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wage index / New Jersey

Let’s talk wages in New Jersey

What is the minimum wage in New Jersey?
$15.92

 The minimum wage in New Jersey is $15.92 per hour for most employers, effective January 1, 2026. Seasonal employers and small employers with fewer than six workers are subject to a rate of $15.23. Tipped employees must be paid at least $6.05 per hour, but employers must ensure wages and tips combined equal at least the minimum wage. 

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What is the average wage in New Jersey?
$35.57

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average hourly wage in New Jersey is $35.57. Wages vary by occupation, industry, and location.



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What is the living wage in New Jersey?
$36.68
 The estimated living wage in New Jersey is $36.68 per hour. A living wage represents the estimated hourly rate needed to cover basic living expenses, including housing, food, transportation, healthcare, and other essential costs. 
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A guide to hourly labor laws in New Jersey

Standard Minimum Wage
$15.92 (N.J. Stat. § 34:11-56a et seq.).
Tipped Minimum Wage
$6.05, totaling at least minimum wage with tips (N.J. Stat. § 34:11-56a et seq.).
Overtime
Hours exceeding 40 in a fixed week are overtime, paid at 1.5 times the regular rate (N.J. Stat. § 34:11-56a4) (29 US Code § 207) (DoL).
Meal Breaks
  • Adults: No state or federal law requiring meal breaks.
  • Minors: Employees under 18 must receive a 30-minute meal break after 5+ hours worked. General: Federal law allows unpaid, non-working, bonafide meal breaks over 30 minutes; exceptions may apply (29 C.F.R. § 785.19) (DoL)
Rest Breaks
No state or federal law requires rest breaks. Breaks lasting 5–20 minutes must be paid (29 C.F.R. § 785.18).
Wage Deductions
Only those required by law, such as taxes, and those benefiting the employee and authorized in writing. Third-party deductions benefitting the employer may not reduce wages below the applicable minimum (NJ DoL) (N.J. Stat. § 34:11-4.4) (29 C.F.R. § 4.168) (29 US Code § 203).
Final Paychecks
By the next regular payday after resignation or termination (N.J. Stat. § 34:11-4.3).
Wage Payment Frequency
At least twice monthly (N.J. Stat. § 34:11-4.2).
Paid Sick Leave
Employees accrue up to 40 hours of paid sick leave annually at a rate of one hour for every 30 hours worked (N.J. Stat. § 34:11D-2).
Paid Family and Medical Leave
Up to 12 weeks of paid leave under the New Jersey Family Leave Act. This is in addition to FMLA's 12 unpaid weeks of leave (NJFLA) (N.J. Stat. § 43:21-39.1) (FMLA).
Maximum Daily and Weekly Hours for Children Under 16
All minors must have an employment certificate to work. No working during required school hours. Receive a 30-minute meal break after working five continuous hours. Cannot work more than six consecutive days. Up to three hours per school day and 18 hours per school week. Up to eight hours per non-school day and 40 hours per non-school week. Only between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., extended to 9 p.m. between June 1 and Labor Day (NJ.gov) (N.J. Stat. § 34:2-21.1 et seq.) (29 C.F.R. § 570.35).
Maximum Daily and Weekly Hours for Children 16 and 17
All minors must have an employment certificate to work. No working during required school hours. Minors must receive a 30-minute meal break after working five continuous hours. Cannot work more than six consecutive days. Up to eight hours per school day and 40 hours per school week. Only between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. before school days. Only between 6 a.m. and midnight on days before non-school days. Up to 10 hours per day and 50 per week between the last day of school and Labor Day (NJ.gov) (N.J. Stat. § 34:2-21.1 et seq.) (29 C.F.R. § 570.35).
FAQs

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What is the difference between gross wages and net wages?

It's important to remember that the Hourly Wage Index data above reflects gross wages, or the amount of money an employee earns before accounting for payroll deductions like taxes, benefits, or wage garnishments. Due to variability in tax rates across locations, slightly lower gross wages in a certain location might result in higher take home pay, or vice versa.

What is a good hourly wage?

It's important to remember that the Hourly Wage Index data above reflects gross wages, or the amount of money an employee earns before accounting for payroll deductions like taxes, benefits, or wage garnishments. Due to variability in tax rates across locations, slightly lower gross wages in a certain location might result in higher take home pay, or vice versa.

Offering competitive pay is one of my top priorities—what other resources do you have that might help?

It's important to remember that the Hourly Wage Index data above reflects gross wages, or the amount of money an employee earns before accounting for payroll deductions like taxes, benefits, or wage garnishments. Due to variability in tax rates across locations, slightly lower gross wages in a certain location might result in higher take home pay, or vice versa.

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Personal Information and Sensitive Personal Information

Before we discuss the right to limit and the right to opt-out, we must first define personal information and how it relates to sensitive personal information.

Personal information is any data that identifies, relates to, or could reasonably be linked to you or your household. A few examples of personal information include:

  • Name or nickname
  • Email address
  • Purchase history
  • Browsing history
  • Location data
  • Employment data
  • IP address
  • Profiles businesses create about you, including pseudonymous profiles (“user1234”)
  • Sensitive personal information

Sensitive personal information or “SPI” is a subset of personal information, defined as:

  • Identifying information (e.g. social security number, driver’s license)
  • Financial data (e.g. debit or credit card numbers)
  • Precise geolocation (within a radius of 1,850 feet)
  • Demographic or protected-class information (e.g. race/ethnicity, religion, union membership)
  • Biometric and genetic data (e.g. fingerprints, palm scans, facial recognition)
  • Communications and content (e.g. mail, email, text messages)
  • Health and sexual orientation (e.g. vaccine records, health history)

Right to Opt-Out

Californians have the right to opt-out of the sale and sharing of their personal information. That means you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties (e.g. data brokers, advertisers). You also have the right to opt-out of the sharing of your personal information to prevent the targeting of ads across different businesses, websites, apps, or services.

CCPA-covered businesses must provide a link to allow you to exercise this right. It is usually found at the bottom of a webpage and will say “do not sell or share my personal information” or “your privacy choices.” Sometimes businesses offer privacy choices through a pop-up window or form

To opt-out of the sale and sharing of your personal information, click on the link or use the toggle provided by the business and follow the directions. Doing this on every website you visit can feel burdensome, but to ease the burden you can automatically select your privacy preferences for every website by using an opt-out preference signal, or OOPS for short.

An OOPS is a user-friendly and straightforward way for consumers to automatically exercise their right to opt-out of the sale and sharing of their personal information with the businesses they interact with online. An OOPS, such as the Global Privacy Control. It can either be a setting on your internet browser or a browser extension. With an OOPS, consumers do not have to submit individual requests to opt-out of sale or sharing with each business.

Right to Limit

Californians also have the right to direct businesses to limit the use and disclosure of their sensitive personal information.

Businesses covered under the CCPA must provide a link on their website that allows you to request the limiting of your SPI, if they plan on using it in certain ways. That link will also typically be at the bottom of a webpage and will say: “limit the use of my sensitive personal information” or “your privacy choices.” Once you send this request, the business must stop using your SPI for anything other than to:

  • Provide requested goods or services
  • Ensure security and integrity
  • Prevent fraud
  • Maintain system functionality
  • Comply with legal obligations

Bringing it Together

In summary, the CCPA gives you the right to opt-out of the sale and sharing of your personal information and gives you additional rights to further limit the use and disclosure of your sensitive personal information.

When you exercise these rights together, you exert greater control in protecting your personal data which is important for your identity, safety, and financial health.

If you are on a business’s website and you can’t find the links to exercise your rights, remember to check their privacy policy. The privacy policy should tell you how you can exercise your rights under the law.

If you find your rights being violated, you can submit a complaint to CalPrivacy.

Next in the LOCKED series, we will explore the right to correct and right to know. Follow us on social media to get live updates or check back in one week for the next post.

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Targeted Advertising

Used to deliver advertising that is more relevant to you and your interests. May also be used to limit the number of times you see an advertisement and measure the effectiveness of advertising campaigns. Advertising networks usually place them with the website operator’s permission.

Personalization

Allow the website to remember choices you make (such as your username, language, or the region you are in) and provide enhanced, more personal features. For example, a website may provide you with local weather reports or traffic news by storing data about your general location.

Analytics

Help the website operator understand how its website performs, how visitors interact with the site, and whether there may be technical issues.

Right to Limit Use of Sensitive Personal Information

You also have the right to limit how we use sensitive personal information (such as precise geolocation, financial data, etc.).

Your preference has been saved. We will not sell or share your personal information.