Fanwood Is Union County's Most Expensive Town For Renters: Study

SCOTCH PLAINS/FANWOOD, NJ — How affordable is it to rent a home in Fanwood and Scotch Plains?

Not very affordable, according to a new analysis by the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

The coalition recently released its annual "Out Of Reach" report for 2020, and it shows that you'd have to earn about $42 an hour to afford to rent a two-bedroom home in the Fanwood while you would have to earn about $33 an hour to rent in Scotch Plains.

The most expensive town in Union County for renters is Fanwood, while the least expensive is Elizabeth and Linden for $27.50.

The report ranks ZIP codes by the hourly wage a person would need to earn to afford renting without spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing.

Here are the area towns that are among the priciest for renters:

Data shows hourly wage needed to afford a two-bedroom home

• Fanwood — $42.69
• Mountainside — $42.69
• Berkeley Heights — $40.58
• Springfield — $39.81
• Westfield — $38.46
• Cranford — $38.46
• Summit — $37.88
• New Providence — $35.58
• Kenilworth — $34.42
• Scotch Plains — $33.46
• Union — $33.27
• Rahway — $33.27
• Garwood — $32.88
• Clark — $31.52
• Plainfield — $30.38
• Hillside — $29.23
• Roselle Park — $27.69
• Roselle — $26.35
• Elizabeth — $27.50
• Linden — $27.50

Across New Jersey, renters earn $19.10 per hour on average, while $26.69 per hour is needed to afford to rent a two-bedroom home.

Residents in the Garden State would have to work 108 hours per week at the minimum wage of $11 to afford even a one-bedroom home, the report says.

New Jersey ranked 7th in the nation in terms of affordability for renters. The most expensive state for housing is Hawaii, followed by California, then Massachusetts.

You can view the full report here.

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