The 10 Lowest Paying Jobs In New Jersey For 2019

Back in high school I had the best job you could have in high school, I worked at the local movie theater for minimum wage plus free popcorn and movies. I was happy to make minimum wage back then, but now I couldn’t imagine living on the $5.86/hr I was making.

All of this reminiscing got me wondering, who gets paid the least in New Jersey?

So to piggy-backing on our research into the highest paying jobs in New Jersey, we decided to use data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to identify the lowest paying jobs.

After combing through the Bureau of Labor Statistics, we discovered that Counter Attendants, Cafeteria, Food Concession, And Coffee Shop are the lowest paid people in New Jersey.

Here’s a quick look at the 10 lowest paying jobs in New Jersey:

For more information on how much the lowest paying jobs pay, read on, or check out this other reading on New Jersey:

If youĂÂre interested, you can read more about the New Jersey job scene here:

How we determined the lowest paid jobs in New Jersey

We looked at the BLS’s data set for all 681 job classifications in New Jersey in order to identify those that get paid the least.

We will update the data annually as it becomes available from the BLS. The most recent data is as of May 2018.

For more reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Lowest Paying Jobs In New Jersey

Rank	Job Title	Average Salary	Entry Level Salary	# Of People
1	Counter Attendants, Cafeteria, Food Concession, And Coffee Shop	$21,800	$18,520	35,460
2	Shampooers	$22,370	$18,840	1,860
3	Automotive And Watercraft Service Attendants	$22,380	$18,540	10,230
4	Dishwashers	$22,630	$18,880	9,480
5	Combined Food Preparation And Serving Workers, Including Fast Food	$23,150	$18,780	45,320
6	Amusement And Recreation Attendants	$23,350	$18,640	8,290
7	Cashiers	$23,390	$18,760	99,360
8	Cooks, Fast Food	$23,410	$19,150	8,800
9	Ushers, Lobby Attendants, And Ticket Takers	$23,480	$18,650	2,630
10	Baggage Porters And Bellhops	$23,590	$19,570	770
11	Laundry And Dry-Cleaning Workers	$23,820	$18,710	7,760
12	Dining Room And Cafeteria Attendants And Bartender Helpers	$24,160	$18,900	13,310
13	Hosts And Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, And Coffee Shop	$24,280	$18,790	10,430
14	Sewing Machine Operators	$24,370	$18,590	3,690
15	Food Preparation Workers	$24,450	$18,730	32,960
16	Home Health Aides	$24,450	$19,650	41,040
17	Manicurists And Pedicurists	$24,520	$19,370	7,210
18	Agricultural Equipment Operators	$24,560	$20,420	180
19	Food Processing Workers, All Other	$24,570	$19,170	990
20	Locker Room, Coatroom, And Dressing Room Attendants	$24,650	$18,800	480
21	Parking Lot Attendants	$24,720	$18,960	4,990
22	Pressers, Textile, Garment, And Related Materials	$24,770	$18,880	830
23	Cooks, Short Order	$25,030	$18,620	10,760
24	Packers And Packagers, Hand	$25,160	$18,950	30,180
25	Food Servers, Nonrestaurant	$25,190	$19,450	11,920
26	Hotel, Motel, And Resort Desk Clerks	$25,390	$20,340	3,740
27	Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, And Other Recreational Protective Service Workers	$25,620	$19,020	4,770
28	Cutters And Trimmers, Hand	$25,680	$18,350	460
29	Cleaners Of Vehicles And Equipment	$26,020	$19,150	8,360
30	Maids And Housekeeping Cleaners	$26,190	$19,500	20,110
31	Transportation Attendants, Except Flight Attendants	$26,360	$20,040	350
32	Textile, Apparel, And Furnishings Workers, All Other	$26,380	$18,620	570
33	Childcare Workers	$26,450	$19,170	18,490
34	Nonfarm Animal Caretakers	$26,700	$19,340	5,570
35	Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, And Aquacultural Animals	$27,210	$20,960	280
36	Physical Therapist Aides	$27,480	$20,810	3,190
37	Waiters And Waitresses	$27,530	$18,930	58,820
38	Food Preparation And Serving Related Workers, All Other	$27,750	$19,990	2,110
39	Farmworkers And Laborers, Crop, Nursery, And Greenhouse	$27,810	$19,390	2,400
40	Personal Care And Service Workers, All Other	$27,850	$18,980	2,670
41	Religious Workers, All Other	$27,930	$18,370	320
42	Slaughterers And Meat Packers	$28,120	$20,450	660
43	Helpers–Production Workers	$28,400	$18,880	4,660
44	Textile Knitting And Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, And Tenders	$28,500	$21,600	200
45	Ambulance Drivers And Attendants, Except Emergency Medical Technicians	$28,870	$21,130	320
46	Etchers And Engravers	$28,880	$20,850	370
47	Stock Clerks And Order Fillers	$28,900	$19,200	68,040
48	Tire Repairers And Changers	$29,080	$20,010	3,430
49	Fabric And Apparel Patternmakers	$29,090	$18,540	230
50	Teacher Assistants	$29,150	$19,340	55,130
51	Retail Salespersons	$29,180	$19,060	131,210
52	Tool Grinders, Filers, And Sharpeners	$29,250	$21,140	30
53	Taxi Drivers And Chauffeurs	$29,260	$20,550	8,510
54	Occupational Therapy Aides	$29,330	$20,400	110
55	Concierges	$29,420	$22,150	1,170
56	Recreation Workers	$29,530	$19,270	11,690
57	Motion Picture Projectionists	$29,540	$18,970	420
58	Meat, Poultry, And Fish Cutters And Trimmers	$29,560	$19,270	2,220
59	Bartenders	$29,600	$19,420	17,360
60	Packaging And Filling Machine Operators And Tenders	$29,830	$19,010	14,090
61	Personal Care Aides	$29,890	$21,180	14,470
62	Veterinary Assistants And Laboratory Animal Caretakers	$29,960	$19,810	1,820
63	Telemarketers	$30,120	$20,130	3,440
64	Sewers, Hand	$30,200	$22,180	180
65	Laborers And Freight, Stock, And Material Movers, Hand	$30,280	$19,730	141,660
66	Bicycle Repairers	$30,370	$25,610	110
67	Nursing Assistants	$30,380	$22,730	56,500
68	Painting, Coating, And Decorating Workers	$30,600	$20,940	520
69	Assemblers And Fabricators, All Other, Including Team Assemblers	$30,850	$19,540	11,000
70	Orderlies	$31,000	$22,140	2,800
71	Bakers	$31,090	$20,470	4,790
72	Food And Tobacco Roasting, Baking, And Drying Machine Operators And Tenders	$31,200	$19,360	550
73	Food Cooking Machine Operators And Tenders	$31,420	$19,680	900
74	Tour And Travel Guides	$31,560	$19,150	650
75	Substitute Teachers	$31,580	$23,650	20,470
76	Janitors And Cleaners, Except Maids And Housekeeping Cleaners	$31,700	$20,000	67,380
77	Machine Feeders And Offbearers	$31,710	$21,210	1,790
78	Protective Service Workers, All Other	$31,730	$19,760	5,970
79	Graders And Sorters, Agricultural Products	$31,790	$21,860	100
80	Helpers–Installation, Maintenance, And Repair Workers	$31,810	$19,620	2,860
81	Library Assistants, Clerical	$31,850	$19,250	2,810
82	Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, And Tenders	$31,880	$19,450	2,470
83	Cleaning, Washing, And Metal Pickling Equipment Operators And Tenders	$31,990	$20,130	660
84	Textile Cutting Machine Setters, Operators, And Tenders	$32,000	$21,690	400
85	Security Guards	$32,250	$20,700	39,000
86	Helpers–Carpenters	$32,270	$19,550	770
87	Textile Bleaching And Dyeing Machine Operators And Tenders	$32,500	$23,700	170
88	Landscaping And Groundskeeping Workers	$32,700	$20,330	28,690
89	Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service	$32,830	$21,280	2,050
90	Office Machine Operators, Except Computer	$32,840	$20,540	2,530
91	Crossing Guards	$32,920	$19,850	5,740
92	Tellers	$32,950	$26,050	13,380
93	Textile Winding, Twisting, And Drawing Out Machine Setters, Operators, And Tenders	$33,010	$24,860	160
94	Pharmacy Technicians	$33,070	$21,480	9,570
95	Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, And Tenders, Except Sawing	$33,090	$22,780	750
96	Receptionists And Information Clerks	$33,120	$21,410	54,490
97	Production Workers, All Other	$33,160	$19,670	4,300
98	Cooks, Restaurant	$33,200	$22,290	20,720
99	Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, And Tenders, Wood	$33,280	$26,060	120
100	Driver/sales Workers	$33,410	$19,070	8,680

Never miss an opportunity that’s right for you.

Author

Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.

Create Resume