What Food Preparation Workers earn in Hudson County, NJ
The median pay for Food Preparation Workers in Hudson County, NJ is $35,670 per year, which works out to $17.15 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 Hudson 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 $38,790, which is 8.7% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 63,530 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. Hudson County, NJ has roughly 718,323 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Food Preparation Workers in the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $34,080 a year ($16.38 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $47,650 or more ($22.91 an hour). That is a gap of $13,570 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $34,330 at the 25th percentile and $41,600 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 1.4 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: $17.15 an hour or $35,670 a year at the median for Hudson County, NJ. Before any deductions, that is $2,973 a month, $1,372 every two weeks and $686 each week. After taxes the same job pays $14.54 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
How pay in Hudson County, NJ compares
Compared with the New Jersey average
Pay for Food Preparation Workers in Hudson County, NJ is in line with the statewide figure: $35,670 locally against an employment-weighted New Jersey average of $35,484, a difference of only $186 (0.5%). Within New Jersey, Hudson County, NJ already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Food Preparation Workers is $34,184 across the contiguous United States. At $35,670, Hudson County, NJ pays $1,486 more, which is 4.3% 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 Hudson County, NJ
Among the 671 occupations with published wages in Hudson County, NJ, Food Preparation Workers ranks number 664 by median pay, ahead of about 1% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers at $335,270 a year, which is $299,600 more than the median for Food Preparation Workers.
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 Food Preparation Workers earning the Hudson County, NJ median of $35,670, they add up to $5,417. The result is $30,253 of take-home pay a year ($2,521 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $15 goes to taxes and $85 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 15.2%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $19,920. 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 12% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $2,152, an effective 6.0% of gross pay, well below the 12% 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 $2,212 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $517. FICA totals $2,729, which is 7.7% of gross pay.
State income tax in New Jersey
New Jersey income tax on this salary is $537 a year, or 1.5% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 25% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $45 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 Hudson County, NJ
IRS Statistics of Income data for Hudson County, NJ show an average adjusted gross income of $102,504 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 16.8% across all filers. Filers in the $25,000 to under $50,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 5.2%, compared with the 6.0% 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 Hudson County, NJ
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Hudson County, NJ: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $30,253 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Hudson County, NJ, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $2,514 a month ($30,168 a year), and at $2,792 for two bedrooms. For Food Preparation Workers, a one-bedroom absorbs 99.7% of take-home pay and 84.6% 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 9.6% of gross pay for Food Preparation Workers in Hudson 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
The basics cost $37,649 a year in Hudson County, NJ, but take-home pay for Food Preparation Workers is $30,253. That is a shortfall of $7,397 a year, or $616 a month, before health care, transportation beyond fuel, debt or savings. Closing the gap would take roughly 509 extra paid hours a year at the take-home hourly rate of $14.54, or a second earner, a cheaper home or a roommate.
Can Food Preparation Workers afford to live in Hudson 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 $35,670 that ceiling is $892 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $2,514 is $1,622 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $48.35 an hour; the median for Food Preparation Workers is $17.15, which is 65% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $14.54 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 39.9 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $2,792 a month means $1,396 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $13,416 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $6,019, which turns the shortfall into a surplus.
How fast you can save
With no monthly margin after the four basics, saving requires a change on one side of the ledger: higher pay than the $35,670 median, lower housing costs than the $2,514 one-bedroom rent, or a second income.
Frequently asked questions about Food Preparation Workers pay in Hudson County, NJ
How much do Food Preparation Workers make per hour in Hudson County, NJ?
The median is $17.15 per hour, based on $35,670 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $16.38 at the 10th percentile to $22.91 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Food Preparation Workers take home after taxes in Hudson County, NJ?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $35,670 becomes $30,253 a year. That is $2,521 a month, $1,164 every two weeks or $582 a week.
How much tax do Food Preparation Workers pay in Hudson County, NJ?
Total taxes are $5,417 a year, an effective rate of 15.2%: $2,152 federal income tax, $2,729 FICA and $537 New Jersey income tax.
Do Food Preparation Workers earn more in Hudson County, NJ than elsewhere in New Jersey?
It is about the same. The local median of $35,670 is within 0.5% of the New Jersey average of $35,484.
Can Food Preparation Workers afford a one-bedroom apartment in Hudson County, NJ?
A one-bedroom costs $2,514 a month against take-home pay of $2,521, which is 99.7% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $892 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Food Preparation Workers in Hudson County, NJ?
Nothing remains: the basics cost $37,649 a year, which is $7,397 more than take-home pay, a monthly shortfall of $616.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Hudson County, NJ at the 30% guideline?
$48.35 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $30,168 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Food Preparation Workers is $17.15.
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.