Public Relations Specialists in New Jersey
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$62,287
after federal, FICA and New Jersey tax
Tax takes
$17,843
22.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$57,206
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
$80,130
Kept after tax
$62,287
Worth in national money
$57,206
State rank
8
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. New Jersey pays public relations specialists a middle wage of $80,130, ranking 8 of 51 states and sitting about 7.2% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 490 occupations New Jersey reports figures for, this is number 176.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $80,130 the take-home is $62,287. But New Jersey costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $57,206 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $88,460, because the best-paid pull it up.
- New Jersey's median for public relations specialists is $80,130, about 7.2% above the national figure and 8 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.
- In New Jersey's occupational distribution, public relations specialists sits at 176 of 490 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and New Jersey income tax is $62,287 for public relations specialists, from $80,130. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $57,206. ⚠️ 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 $88,460 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Public Relations Specialists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $49,820 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $80,130 |
| Top tenth earn over | $138,190 |
| This salary | $80,130 |
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 | $62,287 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $65,201 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$9,891 |
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 | $75,987 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$13,659 |
| 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 $80,130. The published range is $49,820 up to $138,190, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind New Jersey's $62,287, worked from $80,130. 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 176 of 490.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $57,206 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 176.
- Reported values are medians; for public relations specialists in New Jersey the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $49,820 to $138,190. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The New Jersey take-home of $62,287, on $80,130 for work ranking 176 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 176 of 490 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $57,206, worked from $80,130, 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 176 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 $88,460, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $49,820 at the bottom tenth to $138,190 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 $57,206 of national purchasing power.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and New Jersey adds its own income tax on top — which is why $62,287 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
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 $88,460. 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 ($49,820) and the ninetieth ($138,190) 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 $57,206 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 $62,287 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.