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Manufacturing Compass

New Jersey manufacturing

Private-sector manufacturing (NAICS 31–33), annual average for 2024. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

01Core measures

New Jersey manufacturing in 2024

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

Establishments

9,808

Worksites, annual average of quarterly counts

U.S.
397,198
Share of U.S.Calc
2.5%

Employment

253,006

Jobs, annual average of monthly counts

U.S.
12,733,350
Share of U.S.Calc
2%

Total wages

$25.2 billion

Nominal dollars, sum of four quarters

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

Average weekly wage

$1,915

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$1,643
vs. U.S.Calc
+16.6%

Average annual pay

$99,560

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$85,461
vs. U.S.Calc
+16.5%

Location quotient

0.72

Employment concentration vs. U.S.

U.S.
1.00

Manufacturing's share of all jobs in New Jersey is 0.72 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
    50,188
    Establishments
    1,093
    Avg. annual pay
    $162,123
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +37.2%
    Location quotient
    2.05
  • 311Food manufacturing
    Employment
    41,799
    Establishments
    1,445
    Avg. annual pay
    $62,859
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +2.3%
    Location quotient
    0.86
  • 334Computer and electronic product manufacturing
    Employment
    26,182
    Establishments
    782
    Avg. annual pay
    $117,478
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −23.4%
    Location quotient
    0.94
  • 332Fabricated metal product manufacturing
    Employment
    21,439
    Establishments
    1,118
    Avg. annual pay
    $79,443
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +8.5%
    Location quotient
    0.54
  • 339Miscellaneous manufacturing
    Employment
    16,422
    Establishments
    905
    Avg. annual pay
    $117,683
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +43.1%
    Location quotient
    0.98
  • 326Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
    Employment
    14,134
    Establishments
    364
    Avg. annual pay
    $78,891
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +13.8%
    Location quotient
    0.72
  • 333Machinery manufacturing
    Employment
    13,138
    Establishments
    710
    Avg. annual pay
    $92,756
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +5.6%
    Location quotient
    0.43
  • 323Printing and related support activities
    Employment
    11,223
    Establishments
    776
    Avg. annual pay
    $71,493
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +17.0%
    Location quotient
    1.15
  • 327Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing
    Employment
    9,770
    Establishments
    368
    Avg. annual pay
    $82,944
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +9.8%
    Location quotient
    0.86
  • 322Paper manufacturing
    Employment
    7,683
    Establishments
    189
    Avg. annual pay
    $78,876
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −3.4%
    Location quotient
    0.79
  • 337Furniture and related product manufacturing
    Employment
    7,400
    Establishments
    425
    Avg. annual pay
    $68,990
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +16.3%
    Location quotient
    0.78
  • 335Electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing
    Employment
    6,553
    Establishments
    293
    Avg. annual pay
    $81,859
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −4.5%
    Location quotient
    0.57
  • 336Transportation equipment manufacturing
    Employment
    5,577
    Establishments
    180
    Avg. annual pay
    $81,603
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −12.5%
    Location quotient
    0.11
  • 312Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing
    Employment
    5,328
    Establishments
    325
    Avg. annual pay
    $61,171
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +0.1%
    Location quotient
    0.58
  • 331Primary metal manufacturing
    Employment
    3,487
    Establishments
    123
    Avg. annual pay
    $90,954
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +1.9%
    Location quotient
    0.34
  • 315Apparel manufacturing
    Employment
    3,242
    Establishments
    166
    Avg. annual pay
    $50,127
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −13.5%
    Location quotient
    1.44
  • 321Wood product manufacturing
    Employment
    3,090
    Establishments
    209
    Avg. annual pay
    $63,029
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +1.0%
    Location quotient
    0.27
  • 324Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
    Employment
    2,738
    Establishments
    55
    Avg. annual pay
    $149,178
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +5.6%
    Location quotient
    0.91
  • 314Textile product mills
    Employment
    2,313
    Establishments
    149
    Avg. annual pay
    $68,514
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +26.0%
    Location quotient
    0.87
  • 313Textile mills
    Employment
    970
    Establishments
    92
    Avg. annual pay
    $73,824
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +23.7%
    Location quotient
    0.42
  • 316Leather and allied product manufacturing
    Employment
    329
    Establishments
    42
    Avg. annual pay
    $61,161
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +3.4%
    Location quotient
    0.47

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/2024/a/industry/31_33.csv
Retrieved
October 12, 2026 (UTC)
Period
Annual average, 2024 (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