That dollar amount reflects a -12.7% fall from $49.4 billion four years earlier in 2021.
Year over year, the overall value of New Jerseyan export sales flatlined via a -0.2% slowdown compared to $43.2 billion during 2023.
New Jersey is the 14th biggest American exporter by state lagging front-runners including Texas, California, New York state, Louisiana and Illinois.
The value of New Jersey’s exports equals 2.1% of the United States’ overall exported products for 2024, same as 2.1% one year prior.
New Jersey’s exported products represent 5.1% of the state’s total economic output or nominal Gross Domestic Product ($846.6 billion).
Given New Jersey’s population of 9.5 million people, its total $43.1 billion in 2024 exports translates to roughly $4,550 for every resident in the Garden State. That dollar metric falls below the average $4,600 per capita one year earlier in 2023.
New Jersey’s unemployment rate was 4.9% at March 2024, up from 4.6% one year prior per YCharts.
New Jersey’s Top 10 Exports
The following export products represent the highest dollar value in New Jersey global shipments during 2024. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from New Jersey.
Figures are shown at the more granular six-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, for more precise product identification.
- Processed petroleum oils (not biodiesel): US$1.9 billion (4.5% of New Jersey’s total exports)
- Palladium (unwrought or in powder form): $1.6 billion (3.7%)
- Computers: $1.5 billion (3.4%)
- Non-silver precious metal jewelry, parts: $1.4 billion (3.2%)
- Mid-sized automobiles (piston engine): $1.2 billion (2.8%)
- Beauty and skin care preparations: $1.15 billion (2.7%)
- Rhodium (unwrought or in powder form): $1.1 billion (2.5%)
- Medical/dental/veterinarian equipment: $843.9 million (2%)
- Iron waste, scrap: $750.8 million (1.7%)
- Civilian aircraft, aircraft engines, other parts: $593.8 million (1.4%)
New Jersey’s top 10 exports generated over one-quarter (27.9%) of the overall value of the state’s global shipments.
Computers including optical readers represent the fastest grower among New Jersey’s top 10 export categories, up by 1,686% from 2023 to 2024.
In second place for improving export sales were processed petroleum oils excluding biodiesel, thanks to its 66.2% increase from 2023.
New Jersey’s shipments of civilian aircraft or aircraft engines or other parts appreciated by 25.7%, ahead of iron waste or scrap via a 10.5% advance.
The severest year-over-year decliners were New Jersey’s exports of rhodium (down -29.9% from 2023) then non-silver precious metal jewelry or parts (down -26.9%) and palladium (down -21.7%).
More Key Facts about New Jersey’s International Trade
New Jersey incurred an overall -US$110 billion deficit exporting and importing products during 2024. That dollar amount reflects an 8.6% year-over-year upturn from -$101.3 billion in red ink for 2023.
Another way of saying surplus or deficit is positive or negative net exports. In a nutshell, the term “net exports” quantifies the amount by which foreign spending on a state’s goods or services exceeds or lags that same state’s spending on foreign goods or services.
Below are New Jersey’s top 10 import products highlighting the state’s highest spending on foreign-made goods in 2024.
- Crude petroleum oils: $10.3 billion (6.7% of New Jersey’s total imports)
- Light petroleum oils: $10 billion (6.5%)
- Miscellaneous medications: $7.4 billion (4.8%)
- Automobiles (both spark ignition and electric motors): $6.5 billion (4.3%)
- Mid-sized automobiles (piston engine): $3.7 billion (2.4%)
- Large automobiles (piston engine): $3.3 billion (2.2%)
- Processed petroleum oils (not biodiesel): $2.7 billion (1.7%)
- Solar photovoltaic cells modules, panels: $2 billion (1.3%)
- Perfumes, toilet waters: $1.6 billion (1%)
- Palladium (unwrought or in powder form): $1.2 billion (0.8%)
New Jersey has highly negative net exports notably in the international trade of petroleum oils, medicines and automobiles. In turn, these cashflows indicate New Jersey’s strong competitive disadvantages under these product categories showing the strong impact of foreign goods on New Jersey’s global balance sheet.
New Jersey’s Major Trade Partners
The following list shows the top 10 customers that purchased over three-fifths (61.8%) worth of the total value of products exported from New Jersey during 2024.
- Canada: $8.7 billion (20.1% of New Jersey’s total exports)
- Mexico: $3.5 billion (8.2%)
- Japan: $2.23 billion (5.2%)
- mainland China: $2.17 billion (5%)
- Germany: $2.04 billion (4.7%)
- Netherlands: $1.95 billion (4.5%)
- United Kingdom: $1.8 billion (4.1%)
- South Korea: $1.7 billion (3.9%)
- Italy: $1.3 billion (3.1%)
- United Arab Emirates: $1.2 billion (2.9%)
New Jersey’s trade partners in North America–Canada and Mexico–exceeded one-quarter (28.3%) of the overall value of exported goods from the Garden State in 2024.
That percentage compares with 16.5% for top importing countries in Europe (Germany, Netherlands, United Kingdom and Italy) as well as 14.1% for leading New Jerseyan trade partners located in Asia (Japan, mainland China and South Korea).
New Jerseyan Export Companies
Thirty of New Jersey-based corporations rank among Fortune 1000 Companies, a list that showcases America’s largest businesses. Selected examples are shown below.
- Automatic Data Processing (management software, services)
- Bard (medical technologies)
- Becton Dickinson (medical devices, instrument systems, reagents)
- Campbell’s (soups, juices, related products)
- Celgene Corp (medicines for cancer, inflammatory disorders)
- Church & Dwight Co. (household goods)
- Honeywell International (aircraft, defense industry, computer, scanning, mobile goods)
- PBF Energy (petroleum oils, lubricants, petrochemicals)
- Pinnacle Foods (frozen food, condiments, mixes, packaged meat)
- Zoetis (animal medicines, vaccinations)
Shown within brackets for each company is a summary of the international trade-related products or services which each business sells.
New Jersey’s capital is Trenton, a city literally nicknamed “The Capital City”.
See also Oklahoma’s Top 10 Exports, Alaska’s Top 10 Exports, Oregon’s Top 10 Exports, Pennsylvania’s Top 10 Exports and Virginia’s Top 10 Exports
Research Sources:
FlagPictures.org, Flags of US States. Accessed on August 11, 2025
Forbes, Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on August 11, 2025
GeoLounge, Fortune 1000 Companies List for 2021 , Fortune 1000 by State and Place. Accessed on August 11, 2025
IBIS World, New Jersey GDP (dollars shown in real terms). Accessed on August 11, 2025
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on August 11, 2025
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on August 11, 2025
United States Census Bureau, QuickFacts: New Jersey. Accessed on August 11, 2025
USA Trade Online, Official Source of Trade Statistics. Accessed on August 11, 2025
Wikipedia, List of U.S. states and territories by GDP. Accessed on August 11, 2025
Wikipedia, New Jersey. Accessed on August 11, 2025
Wikipedia, List of Companies of New Jersey. Accessed on August 11, 2025
YCharts, Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Report. Accessed on August 11, 2025