Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators in New Jersey
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,222
after federal, FICA and New Jersey tax
Tax takes
$7,878
17.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$35,104
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
$46,100
Kept after tax
$38,222
Worth in national money
$35,104
State rank
35
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- New Jersey is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $46,100, ranking 35 of 51 states — about 0.69% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in New Jersey, this one sits low: 394 of 490 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $46,100, tax leaves $38,222 — and because New Jersey is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $35,104 would nationally. Averages run higher here, $49,290, since top earners drag the number up.
- New Jersey ranks 35 of 51 for industrial truck and tractor operators, with a median of $46,100 — about 0.69% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Industrial truck and tractor operators occupies position 394 of 490 in New Jersey's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- After tax, $38,222 remains from the New Jersey median of $46,100 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $35,104 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $49,290 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,680 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $46,100 |
| Top tenth earn over | $65,820 |
| This salary | $46,100 |
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 | $38,222 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,221 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,258 |
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 | $44,856 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$6,359 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $46,100 as a midpoint for New Jersey, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $36,680 and the ninetieth is $65,820 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In New Jersey the take-home figure of $38,222, from $46,100, 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 394 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 $35,104, the adjusted value of that $46,100 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 394 of 490 in the state.
- The New Jersey median of $46,100 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $36,680 to $65,820. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for New Jersey is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $38,222 from $46,100. 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 394 of 490 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for New Jersey, so $35,104 — the adjusted value of that $46,100 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 394 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 $49,290 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $36,680 at the bottom tenth to $65,820 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $35,104 of national purchasing power.
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, $38,222 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 $49,290. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($36,680 to $65,820) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to New Jersey rather than a national figure.
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 $35,104 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 $38,222 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.