Retail Salespersons in New Jersey
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,963
after federal, FICA and New Jersey tax
Tax takes
$5,557
15.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$28,437
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
$36,520
Kept after tax
$30,963
Worth in national money
$28,437
State rank
12
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. New Jersey pays retail salespersons a middle wage of $36,520, ranking 12 of 51 states and sitting about 3.13% above the national middle.
- Against 490 occupations New Jersey publishes, retail salespersons lands at 466. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $36,520 the take-home is $30,963. But New Jersey costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $28,437 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $41,870, because the best-paid pull it up.
- New Jersey's median for retail salespersons is $36,520, about 3.13% above the national figure and 12 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.
- Within New Jersey, this work ranks 466 of 490 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and New Jersey income tax is $30,963 for retail salespersons, from $36,520. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $28,437. ⚠️ 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 $41,870 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Retail Salespersons
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $32,220 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $36,520 |
| Top tenth earn over | $60,210 |
| This salary | $36,520 |
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 | $30,963 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,524 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,003 |
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 | $35,822 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,841 |
| 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 $36,520. The published range is $32,220 up to $60,210, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $30,963 take-home in New Jersey comes from $36,520. 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 466 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 $28,437, the adjusted value of that $36,520 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 466 of 490 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for retail salespersons in New Jersey the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $32,220 to $60,210. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $30,963, from $36,520, 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 466 of 490 locally, and the state ranks 12 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for New Jersey, so $28,437 — the adjusted value of that $36,520 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 466 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 $41,870, 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 $32,220 at the bottom tenth to $60,210 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in New Jersey run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $28,437 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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 $30,963.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like 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 $41,870. 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 ($32,220) and the ninetieth ($60,210) 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 $28,437 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 $30,963 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.