Is $30,000 a good salary in New Jersey?
$30,000 in New Jersey is a below-median household income - the 14th percentile of New Jersey households in the Census ACS 2024 distribution (17th nationally). A single filer keeps about $24,531 after federal, New Jersey state, and FICA taxes - roughly $2,044/mo at a 18% effective rate. Statewide median rent takes 70% of gross - cost-burdened by the HUD 30% standard, and metro areas run higher.
Estimate only - not financial advice. Methodology and sources.
Census ACS 2024 1-year data (tables B19080, B19013), verified . Reviewed by kgenots, Editor. Methodology
New Jersey household income distribution (ACS 2024)
New Jersey's own published cut-points - where $30,000 sits is highlighted. These are the actual Census quintile thresholds for New Jersey, not the national distribution rescaled.
| Percentile | Band | Household income |
|---|---|---|
| 20th percentile | Bottom 20% | $43,271 |
| 40th percentile | Lower-middle | $81,965 |
| 50th percentile (median) | Median household | $104,294 |
| 60th percentile | Upper-middle | $130,601 |
| 80th percentile | Top 20% starts | $207,697 |
| 95th percentile (top 5%) | Top 5% starts | $250,001 |
$30,000 clears the below the 20th percentile threshold in New Jersey - placing it at the 14th percentile of state households.
Take-home pay on $30,000 in New Jersey
| Gross income | $30,000 |
| Federal income tax | −$1,562 |
| New Jersey state income tax | −$1,613 |
| Social Security (6.2%) | −$1,860 |
| Medicare (1.45%) | −$435 |
| Take-home (net) | $24,531 |
That's about $2,044/month net, an effective tax rate of 18.2%. New Jersey's average combined sales tax is 6.63%, charged on taxable spending out of that net - a consumption cost on top of the income tax above.
Single filer, 2025 federal brackets + standard deduction. State tax uses New Jersey's top/flat marginal rate, so in progressive-bracket states (e.g. California, New York) the state line is an upper bound and your actual net is likely a little higher. Married-filing-jointly and pre-tax 401(k)/health deductions also change the result. Estimate only - New Jersey take-home detail →
Occupations near $30,000 (single earner)
BLS national median wages within ±15% of $30,000 - gives texture for which careers and seniorities land at this income level.
| Occupation | Stage | National wage |
|---|---|---|
| Customer service rep | entry-level | $30,000 |
| Office clerk | entry-level | $30,000 |
| Cashier | mid-career | $29,720 |
| Firefighter | entry-level | $31,000 |
| Construction laborer | entry-level | $32,000 |
| Retail salesperson | mid-career | $33,990 |
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2024. National medians; metro/state variance can be ±30%. Career stage estimates: entry ≈ 25th pct, senior ≈ 75th pct of the same SOC code.
Lifestyle context - rent burden in New Jersey
At $30,000 gross, statewide median rent eats 70% of income - HUD-defined cost-burdened. Metro areas (LA, SF, NYC, Boston, Seattle) typically run 30-50% above the statewide median.
Home affordability at $30,000
Using the 28% rule on a 30-year mortgage, $30,000 gross supports a home purchase up to about $80,944. New Jersey median home value is $427,600 - you can afford 19% of the median home, so buying requires lower-priced markets, a larger down payment, or co-buying.
How $30,000 ranks in neighboring states
State-adjusted percentile shows the same income placed in New Jersey's contiguous neighbors. Relevant for relocation, remote-work geography, or border-town decisions.
| State | Median HH | % vs median | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey (current) | $104,294 | -71% | 14th |
| New York | $85,820 | -65% | 19th |
| Pennsylvania | $77,545 | -61% | 19th |
| Delaware | $87,534 | -66% | 15th |
$30,000 ranks similarly in
Other incomes in New Jersey
Common questions
- Is $30,000 a good household income in New Jersey?
- It sits at roughly the 14th percentile of New Jersey households in the state's own Census ACS 2024 income distribution (New Jersey median $104,294). Nationally that's about the 17th percentile. Whether "good" depends on household size, debt, and metro cost of living - state figures smooth over big within-state variation.
- How does $30,000 compare to the New Jersey median?
- It's 71% below the New Jersey median household income of $104,294 (Census ACS 2024, table B19013). Half of New Jersey households earn less than $104,294, half earn more.
- What is the highest income New Jersey's data can rank?
- New Jersey's published 95th-percentile cut-point is $250,001, below the $250,001 level at which the Census top-codes this measure. That means percentile positions in New Jersey stay meaningful across the full range shown here, unlike in higher-income states where the top bracket is censored.
Full data sources and formulas: /sources.
Source and methodology
Data source. New Jersey household income distribution comes from the U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 1-year estimates: table B19080 (quintile upper limits) and table B19013 (median household income), retrieved via the Census Reporter API on 2026-07-11.
How the percentile is derived. The Census publishes New Jersey only at the cut-points shown in the table above. We interpolate linearly between the two published points that bracket $30,000. We do not rescale one national curve by a state median, which is what most percentile calculators do.
Limitations. Interpolated positions are accurate to a few percentile points, not to the decimal. New Jersey's 95th-percentile cut-point is $250,001, below the $250,001 top-code ceiling, so ranks stay meaningful across the range shown. State-level figures also smooth over large metro-to-rural variation within New Jersey.
US household income percentile calculator → Income percentile by state (all 50) → Full methodology →
Estimate only - not financial advice. Percentiles are interpolated from US Census Bureau ACS household income distribution tables and describe where an income falls nationally - they are not a judgment of what you should earn or financial advice. Cost of living varies widely by state and metro.
Reviewed by kgenots, Editor · editorial policy