Maintenance Workers, Machinery in New Jersey
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$47,066
after federal, FICA and New Jersey tax
Tax takes
$10,854
18.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$43,227
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
$57,920
Kept after tax
$47,066
Worth in national money
$43,227
State rank
34
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- New Jersey is among the lower-paying states for maintenance workers, machinery. The middle earner takes $57,920, ranking 34 of 46 states — about 4.82% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Against other work in New Jersey, this sits in the middle: 306 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 $57,920 the take-home is $47,066. But New Jersey costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $43,227 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is lower, $57,010, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- New Jersey ranks 34 of 46 for maintenance workers, machinery, with a median of $57,920 — about 4.82% 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.
- Maintenance workers, machinery ranks 306 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 $47,066 for maintenance workers, machinery, from $57,920. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $43,227. ⚠️ 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 $57,010 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Maintenance Workers, Machinery
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $38,800 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $57,920 |
| Top tenth earn over | $72,480 |
| This salary | $57,920 |
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 | $47,066 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $48,719 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$6,908 |
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 | $55,864 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$8,355 |
| 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 $57,920. The published range is $38,800 up to $72,480, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $47,066 take-home in New Jersey comes from $57,920. 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 306 of 490.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $43,227 uses one figure for the whole of New Jersey. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 490 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 306.
- Reported values are medians; for maintenance workers, machinery in New Jersey the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $38,800 to $72,480. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $47,066, from $57,920, 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 306 of 490 locally, and the state ranks 34 of 46 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $43,227, worked from $57,920, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular New Jersey address, on work sitting at 306 of 490 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $38,800 and the top tenth $72,480, so most people doing this work in New Jersey sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $43,227 — 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 $47,066.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 46 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($38,800 to $72,480) 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 $43,227 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 $47,066 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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.