We are South African residents and my husband has been offered a position in NJ. We would live in NJ as well. His base pay offered is $115 000 per annum. We are 2 adults and 1 toddler. I need to know is this a decent income for residing in that area- would we get by on this ? We plan on renting a house. Can someone help with an estimate of expenses for rent, utilities, car instalment, gas, household and car insurance, groceries .etc. What taxes will we pay in totally including Federal taxes, state taxes .etc. What is Social Security exactly - is it replacement for a retirement / annuity plan? Thank you in advance

TO collect social Security you have to pay into it a sufficient number of years... and that's not optional.

What part of New Jersey? There are significant differences in costs between the Northern part and the rest. Taxes are also very high. The utilities depend on the size of the house, how well insulated it is and how wasteful you are ( one house can be double the utilities what the house next to it is)... with the car... the same.. there are cheap cars and there are expensive cars... there is no possible way to give an estimate on any of those.

Not to mention what you consider decent... there can be several hundred thousand dollar differences between on persons decent and the next persons. Houses are not cheap in the northern part (commutable distance to NYC)

It's New Jersey, not New Yersey. ;)

$115K is a decent enough salary. Housing costs could be anywhere from $2500 - $5000/month depending on location, number of bedrooms, yard size, etc. What town do you think you'll be living in? Utilities (water, gas, electric) could be $300 - $1000/month depending on the season and size of the house. Car insurance is highly dependent on the value of the car, the amount of coverage you want, and location - maybe $80-$200/month for one car, and it really pays to shop around. Taxes will include NJ state tax, which at that income level has a marginal rate of about 6%, and US federal income tax rate is about 20% or so, but you also have Medicare tax(1.45%) and Social Security taxes (6.2%). Rule of thumb: after tax take-home pay is typically about 2/3 of gross pay. Social Security is sort of similar to a retirement account - the government takes 6.2% of pay, and if you have enough time in the system (credits) then when you retire you get a monthly retirement check. There are other benefits beyond a traditional annuity, such as survivors' and disability benefits. The US has reciprocal treaties with many countries that credit SS taxes paid back to your home country, but I don't believe there is such an agreement (yet) with SA, see: http://www.ssa.gov/international/agreements_overview.html

Thanks for the response

Okay , so if I understand correctly, it will be compulsory to pay Social security , but we may not get it back unless we are there long enough to collect it.

With regards to the area of residence, we are looking at Newark or Bergen and 2 bedroom townhouse/apartment within a complex and an entry level SUV


It's New Jersey, not New Yersey. ;)

$115K is a decent enough salary. Housing costs could be anywhere from $2500 - $5000/month depending on location, number of bedrooms, yard size, etc. What town do you think you'll be living in? Utilities (water, gas, electric) could be $300 - $1000/month depending on the season and size of the house. Car insurance is highly dependent on the value of the car, the amount of coverage you want, and location - maybe $80-$200/month for one car, and it really pays to shop around. Taxes will include NJ state tax, which at that income level has a marginal rate of about 6%, and US federal income tax rate is about 20% or so, but you also have Medicare tax(1.45%) and Social Security taxes (6.2%). Rule of thumb: after tax take-home pay is typically about 2/3 of gross pay. Social Security is sort of similar to a retirement account - the government takes 6.2% of pay, and if you have enough time in the system (credits) then when you retire you get a monthly retirement check. There are other benefits beyond a traditional annuity, such as survivors' and disability benefits. The US has reciprocal treaties with many countries that credit SS taxes paid back to your home country, but I don't believe there is such an agreement (yet) with SA, see: http://www.ssa.gov/international/agreements_overview.html

Thank you for the helpful answer.. Sorry for the typo :-)

Will your husband be working in the Newark area, or will he be commuting into NY City?

To be honest - Newark is not the greatest place in the world to live. You may want to consider looking in the suburbs with nicer neighborhoods and better schools. There are a lot of towns in northern NJ, each with its own character, so you should plan some time to look around before locking into a particular area. Perhaps the people at the office were your husband will be working can give some guidance.

Smoothy and ebaines both raise good points.

Personal opinion: $115K is adequate to live on in NJ if you do NOT plan to buy a house, but you need to budget carefully for the rental costs.

He will be working in Englewood but seems like that neighbourhood is very expensive so somewhere close by


Will your husband be working in the Newark area, or will he be commuting into NY City?

To be honest - Newark is not the greatest place in the world to live. You may want to consider looking in the suburbs with nicer neighborhoods and better schools. There are a lot of towns in northern NJ, each with its own character, so you should plan some time to look around before locking into a particular area. Perhaps the people at the office were your husband will be working can give some guidance.


He will be working in Englewood but seems like that neighbourhood is very expensive so somewhere close by

I would suggest looking north and west from Englewood. Tenafly, Bergenfield, or further west toward Ridgewood. If he's willing to drive 30 minutes or so to/from work then you can consider towns further west - Little Falls, Totowa, Montclair, Verona, Caldwell etc. In general towns that are convenient to commuter trains into NYC are more expensive than those that are not, and since he will be working in Englewood I would assume he would drive to work, so no need to pay extra $$ for the convenience of the train.

Because you will have no US credit history insurance costs are likely to be extremely high and you are likely to have to pay large deposits for things like utilities.

Medical insurance is another cost which has not been mentioned.

I assumed, and ebaines probably did as well, that medical insurance would be provided through the employer.

However, the comment about NO U.S. credit history, is VERY valid.

He will be working in Englewood but seems like that neighbourhood is very expensive so somewhere close by



Yes Englewood is an expensive area. But I wouldn't go South, I would go West. I would look in Passaic or Morris counties. Try Zillow.com. It has information about neighborhoods including School info, Rentals and home sales.

You should have looked into this BEFORE accepting the job. NJ, while beautiful in many areas, is one of the top 5 "expensive places to live", much of it tax based.

"5. New Jersey
Cost of Living Index: 127.6
Grocery Index: 108.2
Housing Index: 167.7
Utilities Index: 117.3
Transportation Index: 112.4
Health Index: 104.3
Misc.: 116.1
Overall, living costs in New Jersey are comparable to California. You'd need that same $95K salary to feel completely comfortable. Home prices in Jersey are lower than in California, though, with the median value of Jersey homes at $278,600. If you're looking for a home to purchase in the Northern state, the median list price is just under $300K, or $174 per square foot.
Rent is exceptionally high, with the median monthly rent at $1,800. If you rent in an area like Princeton, you may have to pay $275 or so for utilities in a tiny apartment. If you go out for dinner and a movie, expect to pay around $80 to $85 in Princeton".

Lived in NJ for 35 years, moved to ATL 39 years ago and never looked back.