Start with the answer
Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service pay in Hawaii and New Jersey
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service is $59,860 per year in Hawaii. It is $40,430 per year in New Jersey. Hawaii is 48.1% above New Jersey on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 43-2011 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists 410 wage and salary jobs in Hawaii and 660 in New Jersey. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.
Evidence: bls-oews-may-2025 · Rule: same-soc-same-metric-pair · nominal-median-gap · employment-not-openings