North Jersey Renters Getting Less Space for £1,200 a Month, New Report Finds

DOWNLOAD IPFS

Renting an apartment in North Jersey remains costly, and a new report highlights just how little space tenants can expect to get for £1,200 ($1,500) per month in some of the region’s biggest cities.

A nationwide study by RentCafe, using data from property research firm Yardi Matrix as of March 2025, compared what £1,200 in rent can get renters across 200 U.S. cities. On average, tenants nationally receive about 715 square feet for that price. However, in North Jersey’s most populous urban centres, the value of that rent falls far below the national benchmark.

Space for Rent

The report shows stark differences in what renters are offered for the same monthly rate in the three largest cities in the Garden State: Jersey City, Newark, and Paterson.

Jersey City, part of Hudson County and just across the river from Manhattan, offers among the smallest living spaces in the country for £1,200 a month. According to the study, that amount will only get renters 331 square feet, less than half the national average. The city landed 196th out of 200 cities for space value, and 96th out of the 100 largest cities by population.

The report notes that Jersey City’s average apartment size is significantly larger, at 815 square feet, but that space typically costs around £2,900 ($3,692) per month.

RentCafe explained the trade-off in these dense urban areas: “In New York City’s busiest boroughs, as well as in Boston, San Francisco, and the increasingly popular Jersey City, NJ, renters face a trade-off, unique experiences and countless opportunities in exchange for more compact living spaces.”

Newark, located in Essex County, comes closer to the national average. For £1,200 per month, tenants can expect 642 square feet, just below the average space offered across the country. The city ranked 75th among large cities and second among the cities in the New York metropolitan region featured in the report.

Paterson, the third-largest city in the state and situated in Passaic County, came out slightly ahead. Renters there receive 649 square feet for the same price, placing the city 70th among smaller cities (those with fewer than 225,000 residents). Notably, Paterson topped the list among cities in the New York metro area for apartment space value.

Both Newark and Paterson offer average apartment sizes of around 728–729 square feet, with average monthly rents of roughly £1,345 ($1,702) and £1,325 ($1,682) respectively.

At the national level, the report identified the cities where £1,200 in rent stretches furthest. Wichita, Kansas, offers the best value in larger cities with 1,329 square feet, followed closely by Toledo, Ohio (1,268 sq ft) and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (1,247 sq ft).

On the other end of the scale, renters in Manhattan only receive 216 square feet for £1,200, followed by Brooklyn with 297 square feet and Boston with 311 square feet.

Among smaller cities, McAllen, Texas, offered the largest space, a generous 1,393 square feet, for the same rent. Meanwhile, Sunnyvale, California, Pasadena, California, and Bellevue, Washington, offered among the smallest spaces, all under 470 square feet.