Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas in New Jersey
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$60,892
after federal, FICA and New Jersey tax
Tax takes
$17,058
21.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$55,925
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
$77,950
Kept after tax
$60,892
Worth in national money
$55,925
State rank
4
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for earth drillers, except oil and gas is strong here. New Jersey's middle earner gets $77,950, putting the state 4 of 48 — about 29.51% ahead of the national figure.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Earth drillers, except oil and gas ranks 197 among 490 occupations New Jersey publishes pay for.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $77,950 the take-home is $60,892. But New Jersey costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $55,925 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $82,890, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For earth drillers, except oil and gas, New Jersey sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $77,950, ranking 4 of 48 and running about 29.51% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Position 197 of 490 in New Jersey places earth drillers, except oil and gas in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and New Jersey income tax is $60,892 for earth drillers, except oil and gas, from $77,950. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $55,925. ⚠️ 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 $82,890 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $49,390 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $77,950 |
| Top tenth earn over | $128,740 |
| This salary | $77,950 |
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 | $60,892 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $63,668 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$9,594 |
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 | $74,005 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$13,028 |
| 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 $77,950. The published range is $49,390 up to $128,740, 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 $60,892, worked from $77,950. 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 197 of 490.
- Two cautions on $55,925, the adjusted value of that $77,950 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 197 of 490 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for earth drillers, except oil and gas in New Jersey the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $49,390 to $128,740. 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 $60,892, on $77,950 for work ranking 197 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 197 of 490 in the state.
- This $55,925 adjusted figure, worked from $77,950, 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 197 of 490 in the state. The occupation ranks 197 of 490 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $82,890, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $49,390 and the top tenth $128,740 — 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 $55,925 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and New Jersey's own levy, $60,892 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 48 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $82,890. 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 ($49,390) and the ninetieth ($128,740) 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 $55,925 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 $60,892 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 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.