HR Manager Salary in Jersey City, NJ: Median $211,342 in 2026
Jersey City (NJ) · COL index 155 · Unemployment 4.4% · Metro pop 295,000 · Rank #14 of 283 for HR Manager salary
A HR Manager in Jersey City earns an estimated median of $211,342 per year. That figure starts from the New Jersey state-level BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics median[1]($148,541) and scales it by Jersey City's composite cost-of-living index of 155 (US = 100). The 10th percentile comes in around $136,773; the 90th percentile reaches $341,469. After federal, New Jersey state, and FICA taxes, a single-filer HR Manager takes home approximately $146,195/year — about $12,183/month or $5,623 every other week.
Compared to the national HR Manager median of $136,350, Jersey City pays +55.0%. Relative to the Jersey City median household income of $74,200, a HR Managersalary runs +184.8%. Local unemployment is 4.4%[3], with an estimated 32 annual HR Manager openings inferred from metro population share and national employment (187,200).
HR Manager Snapshot — Jersey City (2026)
Every row cites a primary public dataset. Rent + home values use Zillow where the metro is in the ZHVI/ZORI coverage set; otherwise ACS + census tract fallbacks.
| Metric | Jersey City | National | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR Manager median salary | $211,342 | $136,350 | [1] |
| 10th percentile | $136,773 | $96,130 | [1] |
| 90th percentile | $341,469 | $240,000 | [1] |
| Annual take-home (single filer) | $146,195 | — | [8][10] |
| Median home value (ZHVI) | $580,000 | — | [5] |
| Median rent (ZORI) | $2,622/mo | — | [5] |
| HUD Fair Market Rent (2BR) | $2,400/mo | — | [6] |
| Median household income (ACS) | $74,200 | — | [7] |
| Cost-of-living index | 155.0 | 100.0 | [4] |
| Unemployment rate | 4.4% | — | [3] |
How HR Manager Salaries Work in Jersey City
City-level wages aren't published directly by BLS for most SOC codes. We build them by anchoring to the New Jersey state-level OEWS median ($148,541) and scaling by Jersey City's composite cost-of-living index (155)[1][4]. That index combines Census ACS rent, Zillow ZHVI, BLS CPI, and AdvisorSmith / ApartmentAdvisor inputs to produce one number per metro. When BLS publishes a separate metro-level wage (MSA-level OEWS), that takes priority — a handful of large metros including New York, LA, Chicago, and DC have this coverage.
On top of the gross wage, the standard US payroll stack applies: federal income tax using 2025 IRS brackets and the $15,000 single standard deduction[8], FICA (Social Security 6.2% up to $176,100 wage base + Medicare 1.45%)[9], and New Jersey state income tax at a 5.3% effective rate ($11,273/yr on the $211,342 median)[10].
Jersey City also sits inside a larger metro labor market where commute patterns, remote-work policies, and adjacent-metro wages compete. Near-national unemployment means a balanced market — employers and candidates negotiate from roughly equal positions. Median household income in the metro is $74,200, which frames what "a good HR Manager salary" means locally: a $$211,342 wage pays about 285% of the median household income on a single earner.
The deterministic identity: take_home = gross − federal − state − FICA − pre_tax. All math runs client-side; nothing is sent to our servers.
HR Manager Salary & Cost-of-Living Context — Jersey City
Buy vs rent in Jersey City
Monthly PITI on the $580,000 median home in Jersey City is ~$4,564/mo — vs a $2,622/mo median rent. Rent burden on median household income is 42.4%, which exceeds the recommended 30% guideline for housing costs.
Cost of Living Breakdown — Jersey City
Estimated annual expense shares on a $146,195 take-home, using BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey baseline shares scaled to Jersey City's COL index of 155. Housing uses the actual median rent.
BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey shares[1], scaled by Jersey City's COL index of 155[4]. Housing uses actual median rent of $2,622/month.
Salary vs Housing Affordability in Jersey City
Renting
Buying
At $12,183/mo take-home, the 30% rent rule caps housing at $3,655/mo. Jersey City's typical 1–2BR rent runs $2,622/mo[5] (HUD 2BR FMR: $2,400/mo), making rent very affordable on a median HR Manager salary. For homebuyers, the 2.7× price-to-income ratio is comfortable — a median {p.title} salary supports the median home in {city.name} well inside standard lender DTI caps.
How Jersey City Stacks Up for HR Managers
Against 283 major US cities: Jersey City ranks #14 for nominal HR Manager salary, #266 for rent affordability, and #270 for overall purchasing power. High cost of living absorbs much of Jersey City's nominal wage premium. HR Managers here often trade pay for lifestyle, proximity to employers, or family roots — consider nearby metros on a salary-to-COL basis.
Nearby Cities — HR Manager Salary Comparison
Jersey City's closest metros, scaled by each city's cost-of-living index. Useful for relocation decisions where commute or remote-work policies allow a neighboring metro trade-off.
| City | Est. salary | COL | Rent | vs NJ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jersey City, NJ ★ | $211,342 | 155 | $2,622 | — |
| Newark, NJ | $190,890 | 140 | $1,800 | -9.7% |
| Trenton, NJ | $140,441 | 103 | $1,300 | -33.5% |
| Elizabeth, NJ | $174,528 | 128 | $1,650 | -17.4% |
| Atlantic City, NJ | $143,168 | 105 | $1,200 | -32.3% |
| Washington, DC | $209,979 | 154 | $2,195 | -0.6% |
HR Manager Job Market in Jersey City
Jersey City has an estimated 32 annual HR Manageropenings, extrapolated from the metro's share of 187,200 national HR Managers[1]. The 4.4% unemployment rate[3] is near the national average, with steady turnover across most sectors.
About the profession: HR managers plan, direct, and coordinate the administrative functions of an organization, overseeing recruiting, employee relations, and compliance. Typical entry requirement: bachelor's degree. Projected growth through 2034: 5%[2].
Career Progression & Related Professions in Jersey City
Early-career HR Managers in Jersey City start around $136,773, reach the city median ($211,342) after 4–8 years, and hit 90th-percentile territory ($341,469) at senior / specialized levels.
Related business professions in Jersey City
Calculators for HR Managers in Jersey City
Other professions in Jersey City
Frequently Asked Questions — HR Manager in Jersey City
How much does a HR Manager make in Jersey City, NJ?
The estimated median salary for a HR Manager in Jersey City is $211,342/year, scaled from the national median ($136,350) by Jersey City's composite cost-of-living index of 155 (US = 100). After federal, New Jersey state, and FICA taxes, take-home is approximately $146,195/year or $12,183/month.
Can a HR Manager afford to live in Jersey City?
On $12,183/month take-home, the 30% rent rule affords $3,655/month. Jersey City's Zillow ZORI median rent is $2,622/mo, HUD's 2BR Fair Market Rent is $2,400/mo. The rent-to-income ratio works out to 14.9%, making housing very affordable for a HR Manager at the local median. Home-buyers face 2.7× price-to-income, needing roughly 2.7 years to save a 20% down payment at a 20% savings rate.
How much tax does a HR Manager pay in Jersey City?
On $211,342 gross, a HR Manager in Jersey City pays approximately $39,789 in federal income tax (18.8% effective), $11,273 in New Jersey state income tax (5.3% effective), and $14,085 in FICA (Social Security + Medicare). Total effective rate: 30.8%. Some New Jersey cities levy local income taxes in addition; check your municipal DoR before filing.
How does Jersey City rank for HR Manager salaries vs other cities?
Jersey City ranks #14 out of 283 tracked metros for nominal HR Manager salary, #266 for rent affordability (rent-to-income), and #270 for purchasing power (salary ÷ COL). The high-purchasing-power cities tend to be mid-size metros with strong local employers and moderate housing costs; the low-ranked cities trade high nominal pay for steep rents.
What is the cost-of-living breakdown for a HR Manager in Jersey City?
On $146,195 take-home, a reasonable baseline budget for Jersey City looks like: housing $31,464/yr (21.5%); food $23,333/yr; transportation $17,836/yr; healthcare $11,922/yr; utilities $9,320/yr; savings + discretionary $52,320/yr. Numbers use BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey shares scaled to Jersey City's COL index of 155 and the city's actual median rent.
What's the HR Manager job market like in Jersey City?
Jersey City's unemployment rate is 4.4% across the metro of 295,000. Estimated annual HR Manager openings: ~32 (extrapolated from 187,200 nationally employed and the metro's population share). The market is near national averages with steady turnover.
Do Jersey City employers pay above or below the New Jersey median for HR Managers?
Yes — Jersey City's estimated HR Manager median of $211,342 is 55.0% above the national median. Higher nominal pay in this city partially offsets the higher cost of living; the real picture depends on housing costs and state taxes.
Methodology — How we compute this page
Wage estimate. The Jersey City median is derived from the New Jersey state-level BLS OEWS median ($148,541), scaled by Jersey City's composite cost-of-living index of 155. When BLS publishes a direct MSA-level wage for the occupation, that takes priority over the scaled state median. Percentile bands inherit the same scale factor.
Housing + rent. Median home value uses Zillow ZHVI; median rent prefers Zillow ZORI and falls back to Census ACS median gross rent. HUD Fair Market Rents (50th-percentile 2BR) are shown where HUD publishes the metro. Price-to-income and rent-to-income ratios use the estimated HR Managermedian (not the city's overall median household income) — to reflect the specific role-vs-city affordability picture.
Tax math. Federal tax uses 2025 IRS brackets and the $15,000 single standard deduction. FICA is Social Security 6.2% up to the $176,100 wage base + Medicare 1.45% (+ 0.9% Additional Medicare above $200,000). State tax uses New Jersey's 2026 brackets from the state DoR (mirrored via Tax Foundation where the DoR's publication is paywalled or split). Local income taxes (e.g. NYC, Portland-OR supplemental, OH municipal) are NOT included — check your municipal authority for specifics.
Cost of living. The 155index is the composite used by CalcFi's /data/cities.ts, which merges Census ACS, BLS CPI shelter, Zillow ZORI, and commercial COL estimators. The COL-adjusted salary on this page assumes the statewide RPP = 108.9(BEA) approximates the state's purchasing power; cities are then scaled relative to that.
Refresh cadence. BLS OEWS releases annually (typically March); BEA RPP releases annually in December; IRS brackets adjust in October; Zillow ZHVI/ZORI updates monthly; HUD FMR publishes annually in August for the upcoming fiscal year. The dateModified shown above auto-bumps to the most recent retrievedAt on any sourced value the page consumes.
Known limits. Metro-level OEWS coverage is partial — only ~50 large MSAs have separately published occupation wages; the rest inherit state-level estimates scaled by COL. Rent and home data may trail the real-time market by 1–3 months (Zillow) or 8–12 months (ACS). Rankings are capped to the city set in our dataset (283 metros), not every incorporated US city.
Sources
Every number on this page cites a primary public dataset. Last reviewed (auto-bumped on the next ISR refresh after an ETL run).
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) — state-level occupational wages — www.bls.gov/oes. Retrieved 2026-06-11.
- BLS Employment Projections — 2024–34 occupational growth rates — www.bls.gov/emp. Retrieved 2026-06-11.
- BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics — metro-level unemployment rate — www.bls.gov/lau. Retrieved 2026-06-11.
- Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities (state + metro) — www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area. Retrieved 2026-06-11.
- Zillow Research — ZHVI (home value index) + ZORI (observed rent index) — www.zillow.com/research/data. Retrieved 2026-06-11.
- HUD Fair Market Rents — 50th-percentile 2-bedroom FY — www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html. Retrieved 2026-06-11.
- U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, metro level — www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs. Retrieved 2026-06-11.
- Internal Revenue Service — Federal individual income tax brackets and standard deductions — www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-17. Retrieved 2026-06-11.
- Social Security Administration — OASDI / Medicare contribution and wage-base rules — www.ssa.gov. Retrieved 2026-06-11.
- New Jersey Department of Revenue — 2026 individual income tax brackets (accessed via Tax Foundation mirror) — taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/state-income-tax-rates. Retrieved 2026-06-11.
CalcFi does not sell data. If you spot an error, email hello@calcfi.app with the URL and the correct figure. We review reader corrections within 5 business days.
For personalized calculations, use the New Jersey Paycheck Calculator.