Slaughterers and Meat Packers in New Jersey
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,571
after federal, FICA and New Jersey tax
Tax takes
$7,659
16.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$34,506
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
$45,230
Kept after tax
$37,571
Worth in national money
$34,506
State rank
10
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for slaughterers and meat packers is strong here. New Jersey's middle earner gets $45,230, putting the state 10 of 47 — about 12.71% ahead of the national figure.
- Measured against other jobs in New Jersey, this one sits low: 400 of 490 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $45,230, tax leaves $37,571 — and because New Jersey is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $34,506 would nationally. Here the average runs under the middle, at $45,040.
- For slaughterers and meat packers, New Jersey sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $45,230, ranking 10 of 47 and running about 12.71% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Slaughterers and meat packers occupies position 400 of 490 in New Jersey's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- After tax, $37,571 remains from the New Jersey median of $45,230 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $34,506 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $45,040 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Slaughterers and Meat Packers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,560 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $45,230 |
| Top tenth earn over | $57,580 |
| This salary | $45,230 |
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 | $37,571 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,522 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,136 |
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 | $44,046 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$6,212 |
| 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 slaughterers and meat packers in New Jersey earn under $45,230 and half over. The published range runs $35,560 at the tenth percentile to $57,580 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $37,571 take-home in New Jersey comes from $45,230. 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 400 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 $34,506, the adjusted value of that $45,230 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 400 of 490 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for slaughterers and meat packers in New Jersey, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $35,560 to $57,580; 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.
- Retained pay of $37,571, from $45,230, 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 400 of 490 locally, and the state ranks 10 of 47 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for New Jersey, so $34,506 — the adjusted value of that $45,230 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 400 of 490 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $35,560 at the tenth percentile, $57,580 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 $34,506 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 $37,571.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 47 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($35,560 to $57,580) 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 $34,506 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 $37,571 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.