Sewing Machine Operators in New Jersey
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,663
after federal, FICA and New Jersey tax
Tax takes
$5,467
15.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$28,162
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
$36,130
Kept after tax
$30,663
Worth in national money
$28,162
State rank
29
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. New Jersey is 29 of 50 states for sewing machine operators, with a middle wage of $36,130. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within New Jersey this is lower-paid work. Of 490 occupations the state publishes figures for, sewing machine operators ranks 472. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $36,130 the take-home is $30,663. But New Jersey costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $28,162 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $37,760, because the best-paid pull it up.
- New Jersey ranks 29 of 50 for sewing machine operators at $36,130. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation New Jersey reports, sewing machine operators ranks 472 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.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and New Jersey income tax is $30,663 for sewing machine operators, from $36,130. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $28,162. ⚠️ 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 $37,760 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Sewing Machine Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $32,220 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $36,130 |
| Top tenth earn over | $46,170 |
| This salary | $36,130 |
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 | $30,663 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,210 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,956 |
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 | $35,449 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,784 |
| 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 sewing machine operators in New Jersey earn under $36,130 and half over. The published range runs $32,220 at the tenth percentile to $46,170 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In New Jersey the take-home figure of $30,663, from $36,130, 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 472 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 $28,162, the adjusted value of that $36,130 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 472 of 490 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for sewing machine operators in New Jersey, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $32,220 to $46,170; 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 $30,663 from $36,130. 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 472 of 490 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for New Jersey, so $28,162 — the adjusted value of that $36,130 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 472 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 $37,760, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $32,220 and the top tenth $46,170, so most people doing this work in New Jersey sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $28,162 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, $30,663 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 50 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release 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 $37,760. 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 ($32,220 to $46,170) 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 $28,162 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 $30,663 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.