Elizabeth, New Jersey
Cost of living, housing, income, commute, climate, and safety — compiled for relocators researching Elizabeth.
Key figures
Each metric shows how Elizabeth compares with the U.S. baseline (ACS/BLS nationals where available; catalog-city averages for crime, climate, and commute). Income, housing, population, and crime are for the incorporated city (city limits), not the broader metro/MSA — unemployment is county-level (BLS LAUS).
- Population
- 135,887City limits · not metro/MSA
- Median household income
- $63,874Incorporated place (ACS)19% below U.S. avgU.S. $78,538
- Housing cost index
- 119ACS home+rent vs U.S. (100 = avg)19% above U.S. avgU.S. 100
- Median home value
- $393,500City limits (ACS)30% above U.S. avgU.S. $303,400
- Median rent
- $1,463City limits (ACS)9% above U.S. avgU.S. $1,348
- Unemployment
- 4.4%County LAUS · not city-onlyNear U.S. avg (4.2 pts)U.S. 4.2 pts
- Avg commute
- 32 min28% above U.S. avgU.S. 25 min
- Walk Score
- 7260% above U.S. avgU.S. 45
- Violent crime rate
- 719.2annualized per 100k · citywide19% above U.S. avgU.S. 602.7
- Property crime rate
- 3027.5annualized per 100k · citywideNear U.S. avg (3084.9)U.S. 3084.9
- Summer high
- 84°F3.0°F below U.S. avgU.S. 87°F
- Winter low
- 28°F6.0°F below U.S. avgU.S. 34°F
- Annual rainfall
- 46.6 in42% above U.S. avgU.S. 32.9 in
- Sunny days
- 2429% below U.S. avgU.S. 266
Compare Elizabeth with another city
Elizabeth (pop. 135,887) sits in New Jersey. Median household income is roughly $63,874, while the ACS housing-cost index sits near 119 — above the national housing-cost baseline (100 ≈ U.S. average). Ownership is a high bar — typical values near $393,500 push many newcomers toward renting first.
Elizabeth is compact enough that a single wrong neighborhood choice is easy to feel day to day — visit at commute hour before signing. Figures on this page are merged from Census ACS, BLS LAUS, FBI Crime Data Explorer, and NOAA Climate Normals — use them to compare Elizabeth with nearby alternatives before you relocate.
Dense suburbs, port logistics, and quick Manhattan access define many towns. The normals show about 46.6 inches of rain and 242 sunny days across a typical year. Plan on roughly 32 minutes each way for a typical commute; Walk Score is about 72. Unemployment recently ran near 4.4%, broadly in line with many large U.S. counties. Violent-offense rates near 719.2 per 100k sit in a mid-to-elevated band versus many peer cities in this catalog.
Nearby & similar cities
Continue researching with these internal links — each page is a full data profile.
Sources
- Census / ACS: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 5-year (Elizabeth city, 1600000US3421000)
- BLS: BLS LAUS LAUCN340390000000003 (Union County, May 2026)
- Crime: FBI CIUS Table 8 (2019) city offenses known to law enforcement — rates per 100k; CDE API unavailable at enrich time
- Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 Monthly Normals (USW00014734 NEWARK INTL AP)
Last updated 2026-07-28