What Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators earn in Morris County, NJ
According to the latest federal wage data for the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metropolitan area, the median pay for Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators in Morris County, NJ is $46,930 a year, or $22.56 an hour. After federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and state income tax, the paycheck shrinks to $38,792 a year, and rent, food and energy take another bite. The sections below walk through each step with the actual math for Morris County, NJ.
The mean wage is $52,050, which is 10.9% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 24,720 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. Morris County, NJ has roughly 514,528 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators in the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $37,190 a year ($17.88 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $75,980 or more ($36.53 an hour). That is a gap of $38,790 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $42,730 at the 25th percentile and $60,160 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 2.0 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: $22.56 an hour or $46,930 a year at the median for Morris County, NJ. Before any deductions, that is $3,911 a month, $1,805 every two weeks and $903 each week. After taxes the same job pays $18.65 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
How pay in Morris County, NJ compares
Compared with the New Jersey average
Pay in Morris County, NJ runs $936 below the New Jersey average of $47,866, a gap of 2.0%. A worker who moved to a better-paying part of New Jersey would, on paper, gain that difference before taxes. Within New Jersey, the highest median we track for this job is $49,260 in Camden County, NJ.
Compared with the national average
Nationally, Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators earn an employment-weighted average of $46,731 across the contiguous United States, so $46,930 in Morris County, NJ is essentially average. 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 Morris County, NJ
Among the 671 occupations with published wages in Morris County, NJ, Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators ranks number 563 by median pay, ahead of about 16% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers at $335,270 a year, which is $288,340 more than the median for Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators.
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 Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators earning the Morris County, NJ median of $46,930, they add up to $8,138. The result is $38,792 of take-home pay a year ($3,233 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $17 goes to taxes and $83 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 17.3%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $31,180. 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 $3,503, an effective 7.5% 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 $2,910 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $680. FICA totals $3,590, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in New Jersey
New Jersey income tax on this salary is $1,045 a year, or 2.2% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 30% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $87 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 Morris County, NJ
IRS Statistics of Income data for Morris County, NJ show an average adjusted gross income of $162,476 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 18.6% across all filers. Filers in the $25,000 to under $50,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 5.8%, compared with the 7.5% 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 Morris County, NJ
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Morris County, NJ: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $38,792 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Morris 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 Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators, a one-bedroom absorbs 57.2% of take-home pay and 47.3% 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 7.3% of gross pay for Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators in Morris 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 Morris County, NJ. Subtract that from $38,792 of take-home pay and $9,110 remains, which is $759 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 19.4% of gross pay, a workable but modest cushion.
Can Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators afford to live in Morris 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 $46,930 that ceiling is $1,173 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,850 is $677 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $35.58 an hour; the median for Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators is $22.56, which is 37% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $18.65 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 22.9 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 $17,912.
How fast you can save
At $759 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 14 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 28 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators pay in Morris County, NJ
How much do Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators make per hour in Morris County, NJ?
The median is $22.56 per hour, based on $46,930 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $17.88 at the 10th percentile to $36.53 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators take home after taxes in Morris County, NJ?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $46,930 becomes $38,792 a year. That is $3,233 a month, $1,492 every two weeks or $746 a week.
How much tax do Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators pay in Morris County, NJ?
Total taxes are $8,138 a year, an effective rate of 17.3%: $3,503 federal income tax, $3,590 FICA and $1,045 New Jersey income tax.
Do Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators earn more in Morris County, NJ than elsewhere in New Jersey?
No. The local median of $46,930 is -2.0% versus the New Jersey average of $47,866, a difference of $936 a year.
Can Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators afford a one-bedroom apartment in Morris County, NJ?
A one-bedroom costs $1,850 a month against take-home pay of $3,233, which is 57.2% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $1,173 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators in Morris County, NJ?
About $759 a month ($9,110 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 Morris 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 Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators is $22.56.
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.