Median pay · New Jersey
$44,020A year, or $21 an hour.| Percentile | Annual | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile1 in 10 earn less | $32,220 | $15 |
| 25th percentile | $35,330 | $17 |
| MedianHalf earn more, half less | $44,020 | $21 |
| 75th percentile | $58,310 | $28 |
| 90th percentile1 in 10 earn more | $80,480 | $39 |
| MeanAll pay divided by all jobs | $51,440 | $25 |
Wage survey · BLS May 2025
How we got this
- Median wage in New JerseyBLS OEWS May 2025. Half of the people in this job were paid more than this, half less.$44,020
- Median hourly wagePublished separately by BLS, not divided out of the annual figure.$21.16
- Take-home after federal, state and FICA tax$3,055 a month at an effective rate of 16.7%.$36,666 a year
- Worth at national average pricesPrices in New Jersey sit at 108.8 against a national 100 (BEA, 2024).$40,458
- Against the national medianThe national median is $34,340.28.2% above
- Jobs countedA concentration of 0.78 against the nation's 1.00.16,260
What we assumed
- Wages are BLS OEWS survey estimates for May 2025, not job postings or offers.
- OEWS surveys wage and salary workers. The self-employed and business owners are outside it.
- Take-home assumes one 2026 filer, filing single, taking the standard deduction, with no dependents, pre-tax retirement contributions or local income tax.
- Regional price parities compare price levels between places in one year. They are not inflation, and they do not adjust for what a household actually buys.
Technical details
Method occupation-wage-v1Data bls-oews-2025-05-v1, us-tax-2026-v1, bea-rpp-2024-v1, census-acs5-2024-v1
What lands in the bank
Tax year 2026 · InteractiveEstimated on the median salary of $44,020 in New Jersey, for a single filer taking the standard deduction in 2026. Explore other wage levels and filing statuses below.
Run the numbers on your own pay
Same U.S. tax tables as the rest of the site. Change the salary, state, or filing status.
What $44,020 is worth in New Jersey
Prices in New Jersey sit at 108.8 against a national average of 100, so $44,020 earned here buys what $40,458 buys at national average prices.
- Rents. 134.3 against 100, the component that moves most between states.
- Against local households. The median household in New Jersey takes in $103,556, so this occupation's median is 0.43 times that, on one income.
- How common the job is here. 22% less concentrated in New Jersey than in the country as a whole.
Reading the numbers
What stands out for bartenders in New Jersey
Rents in New Jersey index at 134.3 (U.S. = 100) while prices overall index at 108.8, a gap of +25.5 pts. For a renter, housing moves the local cost of living more than anything else.
Prices in New Jersey index at 108.8 (U.S. = 100), so the $44,020 median buys roughly what $40,458 would at national prices, $3,562 less.
The average here is $51,440, well above the median of $44,020. A smaller group of high earners lifts the average, so the median is the better guide to what most bartenders in New Jersey are paid.
The median for this job is 0.4 times the median household income in New Jersey ($103,556). Many households have two earners, so one paycheck at this level falls short of what a typical local household brings in.
Common questions
Bartender pay in New Jersey, answered
How much does a bartender make in New Jersey?
The median wage for bartenders in New Jersey is $44,020 a year, or $21.16 an hour.
Half earn more than that and half earn less. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage survey for May 2025.
What is the average bartender salary in New Jersey?
BLS’s mean (average) wage for bartenders in New Jersey is $51,440 a year. The median is $44,020.
The mean sits higher when a smaller group of high earners pulls the average up. For a typical paycheck, the median is the better middle.
What is the hourly pay for a bartender in New Jersey?
The median hourly wage is $21.16. At a full-time year that lines up with about $44,020 a year.
BLS May 2025; hourly and annual figures come from the same survey.
What is the starting salary for a bartender in New Jersey?
BLS does not publish starting pay. The closest figure it does publish is the low end of the range: in New Jersey, the lowest-paid 10% of bartenders earn under $32,220 a year and a quarter earn under $35,330 ($15.49 and $16.98 an hour).
New hires often start somewhere in that band, but the May 2025 survey does not record experience, so read it as a floor to compare an offer against rather than a typical first salary.
What is the salary range for a bartender in New Jersey?
The overall salary range for bartenders in New Jersey spans from $32,220 for the bottom 10% to $80,480 for top earners.
The middle 50% earn between $35,330 and $58,310 a year, with the overall median at $44,020.
What is the take-home pay for a bartender in New Jersey?
On the median wage of $44,020, a single filer taking the 2026 standard deduction keeps an estimated $36,666 a year, or roughly $3,055 a month.
That is after federal, state and FICA tax, an effective rate of 16.7%.
New Jersey takes $884 of it in state income tax.
How much does a bartender make a month in New Jersey?
On the median annual salary of $44,020, estimated take-home pay is roughly $3,055 a month after federal, state, and FICA taxes.
For workers paid on a standard biweekly schedule (26 pay periods per year), each paycheck is approximately $1,410 net.
Do bartenders earn more in New Jersey than in the rest of the country?
Yes. The median in New Jersey is 28.2% above the national median of $34,340.
Nominal pay is only half the comparison: prices in New Jersey sit at 108.8 against a national 100, so the gap in what the money buys is different from the gap in the salary.
Is $44,020 a good salary in New Jersey?
It is 0.43 times the median household income of $103,556. A household often has more than one earner, so a single salary at this level goes further than the ratio alone suggests.
Prices in New Jersey run at 108.8 against a national average of 100, with rents at 134.3, so $44,020 here buys about what $40,458 buys at national average prices.
What do the highest-paid bartenders earn in New Jersey?
The top tenth earn $80,480 a year or more. The 10th-percentile wage is $32,220.
Experience, specialty, employer and the part of New Jersey someone works in all move a wage inside that range; the survey reports the spread, not the reason for it.
How many bartenders are there in New Jersey?
The survey counted 16,260 of these jobs in New Jersey for May 2025.
That makes the occupation 22% less concentrated here than in the country as a whole. It counts wage and salary jobs, so the self-employed are outside it.