Moving from New Jersey to Washington
Everyone compares rent and groceries. Almost nobody compares the two numbers that actually decide whether a move works: state income tax and property tax. Here is New Jersey and Washington, side by side.
Moving to Washington costs about
-$340/mo
less than New Jersey each month, renting
Worth knowing
Washington costs less overall, even though housing costs more
Housing runs about $40 a month more in Washington, yet the move still works out roughly $340 a month cheaper once taxes and everyday costs are counted. The house is the expensive part; everything else is not.
New Jersey vs Washington at a glance
| New Jersey | Washington | |
|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $454,400 | $564,600 |
| Median rent | $1,720/mo | $1,760/mo |
| State income tax | Up to 10.75% | No state income tax |
| Property tax rate | 2.11% | 0.81% |
| Groceries, gas & goods | 107 | 104 |
| Utilities | 114 | 93 |
Price levels are indexes where 100 is the national average. They cover everyday spending only; housing is the two rows above.
What changes each month
| Monthly | NJ | WA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | |||
| Housing (median rent) | $1,720 | $1,760 | +$40 |
| Taxes | |||
| State income taxBiggest factor | $242 | $0 | -$242 |
| Sales tax (on everyday spending) | $106 | $101 | -$5 |
| Everyday costs | |||
| Groceries, gas & goods | $1,963 | $1,913 | -$50 |
| Utilities | $466 | $379 | -$87 |
| Total | -$340 | ||
What the move itself costs
$4,400 to $9,300
From a container you load yourself up to full-service movers.
Shipping one car adds about $1,100 to $1,500, against roughly $1,000 in fuel and lodging to drive it the 6-day trip yourself.
These are statewide figures. Trenton is not New Jersey-average and Seattle is not Washington-average, so a specific city can look nothing like its state. Compare metro areas instead to narrow it to 387 real places, including which side of a state line you would live on.
Run this with your own numbers
Estimates only, not advice. Housing and income figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (2024); price levels from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024); tax rates are for the 2026 tax year, compiled from state revenue departments and the Tax Foundation. Moving costs are modelled from published ranges rather than quoted. Every figure is a statewide median or average and will not match any particular household.