NJ Civil Service Navigator
State Payroll

Department of Community Affairs

1,119 employees · NJ state government agency

Department of Community Affairs anchors a workforce of 1,119 employees, one of the biggest payrolls in state government.

The most common title is Field Representative Housing, Housing Assistance Program (12% of staff), followed by Inspector 1 Multiple Dwellings and Subcode Official. Median pay is $81,528, about 4% below the statewide median.

Median tenure is 5.0 years, shorter than the statewide median of 9.6 years. CWA represents the largest share of its unionized workforce (about 71%).

About Department of Community Affairs

The Department of Community Affairs administers housing programs, sets and enforces the Uniform Construction Code and fire safety code, and provides oversight and technical assistance to local governments through the Division of Local Government Services.

The department is built around field work. Housing field representatives administer rental assistance in the field, inspectors cover multiple dwellings and fire safety, and subcode officials handle construction code review. Contract administrators manage the grant and program agreements that flow to municipalities. IFPTE represents the inspection titles, which is why the union mix here differs from a purely professional agency. Median tenure is short by state standards, so a meaningful share of this workforce joined recently.

Who works here

These are the titles that carry the most people on this payroll. Each one links to its civil service specification, which sets out the duties, the minimum requirements and the salary range.

At least 100 distinct titles appear on this agency's payroll. The 12 largest are listed above. Government Representative 2 is a catch-all title used for very different jobs across agencies, so the median pay shown against it covers a wide mix of roles and does not describe a single position.

Titles you will not find elsewhere

28 of this agency's titles are concentrated here rather than shared across departments, and for 27 of them every single position in the state sits on this payroll.

Concentration is measured against the same payroll file, comparing this agency's headcount in a title with the statewide headcount in that title.

How pay is spread

Below are the quartile boundaries for this agency's salaries, with the statewide equivalents alongside them for reference.

The middle half of this agency's employees earn between $65,671 and $102,718, a ratio of 1.56 between the two quartiles. State government as a whole sits at 1.80, so this agency's pay is bunched more tightly than average, which tends to happen where one or two large titles carry most of the staff.

  • Lowest recorded salary$12,000
  • Lower quartile$65,671
    statewide $62,428
  • Median salary$81,528
    statewide $84,548
  • Upper quartile$102,718
    statewide $112,646
  • Highest recorded salary$162,000

Based on 1,045 salaried records, with 12 statistical outliers excluded from the quartile calculation.

Union representation

Which contract covers a job decides its salary schedule, its step ladder and its grievance route. This is the union mix on this payroll.

  • CWA799 employees
    71.4% of the agency
  • IFPTE157 employees
    14.0% of the agency
  • IBEW21 employees
    1.9% of the agency

Union coverage is identifiable for 87% of this agency's payroll records. The remainder are unclassified, exempt or managerial positions that sit outside a bargaining unit.

How long people stay

Tenure tells you something a salary table cannot: whether this is a place people arrive at or a place they stay.

Half of this agency's employees have been on the state payroll longer than 5.0 years, well short of the statewide median of 9.6. 50% joined within the last five years, and 18% have twenty years or more behind them.

  • Under 5 years542 employees
    49.8% of those with a hire date
  • 5 to 10 years197 employees
    18.1% of those with a hire date
  • 10 to 15 years97 employees
    8.9% of those with a hire date
  • 15 to 20 years60 employees
    5.5% of those with a hire date
  • 20 to 25 years104 employees
    9.6% of those with a hire date
  • 25 years or more89 employees
    8.2% of those with a hire date

Hire dates are present for 1,089 of this agency's 1,119 payroll records.

Overtime

64 employees here recorded overtime, 5.7% of the agency, against 29.6% across state government. Little overtime usually means salaried professional work with no shift to fill.

Together they were paid $253,884 in overtime, averaging $3,967 for each employee who earned any. Overtime is not part of the salary figures elsewhere on this page, which report base pay.

  • Employees with recorded overtime64
  • Share of the agency5.7%
  • Total overtime paid$253,884
  • Average per employee earning it$3,967

Civil service coverage

86% of this agency's payroll records carry a title that matches a published civil service specification. The rest are unclassified, exempt or agency-specific positions filled outside the competitive examination process, so the standard exam and eligible list route covers most but not all of the jobs here.

  • Records matched to a specification959
  • Records with no matching specification160
  • Distinct civil service titles on the roster100 or more

Where it sits among state agencies

By headcount this is the 14th largest of the 39 payroll lines in New Jersey state government, holding 1.5% of the state workforce.

Its nearest neighbours by headcount, for readers who want a like-for-like comparison.