Farm in New Jersey: licence, certification and what employers require (2026)

New Jersey does not license farm workers: no licence; a pesticide applicator licence or CDL applies to some roles. This page says what a farm worker licensed or working in another state has to do to work in New Jersey, in the order to do it, and what goes wrong when the order is reversed.

How the transfer works

Farm and ranch work is not licensed. A pesticide applicator licence transfers by reciprocity through the state department of agriculture in many states, and a CDL transfers like any licence. Nothing else to file in New Jersey.

What to have ready before you move

• Pesticide licence if held
• CDL if held
• Equipment experience listed

Start the paperwork before you give notice. There is no New Jersey licence to wait for, so the only clock is the employer's.

What people get wrong

• Comparing wages without housing; much farm work includes it

Who hires farm workers in New Jersey

Farm workers in New Jersey are hired by farms, ranches, dairies, feedlots, nurseries and agricultural contractors. The metros with the most of that work are Newark, Jersey City, Paterson and Elizabeth. Employers who could not hire locally and have filed with the Department of Labor are on the New Jersey openings page.

For the money side: the median farm worker in New Jersey earned $37,580 a year ($18 an hour) in May 2024 across 3,460 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and New Jersey has a progressive state income tax with a top rate of 10.75%. What that leaves you after tax is its own page.

Everything about New Jersey, on one page

The New Jersey page has the registries and boards, the income tax table, the programs that pay you to come and the openings filed this month. If you know which state you are leaving, the move pages compare the two directly. Creating a free Workmerica profile with your trade and your destination puts you in front of New Jersey employers hiring from out of state.