Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary in New Jersey
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$44,328
after federal, FICA and New Jersey tax
Tax takes
$9,932
18.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$40,711
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
$54,260
Kept after tax
$44,328
Worth in national money
$40,711
State rank
4
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. New Jersey pays this job a middle wage of $54,260, ranking 4 of 45 states and sitting about 26.45% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 490 occupations New Jersey reports figures for, this is number 335.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $54,260 the take-home is $44,328. But New Jersey costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $40,711 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $57,210, because the best-paid pull it up.
- New Jersey's median for teaching assistants, postsecondary is $54,260, about 26.45% above the national figure and 4 of 45 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, teaching assistants, postsecondary sits at 335 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 $44,328 for teaching assistants, postsecondary, from $54,260. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $40,711. ⚠️ 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 $57,210 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,940 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $54,260 |
| Top tenth earn over | $81,120 |
| This salary | $54,260 |
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 | $44,328 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $45,778 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$6,397 |
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 | $52,455 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$7,737 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $54,260 as a midpoint for New Jersey, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $35,940 and the ninetieth is $81,120 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind New Jersey's $44,328, worked from $54,260. 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 335 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 $40,711, the adjusted value of that $54,260 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 335 of 490 in the state.
- The New Jersey median of $54,260 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $35,940 to $81,120. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The New Jersey take-home of $44,328, on $54,260 for work ranking 335 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 335 of 490 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for New Jersey, so $40,711 — the adjusted value of that $54,260 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 335 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 $57,210, 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 $35,940 at the bottom tenth to $81,120 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. New Jersey costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $40,711 rather than its face figure.
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, $44,328 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 45 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 $57,210. 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 ($35,940) and the ninetieth ($81,120) 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 $40,711 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 $44,328 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.