Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders in New Jersey
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$33,853
after federal, FICA and New Jersey tax
Tax takes
$6,427
16.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$31,091
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
$40,280
Kept after tax
$33,853
Worth in national money
$31,091
State rank
34
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- New Jersey is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $40,280, ranking 34 of 50 states — about 6.8% 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: 432 of 490 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- New Jersey is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $40,280 the take-home is $33,853; in national-average money that behaves like $31,091. The average comes to $43,940, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- New Jersey ranks 34 of 50 for packaging and filling machine operators and tenders, with a median of $40,280 — about 6.8% 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.
- Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders occupies position 432 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.
- Take-home for packaging and filling machine operators and tenders in New Jersey, on $40,280, is $33,853; deflated by the state's price level, $31,091. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $43,940 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $32,230 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $40,280 |
| Top tenth earn over | $59,800 |
| This salary | $40,280 |
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 | $33,853 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $34,545 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,458 |
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 | $39,418 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$5,392 |
| 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 packaging and filling machine operators and tenders in New Jersey earn under $40,280 and half over. The published range runs $32,230 at the tenth percentile to $59,800 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind New Jersey's $33,853, worked from $40,280. 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 432 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 $31,091, the adjusted value of that $40,280 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 432 of 490 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for packaging and filling machine operators and tenders in New Jersey, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $32,230 to $59,800; 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.
- The New Jersey take-home of $33,853, on $40,280 for work ranking 432 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 432 of 490 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for New Jersey, so $31,091 — the adjusted value of that $40,280 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 432 of 490 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $43,940, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $32,230 at the tenth percentile, $59,800 at the ninetieth.
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 $31,091 of national purchasing power.
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 $33,853.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 50 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
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 $43,940. 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 ($32,230 to $59,800) 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 $31,091 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 $33,853 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.