Photo: Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD · CC BY-SA 3.0Even on the area’s higher pay, Jefferson Township costs more to live in than 86% of U.S. towns
It ranks #173 of 468 in New Jersey for affordability. Home prices around Jefferson Township have risen about 58% over the past 5 years. Builders were permitted 30 new homes in 2025.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro area ($99K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade measures what housing costs against what households in the area earn. Jefferson Township’s area earns well above the typical U.S. town ($99K against $74K), but homes, rent and taxes here run higher still. Owners keep up better than renters: 31% of owners pay 30% or more of income for housing (typical U.S. town: 20%), against 47% of renters.
In dollars
- $2,340a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 113prices across the New York metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 149)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 4.3 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$99K, New York-area income
- 18%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 47%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across New Jersey: 52%Census 2020–24
- 31%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
Housing in Jefferson Township, in brief
Nearly every household owns
89% of Jefferson Township households own their home, against 64% across New Jersey. There are 861 renter households. Property taxes ↓
New renters pay more than renters already here
HUD puts a standard two-bedroom at about $2,340 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already in Jefferson Township pay a median of $1,480. Renting ↓
A burst of building in 2023
Jefferson Township permitted 66 new homes in 2023, 85% of them in buildings with two or more homes, against about 15 in a typical year of the past decade. 2025 came in at 30. New homes ↓
Fewer people, more homes
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Jefferson Township lost 776 residents while 67 new homes were permitted. New homes ↓
Written from the data on this page. There’s no Zillow index for Jefferson Township, so the typical value is an estimate: the Census median carried forward with the federal house price index; permits are Census figures through 2025; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Jefferson Township’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Jefferson Township is more affordable than 14% of U.S. towns, #173 of 468 in New Jersey. Property tax pulls the grade down most; rent holds it up.
Home prices up 58% in 5 years
The federal house price index for the ZIP codes around Jefferson Township rose 58% over the past 5 years, slower than across New Jersey (63%). Last year prices rose 5.2%. Carrying the Census median home value forward with that index puts the typical Jefferson Township home at roughly $540,000 today.
Carrying the Census median forward with the index puts a typical home at about $540K.
Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (annual) for the ZIP codes around Jefferson Township, weighted by land area. It tracks repeat sales of the same homes, so it shows how prices changed, not what homes cost.
A typical home costs 4.3 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Jefferson Township’s own median, or type yours.
That’s $216K short of a typical Jefferson Township home.
A two-bedroom rents for about $2,340 a month here, $1,510 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Jefferson Township’s typical property tax (2.26% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $2,340
Renters already here pay a median of $1,480, so moving in tends to cost more than staying put.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Bergen-Passaic, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
30 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 30 new homes in Jefferson Township in 2025, all in buildings with two or more homes, worth about $5.3 million to build. That's 1.5 per 1,000 residents, slower than across New Jersey (3.1). Over the past 10 years, Jefferson Township has permitted 205 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Jefferson Township's population fell by 776 even though 67 new homes were permitted. Homes are holding fewer people: households are getting smaller, or more homes are used part of the year. Across New Jersey: 2 new residents per new home.
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 21 | 6 | 15 | $3.7 million |
| 2025 | 30 | 0 | 30 | $5.3 million |
| 2024 | 33 | 11 | 22 | $7.4 million |
| 2023 | 66 | 10 | 56 | $16.9 million |
| 2022 | 9 | 9 | 0 | $2.1 million |
| 2021 | 21 | 21 | 0 | $1.7 million |
| 2020 | 16 | 16 | 0 | $1.9 million |
| 2019 | 6 | 6 | 0 | $929,000 |
| 2018 | 10 | 10 | 0 | $1.5 million |
| 2017 | 8 | 8 | 0 | $1.6 million |
| 2016 | 6 | 6 | 0 | $411,000 |
| 2015 | 9 | 9 | 0 | $1.6 million |
| 2014 | 5 | 5 | 0 | $844,000 |
| 2013 | 9 | 9 | 0 | $979,000 |
| 2012 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $434,000 |
| 2011 | 4 | 4 | 0 | $649,000 |
| 2010 | 8 | 8 | 0 | $2.2 million |
| 2009 | 8 | 8 | 0 | $1.7 million |
| 2008 | 24 | 24 | 0 | $3.5 million |
| 2007 | 41 | 41 | 0 | $6 million |
| 2006 | 53 | 48 | 5 | $6.1 million |
| 2005 | 116 | 116 | 0 | $14.6 million |
| 2004 | 149 | 109 | 40 | $13 million |
| 2003 | 268 | 123 | 145 | $18.1 million |
| 2002 | 269 | 209 | 60 | $27.7 million |
| 2001 | 88 | 88 | 0 | $10.6 million |
| 2000 | 40 | 40 | 0 | $5 million |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Property tax runs above the New Jersey norm
The median bill is $9,659 (New Jersey: $9,590), 2.26% of a home’s value a year, against 2.11% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
The rest of a budget near Jefferson Township
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro area, or New Jersey. Groceries follow the goods price level; nobody publishes them town by town.
| Cost | Here | Compared with | Area | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prices overall U.S. = 100 | 113 | NJ 109 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 110 | NJ 107 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 127 | NJ 114 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Other services U.S. = 100 | 106 | NJ 104 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
Price levels: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities 2024 (metro area and state). Electricity: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A.
Jefferson Township vs. its neighbors
Zillow publishes no value for Jefferson Township. Rockaway Township and Roxbury Township and Oak Ridge and Newfoundland and Lake Hopatcong have no Zillow value, so they are in the table only.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, latest | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson Township | D | — | $428K | 2.26% | $2,340 |
| West Milford Township | C− | $499K | $400K | 2.50%+ | $2,480 |
| Oak Ridge | – | — | $436K | 2.29%+ | $2,290 |
| Lake Hopatcong | – | — | $424K | 2.16% | $2,340 |
| Newfoundland | – | — | $435K | 2.30%+ | $2,240 |
| Hopatcong | C− | $453K | $341K | 2.22% | $2,290 |
| Roxbury Township | D | — | $466K | 2.15%+ | $2,750 |
| Rockaway Township | D | — | $467K | 2.14%+ | $2,420 |
“—” under Zillow: Zillow publishes no value for that town, so it’s left blank rather than mixed with Census figures. “+”: the Census reports the tax bill only as $10,000 or more, so the rate is at least that. “—” under Cost: not graded (too little Census data, or under 1,000 residents).
Questions about the cost of living in Jefferson Township
Is Jefferson Township expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Jefferson Township costs more than 86% of U.S. towns: a D for cost of living, #173 of 468 in New Jersey. The typical home costs 4.3 years of the median household income of the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro area ($99K).
How much is rent in Jefferson Township?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $2,340 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $1,480 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Jefferson Township?
The median bill is $9,659 a year, 2.26% of the median home value (New Jersey: $9,590, 2.11%), from the Census 2020–24.
Neighbors talk housing
What Jefferson Township buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. Price trend: Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.