Pharmacists in New Jersey
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$98,753
after federal, FICA and New Jersey tax
Tax takes
$38,867
28.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$90,696
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
$137,620
Kept after tax
$98,753
Worth in national money
$90,696
State rank
36
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- New Jersey is among the lower-paying states for pharmacists. The middle earner takes $137,620, ranking 36 of 51 states — about 2.33% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 490 occupations New Jersey reports, pharmacists comes in at 35 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $137,620, tax leaves $98,753 — and because New Jersey is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $90,696 would nationally. Averages run higher here, $141,350, since top earners drag the number up.
- New Jersey ranks 36 of 51 for pharmacists, with a median of $137,620 — about 2.33% 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.
- Pharmacists ranks 35 of 490 occupations by median in New Jersey, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- After tax, $98,753 remains from the New Jersey median of $137,620 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $90,696 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $141,350 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Pharmacists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $112,560 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $137,620 |
| Top tenth earn over | $172,110 |
| This salary | $137,620 |
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 | $98,753 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $105,329 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$17,695 |
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 | $127,998 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$24,892 |
| 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 $137,620. The published range is $112,560 up to $172,110, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $98,753 take-home in New Jersey comes from $137,620. 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 35 of 490.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $90,696 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 35.
- Reported values are medians; for pharmacists in New Jersey the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $112,560 to $172,110. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $98,753, from $137,620, 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 35 of 490 locally, and the state ranks 36 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $90,696, worked from $137,620, 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 35 of 490 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $112,560 at the bottom tenth to $172,110 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 $90,696 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 $98,753.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($112,560 to $172,110) 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 $90,696 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 $98,753 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.