NJ remains one of nation's most unionized states, Rutgers report finds
New Jersey has an estimated 22,000 more union members than in a previous Rutgers study, even as the share of workers belonging to unions edged lower.
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New Jersey remains one of the most heavily unionized states in the country, with an estimated 675,000 union members, according to a Rutgers University report released ahead of Labor Day.
The researchers estimate New Jersey has about 22,000 more union members than in a previous Rutgers study. But the share of workers belonging to unions slipped slightly because nonunion employment grew faster.
New Jersey's average unionization rate was 15.47% from 2023 through 2025, ranking sixth-highest among the 50 states and well above the national rate of about 10%.
The difference between New Jersey's public and private sectors is stark. About 57% of public-sector workers belonged to unions, compared with about 9% of private-sector workers. Still, the state's union members were divided nearly evenly between the two sectors because the private-sector workforce is much larger.
The report also found union members earned more on average. Across the workers studied, union members earned about $1,662 per week compared with about $1,416 for nonunion workers, a difference of nearly 16%. Researchers cautioned that the comparison does not account for all the factors that can affect wages across different jobs and groups of workers.
Protective-service jobs, including police officers, firefighters, correctional officers and security guards, showed a particularly large increase in unionization. The rate rose from 44.4% to 56.9%, making it the state's most heavily unionized occupational category, according to the report.
The analysis by Rutgers researchers used federal Current Population Survey data from 2023 through 2025. October 2025 was excluded because no data was collected during the federal government shutdown.
(Photo Credit: Associated Press)
