Is Atlantic City cheaper than Kingston?

They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Atlantic City and Kingston metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.

Which has higher household income, Atlantic City or Kingston?

Kingston has the higher median household income — $87,847 versus $80,806 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 9% more.

Does a paycheck go further in Atlantic City or Kingston?

A paycheck stretches further in Kingston. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $87,229 there versus $81,740 in Atlantic City.

Which has cheaper rent, Atlantic City or Kingston?

Atlantic City has cheaper rent — a median of $1,467/mo versus $1,586/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).

Atlantic City vs Kingston

Metro-area medians — Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ Metro Area vs Kingston, NY Metro Area — not the cities proper.

Kingston comes out ahead, winning 5 of the 8 clearly-decided measures.

Atlantic City and Kingston cost about the same to live in, but Kingston households earn about 9% more. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in Kingston.

For your salary & household

Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.

Annual salary (gross)

Household size

Atlantic City, NJ

$58,662

take-home / yr · 22% to tax

$59,341

real value after local prices

Kingston, NY

$57,794

take-home / yr · 23% to tax

$57,387

real value after local prices

On $75,000 for just you, Atlantic City leaves you about $1,954/yr better off after tax and local prices.

Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.

Measure

Atlantic City

Kingston

Livability (CityLedger)

44/100

57/100

Cost of living (price level, US = 100)

98.9

100.7

Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)

$81,740

$87,229

Median household income

$80,806

$87,847

Median rent

$1,467/mo

$1,586/mo

Median home value

$366,000

$389,100

Unemployment

6.8%

5.2%

Bachelor's degree or higher

33.1%

39%

Average commute

26.2 min

27.9 min

Air quality (median AQI)

—

Avg temperature

55°F

49°F

Choose Atlantic City for

+ Median rent
+ Median home value
+ Average commute

Full Atlantic City profile →

Choose Kingston for

+ Livability (CityLedger)
+ Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
+ Median household income
+ Unemployment
+ Bachelor's degree or higher

Full Kingston profile →

Atlantic City vs Kingston — frequently asked

Is Atlantic City cheaper than Kingston?: They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Atlantic City and Kingston metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.
Which has higher household income, Atlantic City or Kingston?: Kingston has the higher median household income — $87,847 versus $80,806 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 9% more.
Does a paycheck go further in Atlantic City or Kingston?: A paycheck stretches further in Kingston. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $87,229 there versus $81,740 in Atlantic City.
Which has cheaper rent, Atlantic City or Kingston?: Atlantic City has cheaper rent — a median of $1,467/mo versus $1,586/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).