What Architectural and Engineering Managers earn in Monmouth County, NJ
The median pay for Architectural and Engineering Managers in Monmouth County, NJ is $183,890 per year, which works out to $88.41 per hour. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey for the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metropolitan area, the labor market that Monmouth County, NJ belongs to. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than the median and half earn less, which makes it a sturdier yardstick than an average that a few very high earners can pull upward.
The mean wage is $197,060, which is 7.2% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 7,580 people working in this occupation across the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Monmouth County, NJ has roughly 645,353 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Architectural and Engineering Managers in the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $133,740 a year ($64.30 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $289,560 or more ($139.21 an hour). That is a gap of $155,820 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $157,290 at the 25th percentile and $222,800 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 2.2 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $88.41 an hour or $183,890 a year at the median for Monmouth County, NJ. Before any deductions, that is $15,324 a month, $7,073 every two weeks and $3,536 each week. After taxes the same job pays $61.34 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Architectural and Engineering Managers
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Architectural and Engineering Managers this way: "Plan, direct, or coordinate activities in such fields as architecture and engineering or research and development in these fields."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Confer with management, production, or marketing staff to discuss project specifications or procedures"; "Present and explain proposals, reports, or findings to clients"; "Consult or negotiate with clients to prepare project specifications"; "Develop or implement programs to improve sustainability or reduce the environmental impacts of engineering or architecture activities or operations".
Job outlook for Architectural and Engineering Managers
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to grow from 220,900 jobs in 2025 to 233,100 in 2035, a change of +5.5%, faster than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 14,900 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 6.7% of current employment each year.
Typical entry-level education: bachelor's degree. Work experience in a related occupation: 5 years or more. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $171,270 for this occupation; the Monmouth County, NJ median of $183,890 is 7.4% above it.
How pay in Monmouth County, NJ compares
Compared with the New Jersey average
A worker in this occupation in Monmouth County, NJ earns $5,284 more than the New Jersey average of $178,606, a premium of 3.0%. Over a year that premium is worth $5,284 before tax and roughly $3,666 after tax. Within New Jersey, Monmouth County, NJ already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Architectural and Engineering Managers is $174,331 across the contiguous United States. At $183,890, Monmouth County, NJ pays $9,559 more, which is 5.5% above that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in Monmouth County, NJ
Among the 671 occupations with published wages in Monmouth County, NJ, Architectural and Engineering Managers ranks number 27 by median pay, ahead of about 96% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Anesthesiologists at $460,800 a year, which is $276,910 more than the median for Architectural and Engineering Managers.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Architectural and Engineering Managers earning the Monmouth County, NJ median of $183,890, they add up to $56,309. The result is $127,581 of take-home pay a year ($10,632 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $31 goes to taxes and $69 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 30.6%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $168,140. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 24% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $33,201, an effective 18.1% of gross pay, well below the 24% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $10,918 on this salary, the maximum for the year because pay exceeds the cap. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $2,666. FICA totals $13,585, which is 7.4% of gross pay.
State income tax in New Jersey
New Jersey income tax on this salary is $9,524 a year, or 5.2% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 29% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $794 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for Monmouth County, NJ
IRS Statistics of Income data for Monmouth County, NJ show an average adjusted gross income of $143,771 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 18.1% across all filers. Filers in the $100,000 to under $200,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 12.2%, compared with the 18.1% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in Monmouth County, NJ
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Monmouth County, NJ: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $127,581 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Monmouth County, NJ, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,847 a month ($22,164 a year), and at $2,283 for two bedrooms. For Architectural and Engineering Managers, a one-bedroom absorbs 17.4% of take-home pay and 12.1% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 1.9% of gross pay for Architectural and Engineering Managers in Monmouth County, NJ. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using New Jersey residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $2,044 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $518, for $2,562 in total. Gasoline in New Jersey averages $3.21 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,484.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $29,645 a year in Monmouth County, NJ. Subtract that from $127,581 of take-home pay and $97,936 remains, which is $8,161 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 53.3% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Local housing and commute data for Monmouth County, NJ
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in Monmouth County, NJ: property taxes, housing prices and the daily commute. The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for Monmouth County, NJ, set beside the New Jersey and national medians.
Property taxes in Monmouth County, NJ
Homeowners in Monmouth County, NJ pay a median of $10,001 a year in real estate taxes, 4% above the New Jersey median of $9,590 and 221% above the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $606,100, the median tax bill is 1.65% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Architectural and Engineering Managers median of $183,890, a tax bill of that size would equal 5.4% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in Monmouth County, NJ
Renters in Monmouth County, NJ pay a median gross rent of $1,827 a month in the Census survey, 6% above the New Jersey median of $1,720. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $1,847 a month; the two measures differ because the Census figure covers units of every size that renters already occupy, while the HUD figure is a one-bedroom benchmark. The median value of an owner-occupied home is $606,100, 33% above the New Jersey median of $454,400. Median household income is $124,845, 21% above the New Jersey median of $103,556, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 17.8% of that income.
Commuting in Monmouth County, NJ
Workers in Monmouth County, NJ who travel to a workplace spend an average of 32.1 minutes each way, 5% above the New Jersey average of 30.5. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 5.3 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 18.9% of workers in Monmouth County, NJ work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Architectural and Engineering Managers afford to live in Monmouth County, NJ?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $183,890 that ceiling is $4,597 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,847 is $2,750 under it, so rent fits the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $35.52 an hour; the median for Architectural and Engineering Managers is $88.41, which is 149% above that mark. Another way to see it: at $61.34 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 6.9 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $2,283 a month means $1,142 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $8,466 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $106,402.
How fast you can save
At $8,161 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 2 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 4 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Architectural and Engineering Managers pay in Monmouth County, NJ
How much do Architectural and Engineering Managers make per hour in Monmouth County, NJ?
The median is $88.41 per hour, based on $183,890 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $64.30 at the 10th percentile to $139.21 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Architectural and Engineering Managers take home after taxes in Monmouth County, NJ?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $183,890 becomes $127,581 a year. That is $10,632 a month, $4,907 every two weeks or $2,453 a week.
How much tax do Architectural and Engineering Managers pay in Monmouth County, NJ?
Total taxes are $56,309 a year, an effective rate of 30.6%: $33,201 federal income tax, $13,585 FICA and $9,524 New Jersey income tax.
Do Architectural and Engineering Managers earn more in Monmouth County, NJ than elsewhere in New Jersey?
Yes. The local median of $183,890 is +3.0% versus the New Jersey average of $178,606, a difference of $5,284 a year.
Can Architectural and Engineering Managers afford a one-bedroom apartment in Monmouth County, NJ?
A one-bedroom costs $1,847 a month against take-home pay of $10,632, which is 17.4% of take-home pay. That meets the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $4,597 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Architectural and Engineering Managers in Monmouth County, NJ?
About $8,161 a month ($97,936 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $29,645 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Monmouth County, NJ at the 30% guideline?
$35.52 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $22,164 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Architectural and Engineering Managers is $88.41.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the New Jersey rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.