CitytisticsShortlist

Cost of living, pay and housing

40.66° N · 75.16° W · GEOID 3401030

Alpha

Warren County, New Jersey · part of the Allentown, PA metro

Limited data population under 5,000

New JerseyAlpha, NJAlphaAlpha

The short answer

Alpha is home to 2,436 people. Median household income is $90,333 a year and median rent is $1,362 a month, 18.1% of income (a ratio of two medians, not any one household's burden). Rent pressure is lighter than in most places. The median home is valued at $261,500, about 2.9x annual median household income.

Median gross rent
$1,362
0% below the median place
Median household income
$90,333
13% above the median place
Median home value
$261,500
18% below the median place
Unemployment
5.1%
4% above the median place

Compared with the median of the 6,645 places we track. The bundle was checked 2026-11-14; each measure may refer to an older release.

What stands out about Alpha

  • Public schools here have 9.8 students per teacher, fewer than in 95% of the 1,648 places under 10,000 people we track.
  • 70% of renter households spend 30% or more of income on rent, a higher share than in 93% of places its size.
  • Half the homes were built before 1956, older housing than in 87% of places its size.
  • 5.8% of residents live below the poverty line, fewer than in 82% of places its size.
01

Moving to Alpha

Warren County gains about 4.4 residents per 1,000 a year to moves between counties.

Moved in5,525
Moved out5,115
Net+410

Where people come from and where they go, top counties

Within New Jersey, other states or abroad

Arrivals
Leavers
Within New JerseyOther statesAbroad

Income per tax return

Arrivals$73K
Leavers$71K

People on tax returns who moved between counties, from IRS migration data, 2022 to 2023. Figures are for all of Warren County; flows under 20 returns are not published.

Who moves here
3.8% of residents arrived from another county in the past year, 1.3% from another state.
Who arrives and who leaves
Households moving into Warren County report $72,500 a year in income on average; those leaving, $70,600.
Income you would need
$54,500 a year to rent the median home at the 30% line. From your city
Rent or buy
Median rent is $1,362 a month; owners with a mortgage pay $1,888 a month including taxes and insurance, on a median home of $261,500.
Getting to work
26 minutes each way on average; 11.1% work from home; 1.8% take transit.
If it is close but not quite
Beach Park, IL matches it on character. Compare the two
Moved here in the past year1
3.8%
34% below the median place
Net movers per 1,000 people8
4.4
above the median place (median -0.6)
Moved from another state1
1.3%
33% below the median place
All 5 moving measures
MeasureAlphaAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Moved here in the past year13.8%34% below
Moved from another state1County figure1.3%33% below
Net movers per 1,000 people8County figure4.4above (median -0.6)
Income of households moving in8County figure$72,5313% above
Income of households moving out8County figure$70,6120% above
02

What it costs to live here

Property tax rate is 2.5%, 173% above the median place.

Alpha18.1%
Typical place20.4%

Share of the median household income that goes to the median rent. Above 30% is the usual stress line.

Income needed to rent
$54,480
a year, at the 30% line
Rent to income
18.1%
11% below the median place
Home price to income
2.9x
24% below the median place

Could you afford it?

The median rent would take
18%
comfortably under the 30% line
Left after rent, in US prices
$74,500
a year
Vs the typical household here
Same
as the median household

Uses the median rent in Alpha, $1,362 a month, and local prices for everything else (98.8 against a US average of 100). It runs in your browser and stores nothing.

Like Alpha, but easier on the budget

Close matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, where rent takes a clearly smaller share of income.

PlaceRent to incomeMore left a year
Edgemere, MD15.1% vs 18.1%$11,300Compare
Manteno, IL14.0% vs 18.1%$11,600Compare
East End, AR14.6% vs 18.1%$5,300Compare

Moving from somewhere else? Work out the salary you would need in Alpha.

Sponsored · exampleMoving to Alpha? Compare quotes from licensed movers. No partner is signed yet. Sponsored offers are always labelled and never change the data.
Property tax rate1
2.5%
173% above the median place
Renters paying 30%+1
70.5%
39% above the median place
Median year built1
1956
1% below the median place
All 16 cost and housing measures
MeasureAlphaAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median gross rent1$1,3620% below
Rent to income118.1%11% below
Property tax rate12.5%173% above
Home price to income12.9x24% below
Prices vs US average2Metro figure100.01% below
Fair market rent, 2 bedrooms3County figure$2,02125% above
HUD area median income4County figure$127,90019% above
Property tax paid (median)1$6,47998% above
Median home value1$261,50018% below
Home prices, 1-year change5County figure6.8%113% above
Home prices, 5-year change5County figure68.3%33% above
Homeownership175.8%14% above
Renters paying 30%+170.5%39% above
Owner costs with a mortgage1$1,8881% above
Vacant homes1County figure3.0%58% below
Median year built119561% below
03

Work and pay

Poverty rate is 5.8%, 47% below the median place.

Poverty rate1
5.8%
47% below the median place
Median household income1
$90,333
13% above the median place
Mean commute1
26 min
6% above the median place
All 10 work and pay measures
MeasureAlphaAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median household income1$90,33313% above
Income per person1$43,0387% above
Unemployment1County figure5.1%4% above
Average annual pay6County figure$65,6620% below
Pay growth, 1 year6County figure1.4%62% below
Jobs6County figure33,91577% below
Poverty rate15.8%47% below
Mean commute126 min6% above
Works from home111.1%11% below
Commutes by transit1County figure1.8%112% above
04

Who lives here

Median age is 43.2, 11% above the median place.

Median age1
43.2
11% above the median place
Household size1
2.3
9% below the median place
Bachelor's or higher1
21.7%
32% below the median place

More about who lives here, against the typical place

Born abroad4.6% −48%
Homes with broadband90.1% −2%
High school or higher91.5% −1%
All 9 people measures
MeasureAlphaAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Population12,4366646th largest
Population change since 202071.5%27% above
Median age143.211% above
Bachelor's or higher121.7%32% below
High school or higher191.5%1% below
Household size12.39% below
Born abroad14.6%48% below
No health insurance1County figure4.8%25% below
Homes with broadband190.1%2% below
05

Life in Alpha

1 site is on the National Register of Historic Places.

  • Hunt, George, House listed 1979

Out the door, against the typical place

Parks per 10k residents32.8 3.2×
Playgrounds per 10k16.4 +74%
Grocery stores per 10k0.0 −100%
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k37.0 3.3×
Libraries per 10k4.1 4.7×
Named paths and bike trails0 km −100%
Bus and rail stops per sq mi0.0 −100%

Mapped by volunteers in OpenStreetMap inside the city limits (Census boundaries), so coverage is fuller in some places than others. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.

Businesses per 10,000 residents (county figures)

Restaurants and bars19.6 −6%
Shops29.6 −2%
Arts, recreation and fitness3.2 −22%
Doctors' offices and clinics17.4 −14%
Child care centers2.5 +9%

Counts businesses with paid staff, so small owner-run shops are not included.

Public schools13
1
89% below the median place
Public school students13
215
96% below the median place
Students per teacher13
9.8
36% below the median place
All 16 schools and local life measures
MeasureAlphaAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Public schools13189% below
Public school students1321596% below
Students per teacher139.836% below
Restaurants and bars per 10k9County figure19.66% below
Shops per 10k9County figure29.62% below
Arts, recreation and fitness per 10k9County figure3.222% below
Doctors' offices and clinics per 10k9County figure17.414% below
Child care centers per 10k9County figure2.59% above
Parks per 10k1032.8223% above
Playgrounds per 10k1016.474% above
Grocery stores per 10k100.0below (median 2.1)
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k1037.0231% above
Libraries per 10k104.1372% above
Named paths and bike trails100.0below (median 2.0)
Transit stops per sq mi100.0below (median 0.2)
National Register listings11192% below
06

Safety, weather and risk

Violent crime per 100k is 0, below the median place (median 192).

Violent crime per 100k
0
below the median place (median 192)
Property crime per 100k
634
48% below the median place
Months reported
12 of 12
by the city police department to the FBI

Counts only offenses reported by the city police department. Sheriff, state and campus police are not included, and some departments do not report to the FBI at all, so compare with care.

Wildfire risk15
23.4
62% below the median place
Median air quality index16
37
14% below the median place
Tornado risk15
49.7
39% below the median place
All 11 weather and risk measures
MeasureAlphaAmong 6,645 placesVs median
July average high14County figure84°F3% below
January average low14County figure19°F26% below
Average temperature14County figure50°F8% below
Annual precipitation14County figure48.8 in11% above
Natural hazard risk15County figure80.813% below
Hurricane risk15County figure79.913% above
Tornado risk15County figure49.739% below
Wildfire risk15County figure23.462% below
Heat wave risk15County figure72.220% below
Median air quality index16County figure3714% below
Good air days16County figure77.5%13% above
08

Alpha in 2030: where the trends point

If recent trends hold, the median rent will take about 18% of the median income in 2030, about the same as 18% now.

Citytistics projections to 2030: each figure's own trend, blended with the typical trend across the places we rate, eased toward long-run US growth and carried forward from the latest release. The range is where 80% of places landed when we tested the same method on past releases.

MeasureLatest2030 projectionLikely rangeAvg. per year
Median rent$1,362/mo (2024)$1,750/mo$1,440 to $2,130/mo+4.3%
Median household income$90,333 (2024)$114,000$96,500 to $135,000+3.9%
Median home value$261,500 (2024)$369,000$268,000 to $508,000+5.9%
Population2,362 (2025)2,4002,300 to 2,500+0.3%

The median home would be worth 3.2 years of the median income in 2030, against 2.9 now.

A projection of recent trends, not a prediction of the economy or advice to buy or sell. How we project.

09

Places like Alpha

The closest matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, and the places nearby.

PlaceRentIncome
Beach Park, IL$1,254$85,664Compare
Crawfordville, FL$1,344$82,656Compare
Granite Shoals, TX$1,319$78,042Compare
Rapid Valley, SD$1,174$83,208Compare
Rapid Valley, SDGranite Shoals, TXCrawfordville, FLBeach Park, ILAlpha, NJAlphaBeach ParkCrawfordvilleGranite ShoalsRapid ValleyAlphaBeach ParkCrawfordvilleGranite ShoalsRapid Valley

Common questions

Is Alpha a good place to live?

It depends on what you need, so here is what the numbers say. Public schools here have 9.8 students per teacher, fewer than in 95% of the 1,648 places under 10,000 people we track. 70% of renter households spend 30% or more of income on rent, a higher share than in 93% of places its size. On cost, space and class size it scores 88 out of 100 for families. See how it ranks with your own weights.

Is Alpha expensive to live in?

The median rent takes 18.1% of the median household income, against 20.4% in the typical place we track. Housing is a lighter load here than usual. The median home is valued at $261,500.

What salary do you need to live in Alpha?

To rent the median home without spending more than 30% of income on rent, a household needs about $54,480 a year. Work it out from your current city.

Is Alpha safe?

There were 0 reported violent crimes per 100,000 residents, against 192 in the typical place.

What places are similar to Alpha?

On income, rent, home value, education and age, the closest matches are Beach Park, IL, Crawfordville, FL, Granite Shoals, TX and Rapid Valley, SD.

Sources and methods

The small numbers beside each measure point here. Every dataset is public; links go to the publisher.

  1. American Community Survey 5-year estimates · US Census Bureau · 2020 to 2024 estimatesTables B01002, B01003, B05002, B07003, B08013, B08301, B15003, B17001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25010, B25035, B25064, B25070, B25077, B25088, B25103, B28002, S2701
  2. Regional Price Parities · US Bureau of Economic Analysis · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  3. Fair Market Rents · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2027
  4. Income Limits · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2026
  5. House Price Index · Federal Housing Finance Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  6. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · US Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2025 annual averages
  7. Population Estimates · US Census Bureau · Vintage 2025
  8. SOI Tax Stats, county-to-county migration · Internal Revenue Service · Tax years 2022 to 2023Counts tax returns and the people on them; flows under 20 returns are suppressed.
  9. County Business Patterns · US Census Bureau · 2023 data
  10. OpenStreetMap · © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License (ODbL) · Map data as of 2026-11
  11. National Register of Historic Places · National Park Service · Listings through 2026-05-22
  12. Crime Data Explorer · Federal Bureau of Investigation · 2025 data
  13. Common Core of Data · National Center for Education Statistics · 2024 release
  14. 1991-2020 climate normals · NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · Series updated 2026-11-05Averages for 1991 to 2020 computed from NOAA's county climate series (nClimDiv).nClimDiv county series
  15. National Risk Index · Federal Emergency Management Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14NRI data and maps
  16. Air Quality System, annual AQI by county · US Environmental Protection Agency · 2025 dataAirData download files

Derived by Citytistics from the tables above: rent to income (B25064, B19013); property tax rate (B25103, B25077); home price to income (B25077, B19013).

What stands out compares Alpha with places of a similar size, using only figures measured for Alpha itself; county and metro figures never count. Survey figures are estimates with margins of error. Formulas and definitions: methodology. API: /api/v1/places/alpha-new-jersey

Citytistics. “Alpha, New Jersey.” Data as of 2026-11-14. https://www.citytistics.com/city/alpha-new-jersey/

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.