"NJ income tax is flat, around 3%, similar to PA's.
Nope, it's 6.3%, with a new 9% rate for incomes over $500K. Look on the NJ tax website for the brackets.
That is a fairly low income tax rate compared to California, which is at 9.3% for income over about $35,000. There is an extra 1% if you make over a million, to fund mental health services for the sickos. The killer in NJ is the property tax. California's is about the lowest in the nation, which is one reason why real estate prices are so high, although not the only reason.