Market Wire
Manufacturing in New Jersey Runs 23% Above the National Cost Average
New Jersey's manufacturing cost index stands at 122.8 against a national 100 as of June 2026 — labor at 106.8 and industrial energy at 170.7. That places it 43th cheapest of 51 jurisdictions.
New Jersey's manufacturing cost index stands at 122.8 against a national 100 as of June 2026 — labor at 106.8 and industrial energy at 170.7. That places it 43th cheapest of 51 jurisdictions.
- composite (US = 100): 122.8
- labor: 106.8
- industrial energy: 170.7
The composite weights labor at 75% and industrial electricity at 25%, so New Jersey's position is mostly a energy story: its energy component indexes at 170.7 against the national 100. A premium of 23 points compounds differently across shops — a labor-heavy job shop feels the labor line, an energy-hungry process plant feels the kilowatt-hours.
For a site decision the index is the starting point, not the answer: freight to customers, workforce depth, and incentives move individual cases. The per-state page carries the underlying wage and electricity series this index is built from, both refreshed automatically.
Published 2026-09-03.