Graphic Designers in New Jersey
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$58,212
after federal, FICA and New Jersey tax
Tax takes
$15,578
21.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$53,463
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
$73,790
Kept after tax
$58,212
Worth in national money
$53,463
State rank
7
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- New Jersey is one of the better-paying states for graphic designers. The middle earner takes $73,790, which ranks 7 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 17.2% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 490 occupations New Jersey reports figures for, this is number 230.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $73,790 the take-home is $58,212. But New Jersey costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $53,463 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $79,430, because the best-paid pull it up.
- New Jersey ranks 7 of 51 states publishing a median for graphic designers, at $73,790 — about 17.2% 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.
- In New Jersey's occupational distribution, graphic designers sits at 230 of 490 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and New Jersey income tax is $58,212 for graphic designers, from $73,790. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $53,463. ⚠️ 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 $79,430 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: Graphic Designers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $47,490 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $73,790 |
| Top tenth earn over | $122,940 |
| This salary | $73,790 |
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 | $58,212 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $60,741 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$9,044 |
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 | $70,195 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$11,845 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of graphic designers in New Jersey earn under $73,790 and half over. The published range runs $47,490 at the tenth percentile to $122,940 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In New Jersey the take-home figure of $58,212, from $73,790, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 230 of 490 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of New Jersey, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $53,463, the adjusted value of that $73,790 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 230 of 490 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for graphic designers in New Jersey, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $47,490 to $122,940; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Take-home for New Jersey is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $58,212 from $73,790. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 230 of 490 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for New Jersey, so $53,463 — the adjusted value of that $73,790 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 230 of 490 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $79,430 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $47,490 at the bottom tenth to $122,940 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $53,463 of national purchasing power.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and New Jersey adds its own income tax on top — which is why $58,212 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
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 $79,430. 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 ($47,490) and the ninetieth ($122,940) 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 $53,463 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 $58,212 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.