Carpenters in New Jersey
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$51,623
after federal, FICA and New Jersey tax
Tax takes
$12,387
19.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$47,412
New Jersey costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in New Jersey — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$64,010
Kept after tax
$51,623
Worth in national money
$47,412
State rank
10
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. New Jersey pays carpenters a middle wage of $64,010, ranking 10 of 51 states and sitting about 5.66% above the national middle.
- Against other work in New Jersey, this sits in the middle: 262 of 490 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $64,010 the take-home is $51,623. But New Jersey costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $47,412 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $71,990, because the best-paid pull it up.
- New Jersey's median for carpenters is $64,010, about 5.66% above the national figure and 10 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Carpenters ranks 262 of 490 occupations in New Jersey by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and New Jersey income tax is $51,623 for carpenters, from $64,010. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $47,412. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $71,990 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Carpenters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $43,680 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $64,010 |
| Top tenth earn over | $121,490 |
| This salary | $64,010 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in New Jersey | $51,623 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $53,612 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$7,759 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $61,535 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$9,384 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in New Jersey earn less than $64,010. The published range is $43,680 up to $121,490, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind New Jersey's $51,623, worked from $64,010. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 262 of 490.
- One number stands for prices across all of New Jersey, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $47,412, the adjusted value of that $64,010 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 262 of 490 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for carpenters in New Jersey the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $43,680 to $121,490. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The New Jersey take-home of $51,623, on $64,010 for work ranking 262 of 490 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 262 of 490 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for New Jersey, so $47,412 — the adjusted value of that $64,010 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 262 of 490 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $71,990, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $43,680, the highest tenth $121,490, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in New Jersey run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $47,412 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; New Jersey then takes its own share, leaving $51,623.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in New Jersey is $71,990. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($43,680) and the ninetieth ($121,490) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
New Jersey's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $47,412 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $51,623 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and New Jersey income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.