Pharmacy Technicians in New Jersey
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$33,338
after federal, FICA and New Jersey tax
Tax takes
$6,272
15.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$30,618
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
$39,610
Kept after tax
$33,338
Worth in national money
$30,618
State rank
46
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. New Jersey pays pharmacy technicians a middle wage of $39,610, 46 of 51 states and about 13.42% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Within New Jersey this is lower-paid work. Of 490 occupations the state publishes figures for, pharmacy technicians ranks 436. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- New Jersey is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $39,610 the take-home is $33,338; in national-average money that behaves like $30,618. The average comes to $44,690, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- New Jersey's $39,610 median for pharmacy technicians places it 46 of 51 states, about 13.42% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Against every occupation New Jersey reports, pharmacy technicians ranks 436 of 490, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Take-home for pharmacy technicians in New Jersey, on $39,610, is $33,338; deflated by the state's price level, $30,618. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $44,690 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Pharmacy Technicians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,170 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $39,610 |
| Top tenth earn over | $59,700 |
| This salary | $39,610 |
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 | $33,338 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $34,007 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,377 |
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 | $38,778 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$5,294 |
| 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 pharmacy technicians in New Jersey earn under $39,610 and half over. The published range runs $36,170 at the tenth percentile to $59,700 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In New Jersey the take-home figure of $33,338, from $39,610, 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 436 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 $30,618, the adjusted value of that $39,610 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 436 of 490 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for pharmacy technicians in New Jersey, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $36,170 to $59,700; 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.
- Take-home for New Jersey is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $33,338 from $39,610. 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 436 of 490 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for New Jersey, so $30,618 — the adjusted value of that $39,610 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 436 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 $44,690, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $36,170 at the tenth percentile, $59,700 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 $30,618 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, $33,338 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 $44,690. 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 ($36,170 to $59,700) 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 $30,618 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 $33,338 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.