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Manufacturing Compass

New Jersey manufacturing

Private-sector manufacturing (NAICS 31–33), annual average for 2023. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

01Core measures

New Jersey manufacturing in 2023

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

Establishments

9,956

Worksites, annual average of quarterly counts

U.S.
392,201
Share of U.S.Calc
2.5%

Employment

252,317

Jobs, annual average of monthly counts

U.S.
12,868,061
Share of U.S.Calc
2%

Total wages

$24.3 billion

Nominal dollars, sum of four quarters

U.S.
$1.1 trillion
Share of U.S.Calc
2.3%

Average weekly wage

$1,855

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$1,588
vs. U.S.Calc
+16.8%

Average annual pay

$96,445

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$82,575
vs. U.S.Calc
+16.8%

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
    49,328
    Establishments
    1,117
    Avg. annual pay
    $160,354
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +42.3%
    Location quotient
    2.00
  • 311Food manufacturing
    Employment
    39,609
    Establishments
    1,409
    Avg. annual pay
    $60,420
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +1.9%
    Location quotient
    0.83
  • 334Computer and electronic product manufacturing
    Employment
    26,255
    Establishments
    793
    Avg. annual pay
    $114,219
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −25.1%
    Location quotient
    0.87
  • 332Fabricated metal product manufacturing
    Employment
    21,446
    Establishments
    1,157
    Avg. annual pay
    $76,932
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +9.8%
    Location quotient
    0.54
  • 339Miscellaneous manufacturing
    Employment
    16,570
    Establishments
    919
    Avg. annual pay
    $111,001
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +42.7%
    Location quotient
    0.97
  • 326Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
    Employment
    14,337
    Establishments
    368
    Avg. annual pay
    $73,115
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +9.8%
    Location quotient
    0.71
  • 333Machinery manufacturing
    Employment
    13,555
    Establishments
    714
    Avg. annual pay
    $87,848
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +4.5%
    Location quotient
    0.44
  • 323Printing and related support activities
    Employment
    11,551
    Establishments
    790
    Avg. annual pay
    $71,825
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +22.1%
    Location quotient
    1.14
  • 327Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing
    Employment
    10,265
    Establishments
    383
    Avg. annual pay
    $80,462
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +10.7%
    Location quotient
    0.89
  • 322Paper manufacturing
    Employment
    7,814
    Establishments
    190
    Avg. annual pay
    $76,226
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −3.1%
    Location quotient
    0.79
  • 337Furniture and related product manufacturing
    Employment
    7,674
    Establishments
    445
    Avg. annual pay
    $63,547
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +13.1%
    Location quotient
    0.78
  • 335Electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing
    Employment
    6,332
    Establishments
    293
    Avg. annual pay
    $77,784
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −4.0%
    Location quotient
    0.56
  • 336Transportation equipment manufacturing
    Employment
    5,863
    Establishments
    183
    Avg. annual pay
    $77,995
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −12.0%
    Location quotient
    0.12
  • 312Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing
    Employment
    5,255
    Establishments
    335
    Avg. annual pay
    $58,408
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −0.4%
    Location quotient
    0.57
  • 331Primary metal manufacturing
    Employment
    3,670
    Establishments
    124
    Avg. annual pay
    $90,820
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +5.4%
    Location quotient
    0.36
  • 315Apparel manufacturing
    Employment
    3,278
    Establishments
    177
    Avg. annual pay
    $47,485
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −14.8%
    Location quotient
    1.35
  • 321Wood product manufacturing
    Employment
    2,980
    Establishments
    218
    Avg. annual pay
    $62,598
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +3.4%
    Location quotient
    0.26
  • 324Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
    Employment
    2,564
    Establishments
    54
    Avg. annual pay
    $146,204
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +6.2%
    Location quotient
    0.87
  • 314Textile product mills
    Employment
    2,498
    Establishments
    145
    Avg. annual pay
    $64,176
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +23.9%
    Location quotient
    0.91
  • 313Textile mills
    Employment
    1,104
    Establishments
    102
    Avg. annual pay
    $70,377
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +23.7%
    Location quotient
    0.45
  • 316Leather and allied product manufacturing
    Employment
    371
    Establishments
    43
    Avg. annual pay
    $55,854
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −2.6%
    Location quotient
    0.51

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/2023/a/industry/31_33.csv
Retrieved
October 12, 2026 (UTC)
Period
Annual average, 2023 (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