State overview · NJ · Census CBP 2023
New Jersey Industry Benchmarks
Employment, establishments, and payroll for 1048 industries in New Jersey. Drill into any industry for a New Jersey-specific view, then cross-reference the national page for margins.
- 3.9M
- Workers
- 237K
- Establishments
- 1048
- Industries tracked
Data updated August 2026
The verdict · New Jersey
New Jersey employs 3,923,631 workers across 1048 tracked industries, led by General Medical and Surgical Hospitals (152,705 workers) among the 471 detailed industries with published employment.
No single sector dominates New Jersey (lead 16%; top-three 38%). Margins stay on national industry pages.
New Jersey sector employment mix
Share of private-sector employment by NAICS-2 sector (Census CBP 2023). Tile area = workers.
New Jersey spreads employment across sectors: the largest, Health Care and Social Assistance, is only 16% of 3,923,631 private-sector workers (about the 78th percentile of states by employment). No single NAICS-2 block dominates the private labor market here.
Not ranked: 3 of 20 sectors have no published employment figure. Census County Business Patterns applies 2% or more noise to those cells, and PlainBizBench publishes only low-noise figures rather than estimating. Total employment, shares and the mix on this page sum only the sectors with a published figure. How we handle withheld data.
| Sector | Workers | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Health Care and Social Assistance (62) | 635,422 | 16% |
| Retail Trade (44) | 465,759 | 12% |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services (56) | 395,891 | 10% |
| Top-three cumulative 38% - no single NAICS-2 block dominates. | ||
Profit margins are national (IRS SOI); open any industry row below, then the matching national industry page for profitability.
Census CBP firm roll
County Business Patterns NJ DISTRIBUTED · CBP
#11/51 · 3,923,631 workers · 237,123 firms
- EMP 3,923,631
- EST 237,123
- RANK #11/51
- PCT 78th pct
- LEAD Health Care and Soci…
- SHARE 16% lead
- BAND distributed
- DENS 16.5 /firm
- BOOK 1048 NAICS
- PHOTO Michigan
Nearest employment-scale peer: Michigan (4,012,577 workers)
According to Census County Business Patterns 2023, New Jersey ranks #11 of 51 states and territories by total private-sector employment (level-2 sector totals, the same non-double-counted aggregate shown above). Margins stay on national industry pages (IRS SOI). Read with this state → · Lead 6-digit industry →
NJ in the employment-scale neighbourhood
Top Industries by Employment
Not ranked: 379 of 850 detailed industries have no published employment figure. Census County Business Patterns applies 2% or more noise to those cells, and PlainBizBench publishes only low-noise figures rather than estimating. Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses (1,736), Convenience Stores (1,467), Food Service Contractors (1,228) and 72 more report more establishments than General Medical and Surgical Hospitals, so General Medical and Surgical Hospitals leads only among the 471 detailed industries with published employment. How we handle withheld data.
Breadth peers near New Jersey's private employment
Nearest other states by Census CBP level-2 private employment (3,923,631 in New Jersey), excluding NJ.
Source: Census Bureau County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023 · NJ
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.