Office Clerks, General in New Jersey
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$40,070
after federal, FICA and New Jersey tax
Tax takes
$8,500
17.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$36,801
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
$48,570
Kept after tax
$40,070
Worth in national money
$36,801
State rank
9
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. New Jersey pays office clerks, general a middle wage of $48,570, ranking 9 of 51 states and sitting about 7.91% above the national middle.
- Measured against other jobs in New Jersey, this one sits low: 374 of 490 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $48,570 the take-home is $40,070. But New Jersey costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $36,801 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $51,060, because the best-paid pull it up.
- New Jersey's median for office clerks, general is $48,570, about 7.91% above the national figure and 9 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Office clerks, general occupies position 374 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.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and New Jersey income tax is $40,070 for office clerks, general, from $48,570. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $36,801. ⚠️ 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 $51,060 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: Office Clerks, General
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $34,810 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $48,570 |
| Top tenth earn over | $71,230 |
| This salary | $48,570 |
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 | $40,070 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $41,206 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,603 |
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 | $47,157 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$6,776 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $48,570 as a midpoint for New Jersey, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $34,810 and the ninetieth is $71,230 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind New Jersey's $40,070, worked from $48,570. 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 374 of 490.
- One number stands for prices across all of New Jersey, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $36,801, the adjusted value of that $48,570 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 374 of 490 in the state.
- The New Jersey median of $48,570 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $34,810 to $71,230. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The New Jersey take-home of $40,070, on $48,570 for work ranking 374 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 374 of 490 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for New Jersey, so $36,801 — the adjusted value of that $48,570 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 374 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 $51,060, 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 $34,810 and the top tenth $71,230 — 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 $36,801 — 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, $40,070 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 $51,060. 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 ($34,810) and the ninetieth ($71,230) 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 $36,801 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 $40,070 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.