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New Jersey is comprised of the state government with an executive branch headed by the governor; a legislature of a 40-member Senate and 80-member General Assembly; and a judiciary with the highest court the Supreme Court of seven justices headed by the chief justice. There are 21 counties and 565 municipalities; unlike some states, New Jersey has no unincorporated areas and municipalities cover its entire geographic area. Most school districts are formed to serve individual municipalities, but there are also regional, consolidated and countywide districts, as well as non-operating school districts which do not operate any school facilities but administer sending-receiving relationships under which students attend school in other districts under contractual agreements.
 Beginning of state Constitution. Image: New Jersey State Archives
- State Constitution
New Jersey's current state constitution was adopted in 1947 and is the third constitution following those adopted in 1776 and 1844. The primary reasons for adopting the 1947 constitution were to strengthen the role of the governor; consolidate state executive agencies; and restructure the courts under the central administration of the state Supreme Court and its chief justice. The constitution may be amended by approval of a majority of voters at a general election after both houses of the legislature have voted to place the proposed amendment on the ballot. A proposed amendment for submission to the voters can be passed either by simple majority in two separate legislative sessions, or by a 60% supermajority vote taken in one session. The governor's approval is not required for submission of the question for voter consideration. Unlike several states, New Jersey does not allow proposed constitutional amendments to be submitted for referendum through petition by voters without prior approval by the legislature. * New Jersey State Constitution of 1947, NJ State Archives * Proceedings of the 1947 Constitutional Convention, NJ State Library * The New Jersey State Constitution by Robert F. Williams (2012) * New Jersey State Constitutions 1776, 1844 and 1947, NJ State Archives -- Government employees According to the US Census Bureau's most recent American Community Survey conducted in 2021, New Jersey had a total of 424,337 full-time state, county and local government employees, The total state government payroll was $859.8 million and local government was $2.1 billion, according to the survey. * American Community Survey, US Census Bureau The State Government Workforce Profile published by the New Jersey Civil Service Commission reports that the verified workforce totals and salary levels are as follows:
: Local government payrolls fluctuate around 340,000 to 360,000 active employees statewide, making up the vast majority of New Jersey’s total public workforce. Unlike the centralized state payroll, the New Jersey Civil Service Commission, however, does not publish a corresponding, uniform "Local Government Workforce Profile" containing universal salary medians, demographic breakdowns, or union metrics. : Local government labor union patterns diverge from the state baseline. While state-level workers are predominantly represented by the Communications Workers of America (CWA), local municipal and county workforces are fractured among the Policemen's Benevolent Association (PBA), the Firefighters Mutual Benevolent Association (FMBA), New Jersey Education Association (NJEA), local public works chapters of Teamsters, and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). Public sector tracking resources like the GovSalaries New Jersey Registry aggregate roughly 400,000 local records, placing the macro average salary for local public employees at $77,358 with a median of $73,204. Individual local law enforcement and top municipal managers frequently cross the $300,000+ threshold -- Government Revenue, Spending, Workforce and Debt Transitioning into the newly enacted fiscal cycle, New Jersey state government finances have reached record highs under updated legislative provisions. For Fiscal Year 2026, total state tax revenues stabilized at $57.8 billion. For the newly enacted Fiscal Year 2027 cycle (7/1/2026–6/30/2027), anticipated general state revenues are forecasted at $59.4 billion, backed by an adjusted total resource pool of $60.07 billion that incorporates healthy opening cash balances. On the expenditure side, Governor Sherrill signed a historic final $60.74 billion state spending plan just hours prior to the constitutional deadline. This baseline is further augmented by $30.5 billion in non-state federal funding streams, pushing comprehensive public spending across the state past $101.8 billion. While expenditures exceed incoming recurring revenues by a structural margin of $1.35 billion, the gap is completely absorbed by drawing from an estimated $6.1 billion undesignated year-end surplus cushion. This multi-billion dollar reserve, equivalent to roughly 8.8% to 10% of total appropriations, maintains the state's fiscal safety net well above long-term historical standards while securing a sixth consecutive year of 100% pension funding
-- Taxes The overall tax burden (taxes as a percentage of personal income) on New Jersey residents was 10.15% in 2026, ranking 5th highest of all states and trailing behind the nation-leading 13.30% in Hawaii, according to the annual survey published by WalletHub.com. The state ranked near the top of all states in its real estate tax rate, holding a 1.88% effective property tax ratee on owner-occupied housing value, which sits as the highest raw percentage in the nation. The statewide average residential property tax bill rose to a record high of $10,570—marking a steep year-over-year increase of roughly 4.7%. This marks the second consecutive year that the average local property tax line exceeded $10,000, according to official data released by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. The nonprofit Tax Foundation’s State Tax Competitiveness Index ranked New Jersey 49th overall out of 50 states. “The states in the bottom 10 tend to have a number of issues in common: complex, nonneutral taxes with comparatively high rates. New Jersey, for example, is hampered by some of the highest property tax burdens in the country, has the highest-rate corporate income tax in the country, and has one of the highest-rate individual income taxes. Additionally, the state has a particularly aggressive treatment of international income, levies an inheritance tax, and maintains some of the nation's worst-structured individual income taxes.”, as noted by the Tax Foundation. New Jersey’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget balances increased spending through enacting targeted revenue measures that place higher financial taxes and fees primarily on large corporations, data companies, and high-earning businesses, while restructuring property tax relief to focus on lower-income and middle-class residents.
-- Revenue Enhancements and Business Tax Increases While the administration avoided broad increases to individual state gross income tax brackets, the budget bills targeted high-revenue corporate and business activities to generate new funding streams:
-- Major Property Tax Relief Restructuring The state allocates more than $4 billion to direct property tax relief, but the flagship Stay NJ program underwent major scaling down to ensure long-term sustainability, lowering the program's structural cost from $1.2 billion to $742 million.
-- Economic Metrics, Labor and Business Climate
New Jersey’s statewide economy shows a strong baseline of household wealth heavily impacted by high statutory tax rates and an anticipated growth slowdown heading into late 2026 and 2027. The state's core economic, tax, and labor indicators reflect these updated 2026 benchmarks: - Median Household Income $103,556 2nd Highest Nationally (Behind Massachusetts) - State Minimum Wage $15.92 / hour (Standard rate) $15.23 / hour for seasonal/small employers - Corporate Business Tax 11.50% (Top marginal bracket) 1st Nationally (Highest corporate tax rate in the U.S.) - Effective Property Tax 1.88% 1st Nationally (Highest raw percentage in the country) -- Key Business & Employment Shifts
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