About 2 weeks of work will earn you a 1-bedroom NJ apartment

As a New Jersey resident, you get less bang for your buck with each paycheck than you would in most other states.

A state-by-state analysis by Business.org, which compared average salaries to the cost of living, finds the Garden State ranks 45th out of 51 (50 states plus the District of Columbia) for "best pay."

"New Jersey is getting paid more than other states ... but your money isn't taking you any further because the cost of living is so high," said Madison Haggin, media relations specialist for the business-product website.

Specifically, the analysis looked at each state's median yearly wage, based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the median monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment, with information sourced from Zillow. Each data point came from May 2018.

With a wage figure of $43,600 and a rent of $1,670, a New Jerseyan would have to work just about 80 hours in order to afford one month's rent, according to the analysis. That's better than in New York, where more than 100 hours have to be worked in order to afford one month's rent.

In Wyoming, the state with the "best pay," workers can earn a month of rent in less than 34 hours, the analysis finds.

"Salaries matter, but they're not all that matters," Haggin said. "You just want to know how far your money is going to take you when you're deciding if you want to stay somewhere, relocate, open a business or make any life changes that are going to affect your finances."

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Contact reporter Dino Flammia at dino.flammia@townsquaremedia.com.