It depends heavily on the area, with the rural mountains and coast distorting the average. But in a city in the central Piedmont (where most people are moving) $3k for a 3 bed 2+ bath is probably a good median. However, our schools are in the bottom third of the country, our waterways are routinely contaminated as in this article, and our public transit basically doesn’t exist outside of very small areas of downtowns. Ohio has better public libraries, schools, and arts institutions, and was way cheaper to live in, though maybe they have higher property tax rate there even if the absolute value of a similar home is less. NJ does have wicked taxes, but you also have some of the best schools and pretty good infrastructure, so I’d take it.

Taxes aren’t even that low here for how badly public services fail.