City comparison
Federal Way, WA is about 2,400 miles (3,800 km) from New Brunswick, NJ in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 3,000 miles, or about 50 hours (about 5 days at 10 h/day) behind the wheel at highway speeds.
Driving distance is a rough estimate (great-circle × 1.25); driving time assumes a 60 mph blended average. Real trips run 10–20% longer with stops.
A direct flight from Federal Way, WA to New Brunswick, NJ takes about 4 h 47 min, covering roughly 2,400 miles in a straight line. Connecting itineraries with a layover typically add 1–3 hours.
Block-to-block estimate at ~500 mph cruise, including taxi, climb, and descent — what an airline would publish, not pure airborne time.
Federal Way, WA is on Pacific Time and New Brunswick, NJ is on Eastern Time — a 3-hour difference. When it's noon in Federal Way, it's 3 p.m. in New Brunswick, which puts Federal Way 3 hours behind.
Standard-time offsets. Daylight saving applies in both cities for most of the year (exceptions: Hawaii and most of Arizona), and the gap between the two stays the same.
Federal Way has a population of 99,614, vs 55,718 in New Brunswick — about 1.8× larger by population. By land area, Federal Way covers about 22 sq mi vs 5.2 sq mi for New Brunswick.
Population from US Census ACS. Land area from the Census Gazetteer (city proper, excluding inland water).
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 | Federal Way | New Brunswick | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,660/mo | $1,754/mo | 5.7% higher in New Brunswick |
| Median home value | $454,300 | $289,800 | 56.8% higher in Federal Way |
| Median household income | $80,360 | $57,138 | 40.6% higher in Federal Way |
| Groceries index | 104.0 | 107.2 | 3.1% higher in New Brunswick |
| Utilities index | 95.7 | 121.4 | 26.9% higher in New Brunswick |
| Transportation index | 106.6 | 103.3 | 3.3% higher in Federal Way |
| Healthcare index | 106.6 | 104.1 | 2.4% higher in Federal Way |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Federal Way, you'd need $99,911 in New Brunswick to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Federal Way and New Brunswick have nearly identical overall cost-of-living indices. Housing costs are roughly 3% higher in Federal Way than in New Brunswick. If you earn $80,000 in Federal Way, you'd need about $79,929 in New Brunswick to keep the same standard of living.