Living in Newark & the Gold Coast

This region covers Essex, Hudson, and Union Counties' NYC-adjacent core -- genuinely one of the densest, most transit-connected parts of New Jersey. Newark, the state's largest city, anchors a real corporate-headquarters economy (Prudential Financial, Panasonic, Audible) and the nation's third-largest insurance center, alongside Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal, the primary container terminal of the busiest seaport on the East Coast. Jersey City and Hoboken form the 'Gold Coast,' both offering 10-20 minute PATH-train commutes into Manhattan -- Jersey City carries a genuine, if recently contracting, 'Wall Street West' financial-services identity dating to the 1980s. Union City, nicknamed 'Havana on the Hudson,' remains home to a real, living Cuban-American cultural community. Counterintuitively, this region's most expensive housing sits inland rather than on the waterfront: Millburn/Short Hills, Summit, and Westfield all outprice even Hoboken, reflecting their top-ranked public schools and direct Midtown Direct NJ Transit rail service into Manhattan.

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Last reviewed: 2026-09-05. Independent research; see individual place pages for metric-level source attribution. This is not financial, tax, or legal advice -- confirm current figures with a local professional before making a decision.