Producers and Directors in New Jersey
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$87,694
after federal, FICA and New Jersey tax
Tax takes
$32,146
26.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$80,539
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
$119,840
Kept after tax
$87,694
Worth in national money
$80,539
State rank
2
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. New Jersey pays producers and directors a middle wage of $119,840, ranking 2 of 50 states and sitting about 32.63% above the national middle.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 490 occupations New Jersey reports, producers and directors comes in at 63 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $119,840 the take-home is $87,694. But New Jersey costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $80,539 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $124,310, because the best-paid pull it up.
- New Jersey's median for producers and directors is $119,840, about 32.63% above the national figure and 2 of 50 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Producers and directors ranks 63 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.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and New Jersey income tax is $87,694 for producers and directors, from $119,840. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $80,539. ⚠️ 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 $124,310 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Producers and Directors
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $62,310 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $119,840 |
| Top tenth earn over | $206,770 |
| This salary | $119,840 |
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 | $87,694 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $93,137 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$15,306 |
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 | $112,102 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$21,142 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $119,840 as a midpoint for New Jersey, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $62,310 and the ninetieth is $206,770 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $87,694 take-home in New Jersey comes from $119,840. 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 63 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 $80,539, the adjusted value of that $119,840 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 63 of 490 in the state.
- The New Jersey median of $119,840 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $62,310 to $206,770. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $87,694, from $119,840, 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 63 of 490 locally, and the state ranks 2 of 50 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for New Jersey, so $80,539 — the adjusted value of that $119,840 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 63 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 $124,310, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $62,310 at the bottom tenth to $206,770 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $80,539 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 $87,694.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $124,310. 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 ($62,310) and the ninetieth ($206,770) 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 $80,539 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 $87,694 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.