Jobs and pay in New Jersey

The highest-paying occupations in New Jersey

Sorted by median annual wage — the midpoint of what people in the occupation are paid in this state, not what a newcomer earns. Occupations BLS did not release a wage for are absent rather than shown as zero.

1. Radiologists$482,700
2. Surgeons, all other$437,890
3. Physicians, pathologists$355,970
4. Orthopedic surgeons, except pediatric$341,430
5. Emergency medicine physicians$315,340
6. Chief executives$310,440
7. Family medicine physicians$292,170
8. Nurse anesthetists$291,350
9. Pediatric surgeons$288,930
10. Cardiologists$286,540
11. Physicians, all other$285,010
12. Athletes and sports competitors$253,870
13. Obstetricians and gynecologists$228,870
14. Commercial pilots$226,710
15. Neurologists$222,120
16. Natural sciences managers$207,030
17. Judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates$204,160
18. Computer and information systems managers$203,460
19. Dentists, all other specialists$201,840
20. Pediatricians, general$201,560
21. Financial managers$199,110
22. Psychiatrists$194,070
23. Architectural and engineering managers$180,640
24. Marketing managers$180,040
25. Public relations managers$174,980

Where the jobs actually are in New Jersey

The same list sorted by how many people are employed in each occupation, which is a different question from what it pays and usually a more useful one. High pay in an occupation employing 400 people statewide is a narrower opportunity than it looks.

1. Home health and personal care aides117,080 employed
2. Cashiers107,680 employed
3. Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand97,230 employed
4. Fast food and counter workers93,730 employed
5. Registered nurses92,680 employed
6. Retail salespersons72,530 employed
7. Packers and packagers, hand71,260 employed
8. Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners67,660 employed
9. Secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive65,960 employed
10. Office clerks, general65,130 employed
11. Stockers and order fillers64,070 employed
12. Customer service representatives59,690 employed
13. Waiters and waitresses55,800 employed
14. Teaching assistants, except postsecondary55,580 employed
15. First-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers55,210 employed
16. General and operations managers53,000 employed
17. Software developers51,570 employed
18. Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers47,980 employed
19. Sales representatives of services, except advertising, insurance, financial services, and travel44,980 employed
20. Accountants and auditors42,250 employed
21. Receptionists and information clerks42,060 employed
22. Security guards41,540 employed
23. Elementary school teachers, except special education40,300 employed
24. Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education38,140 employed
25. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks37,550 employed

The best-paid New Jersey work that typically needs no bachelor's degree

Occupations BLS reports as typically entered with an associate's degree, a postsecondary certificate, some college, a high-school diploma, or no formal credential — sorted by what they pay here. Typical is not a requirement, individual employers set their own, and many of these carry state licensing that the national figure does not capture.

1. Athletes and sports competitors$253,870 · No formal educational credential
2. Commercial pilots$226,710 · Postsecondary nondegree award
3. First-line supervisors of police and detectives$142,990 · High school diploma or equivalent
4. Elevator and escalator installers and repairers$137,920 · High school diploma or equivalent
5. First-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers$133,210 · Postsecondary nondegree award
6. Air traffic controllers$132,230 · Associate's degree
7. Power plant operators$131,370 · High school diploma or equivalent
8. Transportation, storage, and distribution managers$130,610 · High school diploma or equivalent
9. Radiation therapists$129,460 · Associate's degree
10. Power distributors and dispatchers$128,220 · High school diploma or equivalent
11. Nuclear medicine technologists$124,280 · Associate's degree
12. Electrical power-line installers and repairers$121,580 · High school diploma or equivalent
13. Ship engineers$118,310 · Postsecondary nondegree award
14. First-line supervisors of correctional officers$117,450 · High school diploma or equivalent
15. Detectives and criminal investigators$116,300 · High school diploma or equivalent
16. Reinforcing iron and rebar workers$116,110 · High school diploma or equivalent
17. Sound engineering technicians$115,190 · Postsecondary nondegree award
18. Carpet installers$115,180 · No formal educational credential
19. Structural iron and steel workers$113,220 · High school diploma or equivalent
20. Electrical and electronics repairers, powerhouse, substation, and relay$111,600 · Postsecondary nondegree award
21. Real estate brokers$111,390 · High school diploma or equivalent
22. Gas plant operators$110,900 · High school diploma or equivalent
23. Lodging managers$107,720 · High school diploma or equivalent
24. Insulation workers, mechanical$107,610 · High school diploma or equivalent
25. Millwrights$107,540 · High school diploma or equivalent

A certificate is a different credential from a degree, not a lesser one. CampusPin publishes the national picture of pay by entry education and which fields are actually awarded as certificates rather than degrees.

What New Jersey does more of than the rest of the country

Location quotient: this occupation's share of New Jersey employment divided by its share of U.S. employment. 2.0 means twice as concentrated here as nationally. It describes where the work IS — not what it pays, and not how easy it is to be hired. Limited to occupations employing at least 500 people in the state, so a tiny base cannot manufacture a large ratio.

Therapists, all other lead, much more concentrated here than nationally.

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