data, Lincoln Park looks to be the cheapest Jersey City neighborhood to live in.
At this point, we should make it clear that you do get what you pay for — some of these neighborhoods might not be the best places to live in Jersey City. You could be sacrificing location or crime rates for more space and cheaper groceries.
Read on to see how we determined the places around Jersey City that deserve a little bragging rights, or maybe you’re interested in the worst neighborhoods in Jersey City.
For more New Jersey reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In New Jersey
- Cheapest Places To Live In New Jersey
- Cheapest Cities To Live In America
- Cheapest States To Live In America
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 5 Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Jersey City For 2024
/10
Population: 1,019
Cost Of Living Index: 133 (5th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 4.5 (2nd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.016 (2nd cheapest)
More on Lincoln Park: Data | Real Estate
/10
Population: 618
Cost Of Living Index: 144 (9th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 3.3 (cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.014 (cheapest)
More on Liberty Park: Data | Real Estate
/10
Population: 48,963
Cost Of Living Index: 128 (2nd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 5.3 (5th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.021 (7th cheapest)
More on Greenville: Data | Real Estate
/10
Population: 23,620
Cost Of Living Index: 134 (6th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 4.8 (4th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.02 (6th cheapest)
More on West Side: Data | Real Estate
/10
Population: 20,749
Cost Of Living Index: 131 (3rd cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 6.5 (10th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.019 (4th cheapest)
More on Mcginley Square: Data | Real Estate
Methodology: How We Determined The Cheapest Jersey City Hoods In 2024
To rank the cheapest places to live in Jersey City, we had to determine what criteria define “cheap” and then apply Saturday Night Science.
Using Census and extrapolated BLS data, we arrived at the following set of criteria:
- Overall Cost Of Living
- Rent To Income Ratio
- Median Home Value To Income Ratio
We then ranked each neighborhood with scores from 1 to 11 in each category, where 1 was the cheapest.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each neighborhood to create a cheap neighborhood index.
And finally, we crowned the neighborhood with the lowest cheapest neighborhood index, the “Cheapest City Neighborhood In Jersey City.” We’re lookin’ at you, Lincoln Park.
We updated this article for 2024. This is our fourth time ranking the cheapest neighborhoods to live in Jersey City. Skip to the end to see the list of all the neighborhoods in the city, from cheapest to most expensive.
Summary: Lowest Cost Places To Live In Jersey City
If you’re measuring the neighborhoods in Jersey City where prices are low, and it’s cheap to live, this is an accurate list.
The most affordable neighborhoods in Jersey City are Lincoln Park, Liberty Park, Greenville, West Side, McGinley Square, Hackensack Riverfront, The Waterfront, Downtown, Journal Square, and The Heights.
As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Jersey City aren’t all cheap. Bergen-Lafayette takes the title of the most expensive neighborhood to live in Jersey City.
The most expensive neighborhoods in Jersey City are Bergen-Lafayette, The Heights, Journal Square, Downtown, and The Waterfront.
We ranked the neighborhoods from cheapest to most expensive in the chart below.
For more New Jersey reading, check out:
- Most Dangerous Cities In New Jersey
- Richest Cities In New Jersey
- Safest Places In New Jersey
- Worst Places To Live In New Jersey
Detailed List Of The Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Jersey City For 2024
| Rank | Neighborhood | Cost Of Living Index |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lincoln Park | 133 |
| 2 | Liberty Park | 144 |
| 3 | Greenville | 128 |
| 4 | West Side | 134 |
| 5 | Mcginley Square | 131 |
| 6 | Hackensack Riverfront | 126 |
| 7 | The Waterfront | 161 |
| 8 | Downtown | 161 |
| 9 | Journal Square | 132 |
| 10 | The Heights | 135 |
| 11 | Bergen-Lafayette | 134 |