New Jersey’s safety and EHS managers earn an estimated median of about $102,000 a year — one of the higher state figures in this series, driven by the state’s pharmaceutical, chemical and port-logistics industries and its high cost of living.
The estimated median for a safety or EHS manager in New Jersey runs about $102,000 a year, with most roles between $79,560 and $137,700 — scaled from the BLS OES national median of $83,910 for occupational health & safety specialists (SOC 19-5011, May 2024) to New Jersey’s wage level, one of the highest in this data set. New Jersey earned its old nickname as the “medicine chest of the world” honestly: several major pharmaceutical and biotech companies are headquartered or have significant operations here, and that industry — along with a dense chemical-manufacturing corridor near Newark and Elizabeth — carries some of the most demanding EHS compliance requirements of any sector. Add the Port of New York and New Jersey, one of the busiest container ports in the country, and the warehousing and distribution footprint that surrounds it along the Turnpike corridor, and you get a state where safety-manager demand is both broad and well-compensated. That salary needs to be read against New Jersey’s cost of living, though, which is consistently among the highest in the country, particularly in the counties closest to New York City.
New Jersey operates a Public Employees Occupational Safety and Health (PEOSH) program, but — like New York’s equivalent — it only covers state and local government workers. Private-sector employers in New Jersey, which is where the large majority of safety-manager roles sit, are regulated directly by federal OSHA, not by the state program.
Newark and Jersey City, both anchored by port and logistics activity and close enough to Manhattan to draw corporate EHS functions, lead the state, with Trenton (state government and a mix of pharma and manufacturing) rounding out the top three.
Get a personalised range by role, experience, industry and certification.
Open the free Salary Estimator →
See also: national salary guide · certification roadmap · all states
How much do safety managers make in New Jersey?
An estimated median of about $102,000 a year, with a typical range of $79,560 to $137,700 depending on industry, experience, employer size and certification — a BLS-anchored estimate, not a guarantee.
Does New Jersey have its own OSHA program?
Partially. New Jersey’s PEOSH program covers only state and local government employees; private-sector workers, the majority of the workforce, fall under federal OSHA.
Why is New Jersey’s safety-manager salary higher than most states?
A concentration of pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturing, the Port of New York/New Jersey’s logistics footprint, and a cost of living among the highest in the country all push the number up relative to other states in this series.
How can I raise my New Jersey safety salary?
Get the BCSP CSP (close to expected at pharma and chemical employers here), target pharmaceutical or port-logistics operations, take on multi-site scope, and build experience. The free salary estimator can model your own number.
Salary figures are estimates derived from BLS national OES data scaled to state wage levels — not a guarantee or an offer. Verify current local data with BLS and employers. ← All states · Home