City comparison
Cost indices by category, with the US city average (100) marked.
Index: 100 = US city average. Lower is more affordable.
Side-by-side costs, salaries, and sub-category indices.
| Metric | Clifton | Paterson | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,633/mo | $1,392/mo | 17.3% higher in A |
| Median home value | $428,000 | $314,100 | 36.3% higher in A |
| Median household income | $94,179 | $52,092 | 80.8% higher in A |
| Groceries index | 98.2 | 95.7 | 2.6% higher in A |
| Utilities index | 95.7 | 92.4 | 3.5% higher in A |
| Transportation index | 90.5 | 86.0 | 5.2% higher in A |
| Healthcare index | 96.7 | 90.4 | 7.0% higher in A |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Clifton, you'd need $90,485 in Paterson to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Paterson, NJ is about 9.5% cheaper overall than Clifton, NJ, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 15% lower in Paterson than in Clifton. If you earn $80,000 in Clifton, you'd need about $72,388 in Paterson to keep the same standard of living.