What Construction Managers earn in Union County, NJ
According to the latest federal wage data for the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metropolitan area, the median pay for Construction Managers in Union County, NJ is $158,000 a year, or $75.96 an hour. After federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and state income tax, the paycheck shrinks to $111,051 a year, and rent, food and energy take another bite. The sections below walk through each step with the actual math for Union County, NJ.
The mean wage is $162,800, which is 3.0% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 12,120 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. Union County, NJ has roughly 579,290 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Construction 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 $91,740 a year ($44.11 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $250,520 or more ($120.44 an hour). That is a gap of $158,780 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $118,630 at the 25th percentile and $202,280 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 2.7 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: $75.96 an hour or $158,000 a year at the median for Union County, NJ. Before any deductions, that is $13,167 a month, $6,077 every two weeks and $3,038 each week. After taxes the same job pays $53.39 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Construction Managers
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Construction Managers this way: "Plan, direct, or coordinate, usually through subordinate supervisory personnel, activities concerned with the construction and maintenance of structures, facilities, and systems. Participate in the conceptual development of a construction project and oversee its organization, scheduling, budgeting, and implementation. Includes managers in specialized construction fields, such as carpentry or plumbing."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Confer with supervisory personnel, owners, contractors, or design professionals to discuss and resolve matters, such as work procedures, complaints, or construction problems"; "Plan, organize, or direct activities concerned with the construction or maintenance of structures, facilities, or systems"; "Determine labor requirements for dispatching workers to construction sites"; "Inspect or review projects to monitor compliance with building and safety codes or other regulations".
Job outlook for Construction Managers
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to grow from 609,100 jobs in 2025 to 664,300 in 2035, a change of +9.1%, faster than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 49,700 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 8.2% of current employment each year. About 37.6% of the people in this occupation are self-employed, and wage figures cover wage and salary workers only.
Typical entry-level education: bachelor's degree. Typical on-the-job training to reach competency: moderate-term on-the-job training. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $114,990 for this occupation; the Union County, NJ median of $158,000 is 37.4% above it.
How pay in Union County, NJ compares
Compared with the New Jersey average
A worker in this occupation in Union County, NJ earns $9,057 more than the New Jersey average of $148,943, a premium of 6.1%. Over a year that premium is worth $9,057 before tax and roughly $6,366 after tax. Within New Jersey, Union County, NJ already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Construction Managers is $115,485 across the contiguous United States. At $158,000, Union County, NJ pays $42,515 more, which is 36.8% 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 Union County, NJ
Among the 671 occupations with published wages in Union County, NJ, Construction Managers ranks number 52 by median pay, ahead of about 92% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Anesthesiologists at $460,800 a year, which is $302,800 more than the median for Construction 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 Construction Managers earning the Union County, NJ median of $158,000, they add up to $46,949. The result is $111,051 of take-home pay a year ($9,254 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $30 goes to taxes and $70 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 29.7%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $142,250. 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 $26,987, an effective 17.1% 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 $9,796 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $2,291. FICA totals $12,087, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in New Jersey
New Jersey income tax on this salary is $7,875 a year, or 5.0% 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 $656 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 Union County, NJ
IRS Statistics of Income data for Union County, NJ show an average adjusted gross income of $110,884 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 17.1% across all filers. Filers in the $100,000 to under $200,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 12.1%, compared with the 17.1% 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 Union County, NJ
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Union County, NJ: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $111,051 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Union County, NJ, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,850 a month ($22,200 a year), and at $2,233 for two bedrooms. For Construction Managers, a one-bedroom absorbs 20.0% of take-home pay and 14.1% 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 2.2% of gross pay for Construction Managers in Union 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 $29,681 a year in Union County, NJ. Subtract that from $111,051 of take-home pay and $81,370 remains, which is $6,781 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 51.5% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Local housing and commute data for Union County, NJ
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in Union 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 Union County, NJ, set beside the New Jersey and national medians.
Property taxes in Union County, NJ
Homeowners in Union 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 $529,200, the median tax bill is 1.89% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Construction Managers median of $158,000, a tax bill of that size would equal 6.3% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in Union County, NJ
Renters in Union County, NJ pay a median gross rent of $1,730 a month in the Census survey, in line with 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 $1,850 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 $529,200, 16% above the New Jersey median of $454,400. Median household income is $103,202, in line with the New Jersey median of $103,556, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 21.5% of that income.
Commuting in Union County, NJ
Workers in Union County, NJ who travel to a workplace spend an average of 30.2 minutes each way, in line with the New Jersey average of 30.5. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 5.0 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 14.2% of workers in Union County, NJ work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Construction Managers afford to live in Union 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 $158,000 that ceiling is $3,950 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,850 is $2,100 under it, so rent fits the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $35.58 an hour; the median for Construction Managers is $75.96, which is 114% above that mark. Another way to see it: at $53.39 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 8.0 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $2,233 a month means $1,117 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $8,802 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $90,172.
How fast you can save
At $6,781 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 Construction Managers pay in Union County, NJ
How much do Construction Managers make per hour in Union County, NJ?
The median is $75.96 per hour, based on $158,000 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $44.11 at the 10th percentile to $120.44 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Construction Managers take home after taxes in Union County, NJ?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $158,000 becomes $111,051 a year. That is $9,254 a month, $4,271 every two weeks or $2,136 a week.
How much tax do Construction Managers pay in Union County, NJ?
Total taxes are $46,949 a year, an effective rate of 29.7%: $26,987 federal income tax, $12,087 FICA and $7,875 New Jersey income tax.
Do Construction Managers earn more in Union County, NJ than elsewhere in New Jersey?
Yes. The local median of $158,000 is +6.1% versus the New Jersey average of $148,943, a difference of $9,057 a year.
Can Construction Managers afford a one-bedroom apartment in Union County, NJ?
A one-bedroom costs $1,850 a month against take-home pay of $9,254, which is 20.0% of take-home pay. That meets the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $3,950 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Construction Managers in Union County, NJ?
About $6,781 a month ($81,370 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $29,681 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Union County, NJ at the 30% guideline?
$35.58 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $22,200 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Construction Managers is $75.96.
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.