Data Scientists in New Jersey
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$97,302
after federal, FICA and New Jersey tax
Tax takes
$37,978
28.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$89,364
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
$135,280
Kept after tax
$97,302
Worth in national money
$89,364
State rank
4
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- New Jersey is one of the better-paying states for data scientists. The middle earner takes $135,280, which ranks 4 of 49 states with published figures. That is about 12.52% above the national middle.
- Within New Jersey this is well-paid work. Of 490 occupations with published figures in the state, data scientists ranks 38 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $135,280 the take-home is $97,302. But New Jersey costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $89,364 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $138,590, because the best-paid pull it up.
- New Jersey ranks 4 of 49 states publishing a median for data scientists, at $135,280 — about 12.52% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Ranked against every occupation New Jersey publishes a median for, data scientists sits 38 of 490 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and New Jersey income tax is $97,302 for data scientists, from $135,280. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $89,364. ⚠️ 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 $138,590 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Data Scientists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $80,720 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $135,280 |
| Top tenth earn over | $203,950 |
| This salary | $135,280 |
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 | $97,302 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $103,730 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$17,381 |
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 | $125,876 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$24,392 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $135,280 as a midpoint for New Jersey, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $80,720 and the ninetieth is $203,950 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $97,302 take-home in New Jersey comes from $135,280. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 38 of 490.
- Two cautions on $89,364, the adjusted value of that $135,280 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of New Jersey. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 38 of 490 locally.
- The New Jersey median of $135,280 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $80,720 to $203,950. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $97,302, from $135,280, assumes a single New Jersey filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 38 of 490 locally, and the state ranks 4 of 49 for it.
- This $89,364 adjusted figure, worked from $135,280, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 38 of 490 in the state. The occupation ranks 38 of 490 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $80,720 and the top tenth $203,950 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $89,364 — 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 $97,302.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 49 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($80,720) and the ninetieth ($203,950) 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 $89,364 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 $97,302 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.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.