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Manufacturing Compass

New Jersey manufacturing

Private-sector manufacturing (NAICS 31–33), annual average for 2022. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

01Core measures

New Jersey manufacturing in 2022

Totals and averages for all private manufacturing employers in New Jersey combined. They describe the industry statewide, not any individual plant or company.

Establishments

9,966

Worksites, annual average of quarterly counts

U.S.
380,711
Share of U.S.Calc
2.6%

Employment

248,699

Jobs, annual average of monthly counts

U.S.
12,759,129
Share of U.S.Calc
1.9%

Total wages

$23 billion

Nominal dollars, sum of four quarters

U.S.
$1 trillion
Share of U.S.Calc
2.3%

Average weekly wage

$1,781

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$1,529
vs. U.S.Calc
+16.5%

Average annual pay

$92,595

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$79,483
vs. U.S.Calc
+16.5%

Location quotient

0.71

Employment concentration vs. U.S.

U.S.
1.00

Manufacturing's share of all jobs in New Jersey is 0.71 times its share of all U.S. jobs.

Calcmarks our calculations from BLS figures (formulas below). All other values are published by BLS.

02Subsectors

Where manufacturing jobs are

The 21 three-digit NAICS manufacturing subsectors, largest employment first.

  • 325Chemical manufacturing
    Employment
    47,287
    Establishments
    1,131
    Avg. annual pay
    $150,906
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +37.5%
    Location quotient
    1.92
  • 311Food manufacturing
    Employment
    37,750
    Establishments
    1,381
    Avg. annual pay
    $58,712
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +1.5%
    Location quotient
    0.81
  • 334Computer and electronic product manufacturing
    Employment
    26,030
    Establishments
    787
    Avg. annual pay
    $108,750
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −25.8%
    Location quotient
    0.87
  • 332Fabricated metal product manufacturing
    Employment
    21,083
    Establishments
    1,152
    Avg. annual pay
    $73,757
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +10.2%
    Location quotient
    0.54
  • 339Miscellaneous manufacturing
    Employment
    16,702
    Establishments
    952
    Avg. annual pay
    $106,846
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +42.2%
    Location quotient
    0.97
  • 326Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
    Employment
    14,713
    Establishments
    371
    Avg. annual pay
    $71,053
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +11.0%
    Location quotient
    0.72
  • 333Machinery manufacturing
    Employment
    13,744
    Establishments
    718
    Avg. annual pay
    $84,755
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +4.8%
    Location quotient
    0.45
  • 323Printing and related support activities
    Employment
    11,957
    Establishments
    806
    Avg. annual pay
    $69,859
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +21.9%
    Location quotient
    1.15
  • 327Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing
    Employment
    10,241
    Establishments
    380
    Avg. annual pay
    $78,706
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +13.2%
    Location quotient
    0.90
  • 322Paper manufacturing
    Employment
    8,877
    Establishments
    190
    Avg. annual pay
    $90,211
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +17.7%
    Location quotient
    0.89
  • 337Furniture and related product manufacturing
    Employment
    7,468
    Establishments
    440
    Avg. annual pay
    $59,836
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +11.2%
    Location quotient
    0.72
  • 335Electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing
    Employment
    6,160
    Establishments
    294
    Avg. annual pay
    $74,674
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −4.0%
    Location quotient
    0.55
  • 336Transportation equipment manufacturing
    Employment
    5,352
    Establishments
    186
    Avg. annual pay
    $74,718
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −11.3%
    Location quotient
    0.11
  • 312Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing
    Employment
    5,084
    Establishments
    316
    Avg. annual pay
    $58,519
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +1.4%
    Location quotient
    0.57
  • 331Primary metal manufacturing
    Employment
    3,609
    Establishments
    125
    Avg. annual pay
    $89,773
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +7.3%
    Location quotient
    0.36
  • 321Wood product manufacturing
    Employment
    3,077
    Establishments
    221
    Avg. annual pay
    $60,625
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +2.4%
    Location quotient
    0.26
  • 315Apparel manufacturing
    Employment
    3,069
    Establishments
    180
    Avg. annual pay
    $45,160
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −15.5%
    Location quotient
    1.20
  • 324Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
    Employment
    2,544
    Establishments
    60
    Avg. annual pay
    $136,576
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +3.0%
    Location quotient
    0.88
  • 314Textile product mills
    Employment
    2,542
    Establishments
    149
    Avg. annual pay
    $61,046
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +22.4%
    Location quotient
    0.88
  • 313Textile mills
    Employment
    1,090
    Establishments
    96
    Avg. annual pay
    $72,337
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +32.0%
    Location quotient
    0.41
  • 316Leather and allied product manufacturing
    Employment
    322
    Establishments
    34
    Avg. annual pay
    $57,529
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +4.3%
    Location quotient
    0.44

03By year

New Jersey manufacturing, 2022–2025

Wages are in nominal dollars (not adjusted for inflation). BLS cautions that QCEW is not designed as a time series, so treat year-to-year differences as indicative.

Private manufacturing in New Jersey by year, annual averages, nominal dollars
YearEmploymentAvg. annual payvs. U.S.Calc
2022248,699$92,595+16.5%
2023252,317$96,445+16.8%
2024253,006$99,560+16.5%
2025249,940$104,878+17.2%

04About this data

Source, definitions, and limits

Source
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages
File
data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2022/a/industry/31_33.csv
Retrieved
October 12, 2026 (UTC)
Period
Annual average, 2022 (final BLS data)
Industry
NAICS 2022, sector 31–33 and its three-digit subsectors
Ownership
Private employers only
Geography
Statewide; compared with the U.S. total
Citation
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW).

What these numbers cover

  • Jobs reported to state unemployment insurance programs, about 95% of U.S. wage and salary jobs. Self-employed workers and proprietors are excluded; people with two jobs may be counted twice.
  • Averages describe all employers combined and do not represent any single manufacturer. Where a subsector has few establishments or jobs, its averages can swing widely and are less representative.
  • Not disclosed: BLS withheld the value to protect employer confidentiality. It is never shown as zero. No BLS data: BLS publishes no figures for that combination.

Calculations

  • Share of U.S. = state value ÷ U.S. value.
  • vs. U.S. = state value ÷ U.S. value − 1.
  • Both inputs come from the same BLS file: same year, industry, and ownership. Not calculated when either value is withheld (shown as —).
  • Location quotient is published by BLS: the industry's share of all local jobs (all industries and ownerships) divided by its share nationally.

Read our methodology