- The middle half earn between $22.79 and $33.44 an hour.
- New Jersey ranks 14th of the 48 states with published figures for median pay in this trade.
- New Jersey pays more than 1 of its 3 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 480 locksmiths on payrolls in New Jersey.
- At the state median wage, a locksmith business needs to bill about $118.72 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Locksmith pay in New Jersey, bottom to top
BLS files these as locksmiths and safe repairers: the people who open and repair locks, make keys, change locks and combinations, and install and repair safes.
| Pay level | Hourly | Yearly | National hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $22.22 | $46,220 | $17.08 |
| 25th percentile | $22.79 | $47,400 | $20.75 |
| Median | $27.41 | $57,000 | $24.68 |
| 75th percentile | $33.44 | $69,550 | $31.04 |
| 90th percentile | $38.35 | $79,770 | $38.17 |
| Average (mean) | $28.57 | $59,420 | $26.67 |
Pay is bunched up in New Jersey. The top tenth earn $38.35 an hour or more, about 1.7 times the $22.22 at the bottom tenth. Nationally that gap is 2.2 times, so the step from the bottom of the scale to the top is shorter here than in most places.
Both ends of the scale beat the national figures: $22.22 against $17.08 at the bottom tenth, and $38.35 against $38.17 at the top.
The average, $28.57, is close to the median, so pay sits fairly evenly around the middle.
How New Jersey compares with other states
Over a full year, the New Jersey median of $57,000 is $5,680 more than the national $51,320.
In the state ranking, New Jersey sits 14th, between Rhode Island ($27.58) and West Virginia ($27.25). The range runs from $17.20 in Arkansas to $36.89 in the District of Columbia.
Against its neighboring states, New Jersey is in the middle: Delaware and New York pay more, and Pennsylvania pays less.
These are wages as paid, not adjusted for what it costs to live in New Jersey. Rent, home prices and taxes decide how far a higher wage goes.
| Neighboring state | Median hourly | Median yearly | Against New Jersey |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | $27.41 | $57,000 | |
| Delaware | $30.60 | $63,640 | +$3.19 an hour |
| New York | $29.73 | $61,830 | +$2.32 an hour |
| Pennsylvania | $25.08 | $52,160 | −$2.33 an hour |
How many locksmiths work in New Jersey
About 480 locksmiths work on payrolls in New Jersey, 3.2% of the 15,040 nationwide, the 6th largest count among the states.
That is 0.1 of every 1,000 jobs in New Jersey, close to the trade's share of jobs nationally.
What a locksmith business in New Jersey should charge
Higher wages in New Jersey go straight into the price. Take a locksmith business in New Jersey paying the state median of $27.41 and run it through the labor rate calculator with its starting numbers (40-hour weeks, 10 paid days off, 2 unbilled hours a day, 7.65% payroll taxes, $90,000 a year of overhead and 15% profit).
| Step | Math | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Paid hours | 40 × 52 | 2,080 |
| Hours at work | 2,080 − 10 days × 8 | 2,000 |
| Billable hours | 2,000 × 6 ÷ 8 | 1,500 |
| Labor cost | $27.41 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $61,374 |
| Break-even rate | ($61,374 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $100.92 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $100.92 ÷ 0.85 | $118.72 |
That is $118.72 per billable hour, 4.3 times the wage, and $4.79 more than the $113.93 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $33.44 in New Jersey, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $129.31.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $22.79, the rate only drops to $110.61.
Overhead, at $60 of every billed hour, and the unbilled hours move this rate more than a raise does. A dollar more in wages adds about $1.76 to the rate.
Run it with your own numbers in the labor rate calculator. It is free and shows every step.
Working as a locksmith in New Jersey
- Licensing. What New Jersey asks for before you can work on your own: Locksmith license in New Jersey.
- Running the business. Quotes, invoices, booking and your website in one place: how locksmiths run on Koira.
- Getting found. The free Koira report checks how your business shows up in search and on maps against shops near you.
Where these numbers come from
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
The figures are the BLS state estimates for SOC 49-9094, locksmiths and safe repairers, across all industries, read straight from the May 2025 state data file. They cover wage and salary workers, not the self-employed. Where BLS did not publish a figure, this page leaves it out.
All states in one table: locksmith salary by state.