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Side-by-side state comparison

New Jersey vs New York Paycheck Comparison (2026)

Enter a salary below to see the take-home pay difference between New Jersey and New York for 2026, broken down line by line.

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New Jersey takes home more

+$604

more per year vs. New York · $50/mo · $23/paycheck

5-Year Difference

$3,022

Tax Component
New Jerseywinner
New York
Gross Salary$100,000$100,000
Federal Tax$13,170$13,170
Social Security$6,200$6,200
Medicare$1,450$1,450
State Tax$4,180$4,952
Local / City Tax$0$0
State Payroll Deductions$610$443
Annual Take-Home$74,390$73,785
Effective Tax Rate25.61%26.21%
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This estimate is for planning purposes only and does not constitute tax or financial advice. Actual paycheck withholding depends on your employer's payroll system, custom W-4 elections, additional income, and personal tax situation. For specific tax-planning decisions, consult a licensed CPA or tax professional.

Data pending verification

NYC personal income tax is not included in this state-only comparison. For NYC-resident math, use the dedicated NYC city page; New York's progressive state schedule still applies as the state line.

Cross-state crediting for NJ-NY commuters (resident state credits taxes paid to the work state) is handled qualitatively only; the engine applies resident-state tax at the comparison anchor.

New Jersey does not allow traditional 401(k) contributions as a deduction from state taxable income (federal law allows the deduction); the engine does not separately model the NJ-side state-line impact of pre-tax deferrals.

Quick answer

Take-home math at $100,000 single puts New Jersey residents about $604 ahead of New York residents for the year, roughly $50 per month. Both states run progressive bracket schedules with close top rates of 10.75% and 10.9%, and both wire small employee payroll lines for New Jersey TDI, New Jersey FLI, New Jersey UI/WF/SWF and New York Paid Family Leave, New York SDI (employee contribution). The state-only view excludes NYC city tax.

New Jersey and New York share the Hudson River and one of the most commuter-knit metro economies in the country. New Jersey runs a progressive bracket schedule topping at 10.75%, with separate per-paycheck lines for New Jersey TDI, New Jersey FLI, New Jersey UI/WF/SWF. On the New York side, the progressive ladder runs steeper, topping at 10.9%, with per-paycheck lines for New York Paid Family Leave, New York SDI (employee contribution). NYC residents pay an additional bracketed city personal income tax not included in this state-only view. Cross-Hudson commute math is the dominant planning context for residents of both states: a New Jersey resident working in Manhattan pays New York non-resident state tax (and NYC city tax if working within city limits), with New Jersey crediting taxes paid to New York. Newark and Jersey City anchor a financial-services and corporate cluster (Prudential, Goldman Sachs back-office, Audible); the Route 287 pharma corridor (Merck, J&J, Bristol-Myers Squibb) carries central New Jersey. At $100,000 single, a New Jersey resident takes home $74,390 versus a non-NYC New York resident's $73,785, a gap of $604 per year.

At $100,000 single filer, take-home difference

Moving from New York to New Jersey saves approximately $604 per year at $100,000 single.

Computed from the tax engine with 2026 federal brackets, FICA, and state tax. Standard deduction, no pre-tax contributions.

How the state tax structures compare

FeatureNew JerseyNew York
State structureProgressive 1.4 to 10.75 percentProgressive 4 to 10.9 percent
Taxes wages?YesYes

Take-home at four common salary points

Single filer, 2026 brackets, standard deduction, no pre-tax contributions. Delta is New York take-home minus New Jersey take-home.

SalaryNew JerseyNew YorkDelta
$50,000$40,740$39,963-$777
$100,000$74,390$73,785-$605
$150,000$105,606$105,396-$210
$250,000$168,538$168,561+$23

What this comparison includes

This comparison computes 2026 take-home pay in New Jersey and New York side by side, using 2026 federal brackets after the standard deduction, FICA contributions (Social Security up to the annual wage base, Medicare on all wages, plus the Additional Medicare Tax above the filing-status threshold), and each state's income tax schedule along with any state-administered payroll programs and supported local layers. It excludes employer-side payroll taxes, custom W-4 elections, supplemental-wage handling for bonuses or equity vesting, and income from sources other than W-2 wages. City-level taxes are layered only on the dedicated metro pages; this comparison covers state-and-typical-local figures only, so a worker considering a specific metro should follow the relevant city link in the See also section.

New Jersey vs New York FAQ

How much more is take-home in New Jersey than non-NYC New York at $100,000?
At $100,000 single, a New Jersey resident keeps approximately $604 more per year than a New York resident, roughly $50 per month. New Jersey's state line of $4,180 sits below New York's $4,952 at this salary; both states' wired payroll programs add small per-paycheck lines on top. Federal income tax is identical.
Does the New Jersey vs New York gap grow with salary?
Bracket-crossing dynamics produce a non-monotonic gap. New Jersey's lead peaks at the $75k tier ($774) before narrowing as New York's lower brackets give way and New Jersey's middle-tier brackets bite harder. At $250k the spread compresses to $23, well below the peak. The shape reflects how each state's bracket schedule treats the salary tier.
Does this comparison include NYC city tax or cross-Hudson commuter math?
The state-only view above excludes NYC city tax. NYC residents pay an additional bracketed city personal income tax across four brackets, not in these numbers; the dedicated NYC calculator covers that math. Cross-Hudson commuters pay the non-resident state's tax with the resident state crediting back, so a Jersey resident working in NYC owes New York.
How does the New Jersey 401(k) state-deductibility quirk change planning?
New Jersey does not allow traditional 401(k) contributions as a deduction from state taxable income, unlike federal law and unlike New York. A Jersey wage earner who maxes a traditional 401(k) gets the federal deduction but still owes NJ state tax on the contribution. MFJ widens federal brackets; the state-side dollar gap stays close to the single shape.
What about cost-of-living differences between New Jersey and New York?
Cross-Hudson cost-of-living shifts sharply over a small geographic distance. Hudson and Bergen County housing has converged on Manhattan and Brooklyn pricing in many submarkets; Newark, Elizabeth, and central New Jersey run lower. Manhattan and inner Brooklyn carry some of the country's highest housing costs. Layer property tax and commuter rail costs on top of the paycheck delta.
How does NJ vs NY compare to other NYC-commuter-belt pairings?
Connecticut vs New York is the closest commuter-belt analog (both NYC-feeding progressive states with wired payroll programs). New Jersey vs Pennsylvania (also in this batch) runs the opposite shape, progressive vs flat, producing a much wider gap that widens with salary. Massachusetts vs New York puts a flat-rate state next to NY's progressive ladder for contrast.
How does married filing jointly, head of household, or filing separately change the NJ vs NY gap?
Both states publish distinct MFJ schedules: New Jersey's 8-bracket joint ladder (including a 2.45% MFJ-only $20k-$50k band) and New York's IT-201-I MFJ thresholds. HoH differs by state: NJ HoH uses Single state-side (federal-only widening); NY HoH gets a distinct IT-201-I schedule. The pair's MFJ-vs-single gap differs per state, and MFS uses Single brackets in both.

See also

New Jersey paycheck calculatorNew York paycheck calculatorCompare any two locations (interactive)Live in New Jersey and work in New York: reciprocity and commuter taxNew York City, New York paycheck calculatorTune your W-4 withholding after a move to New YorkHow a relocation or signing bonus is withheld in New YorkMoving states: how two-state and commuter tax worksCalifornia vs Texas paycheck comparisonFlorida vs New York paycheck comparisonIllinois vs Indiana paycheck comparisonMassachusetts vs New Hampshire paycheck comparisonOregon vs Washington paycheck comparisonArizona vs California paycheck comparisonCalifornia vs Colorado paycheck comparisonCalifornia vs Nevada paycheck comparisonCalifornia vs Washington paycheck comparisonColorado vs Massachusetts paycheck comparisonColorado vs New York paycheck comparisonConnecticut vs New Jersey paycheck comparisonConnecticut vs New York paycheck comparisonDistrict of Columbia vs Maryland paycheck comparisonFlorida vs Georgia paycheck comparisonFlorida vs Illinois paycheck comparisonFlorida vs Massachusetts paycheck comparisonFlorida vs New Jersey paycheck comparisonFlorida vs Pennsylvania paycheck comparisonFlorida vs Texas paycheck comparisonIllinois vs Texas paycheck comparisonIndiana vs Michigan paycheck comparisonIndiana vs Ohio paycheck comparisonKentucky vs Ohio paycheck comparisonMaryland vs Virginia paycheck comparisonMassachusetts vs North Carolina paycheck comparisonMinnesota vs Wisconsin paycheck comparisonNew Jersey vs Pennsylvania paycheck comparisonOklahoma vs Texas paycheck comparisonBrowse paycheck calculators by stateHow we calculate paycheck taxesPaycheck and tax glossary

Reviewed

How This Page Is Reviewed

The New Jersey vs New York comparison is reviewed against primary federal and state sources before each major tax-year update. Source links below are the references used to validate brackets, wage bases, and supported local taxes.

Reviewed by

PaycheckCalc Research Desk

Last reviewed

2026-07-12