New Jersey · BLS May 2025

Substitute Teacher Salary in New Jersey

The Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 17,100 substitute teachers, short-term working in New Jersey. Here is what they are paid, what the median leaves after federal, state and FICA tax, and what that is worth against local prices.

Median pay · New Jersey

$43,780A year, or $21.05 an hour.
Take-home a month$3,041After federal, state and FICA tax at 16.7%
Worth at national prices$40,237Prices here sit at 108.8 against 100
Against the nation5.1% aboveNational median $41,670
What substitute teachers, short-term earn in New Jersey, May 2025
PercentileAnnualHourly
10th percentileEntry and lowest-paid$34,170$16.43
25th percentile$36,380$17.49
MedianHalf earn more, half less$43,780$21.05
75th percentile$47,460$22.82
90th percentileMost experienced and senior$58,670$28.21
MeanThe average, pulled up by the top$44,570$21.43
How we got this
  1. Median wage in New JerseyBLS OEWS May 2025. Half of substitute teachers, short-term earned more than this, half less.$43,780
  2. Median hourly wagePublished separately by BLS, not divided out of the annual figure.$21.05
  3. Take-home after federal, state and FICA tax$3,041 a month at an effective rate of 16.7%.$36,486 a year
  4. Worth at national average pricesPrices in New Jersey sit at 108.8 against a national 100 (BEA, 2024).$40,237
  5. Against the national medianThe national median is $41,670.5.1% above
  6. Jobs countedA concentration of 1.18 against the nation's 1.00.17,100
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

A $43,780 salary in New Jersey, for one single filer taking the standard deduction in 2026.

  • Federal income tax. $3,074 a year.
  • State income tax. $871 a year.
  • Social Security and Medicare. $3,349 a year.
  • Left over. $36,486 a year, $3,041 a month, an effective rate of 16.7%.

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What $43,780 is worth in New Jersey

Prices in New Jersey sit at 108.8 against a national average of 100, so $43,780 earned here buys what $40,237 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 0.42 times that, on one income.
  • How common the job is here. 18% more concentrated in New Jersey than in the country as a whole.

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Common questions

Substitute Teacher pay in New Jersey, answered

How much does a substitute teacher make in New Jersey?

The median wage for substitute teachers in New Jersey is $43,780 a year, or $21.05 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 take-home pay for a substitute teacher in New Jersey?

On the median wage of $43,780, one filer taking the standard deduction keeps about $36,486 a year, or roughly $3,041 a month.

That is after federal, state and FICA tax, an effective rate of 16.7%.

New Jersey takes $871 of it in state income tax.

Do substitute teachers earn more in New Jersey than in the rest of the country?

Yes. The median in New Jersey is 5.1% above the national median of $41,670.

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 $43,780 a good salary in New Jersey?

It is 0.42 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 $43,780 here buys about what $40,237 buys at national average prices.

What do the highest-paid substitute teachers earn in New Jersey?

The top tenth earn $58,670 a year or more, against $34,170 at the bottom tenth.

Experience, specialism, 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 substitute teachers are there in New Jersey?

The survey counted 17,100 of these jobs in New Jersey for May 2025.

That makes the occupation 18% more concentrated here than in the country as a whole. It counts wage and salary jobs, so the self-employed are outside it.

Sources

Where this data comes from