What Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary earn in Middlesex County, NJ
If you are weighing a move or a job offer, start with $38,890: the median annual pay for Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary in Middlesex County, NJ. Spread over a standard 2,080-hour work year, that is $18.70 an hour. Because the wage survey covers the whole New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metropolitan area, the number reflects employers across the region rather than a single town or a single company.
The mean wage is $42,530, which is 9.4% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 126,920 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. Middlesex County, NJ has roughly 871,290 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary in the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $32,240 a year ($15.50 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $56,740 or more ($27.28 an hour). That is a gap of $24,500 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $36,010 at the 25th percentile and $47,180 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 1.8 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: $18.70 an hour or $38,890 a year at the median for Middlesex County, NJ. Before any deductions, that is $3,241 a month, $1,496 every two weeks and $748 each week. After taxes the same job pays $15.74 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
How pay in Middlesex County, NJ compares
Compared with the New Jersey average
A worker in this occupation in Middlesex County, NJ earns $625 more than the New Jersey average of $38,265, a premium of 1.6%. Over a year that premium is worth $625 before tax and roughly $526 after tax. Within New Jersey, Middlesex County, NJ already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary is $36,982 across the contiguous United States. At $38,890, Middlesex County, NJ pays $1,908 more, which is 5.2% 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 Middlesex County, NJ
Among the 671 occupations with published wages in Middlesex County, NJ, Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary ranks number 633 by median pay, ahead of about 6% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers at $335,270 a year, which is $296,380 more than the median for Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary.
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 Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary earning the Middlesex County, NJ median of $38,890, they add up to $6,157. The result is $32,733 of take-home pay a year ($2,728 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $16 goes to taxes and $84 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 15.8%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $23,140. 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 12% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $2,538, an effective 6.5% 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 $2,411 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $564. FICA totals $2,975, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in New Jersey
New Jersey income tax on this salary is $644 a year, or 1.7% 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 $54 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 Middlesex County, NJ
IRS Statistics of Income data for Middlesex County, NJ show an average adjusted gross income of $101,424 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 14.3% across all filers. Filers in the $25,000 to under $50,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 5.1%, compared with the 6.5% 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 Middlesex County, NJ
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Middlesex County, NJ: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $32,733 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Middlesex County, NJ, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $2,103 a month ($25,236 a year), and at $2,623 for two bedrooms. For Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary, a one-bedroom absorbs 77.1% of take-home pay and 64.9% 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 8.8% of gross pay for Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary in Middlesex 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 $32,717 a year in Middlesex County, NJ. Subtract that from $32,733 of take-home pay and $16 remains, which is $1 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 0.0% of gross pay, a thin cushion that one unexpected expense could erase.
Can Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary afford to live in Middlesex 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 $38,890 that ceiling is $972 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $2,103 is $1,131 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $40.44 an hour; the median for Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary is $18.70, which is 54% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $15.74 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 30.8 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $2,623 a month means $1,312 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $9,498 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $9,514.
How fast you can save
At $1 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 7752 months (646.0 years). Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 15504 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary pay in Middlesex County, NJ
How much do Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary make per hour in Middlesex County, NJ?
The median is $18.70 per hour, based on $38,890 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $15.50 at the 10th percentile to $27.28 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary take home after taxes in Middlesex County, NJ?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $38,890 becomes $32,733 a year. That is $2,728 a month, $1,259 every two weeks or $629 a week.
How much tax do Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary pay in Middlesex County, NJ?
Total taxes are $6,157 a year, an effective rate of 15.8%: $2,538 federal income tax, $2,975 FICA and $644 New Jersey income tax.
Do Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary earn more in Middlesex County, NJ than elsewhere in New Jersey?
Yes. The local median of $38,890 is +1.6% versus the New Jersey average of $38,265, a difference of $625 a year.
Can Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary afford a one-bedroom apartment in Middlesex County, NJ?
A one-bedroom costs $2,103 a month against take-home pay of $2,728, which is 77.1% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $972 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary in Middlesex County, NJ?
About $1 a month ($16 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $32,717 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Middlesex County, NJ at the 30% guideline?
$40.44 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $25,236 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary is $18.70.
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.