>>In NJ, $200,000/year household income is pretty much middle class<<
Solution: leave NJ.
I mean NJ doesn’t offer a lot compared to California (I grew up in CA and worked in NJ for over a year). NJ is ... OK. Ghastly humid summers and snow and freezing winters. Nothing to hold you there except the constant barrage of NY based TV and radio reminding you that you are an entire state that is a suburb of NYC.
NJ has mountains, beaches, farmland, and forests within a short distance of each other - there is a reason the state developed as it did. Until recently, the climate of south Jersey was similar to that of the Carolinas (now it is a bit colder). The most destructive element, similar to other business-unfriendly environments, has been decades of socialism with the bloated gubmint workforce that brings. It is simply unaffordable, and the future costs are even worse (the retirement benefits for the gubmint workforce).