jQuery get text as number

myInteger = parseInt(myString);

It's a standard javascript function.

Use the javascript parseInt method (http://www.w3schools.com/jsref/jsref_parseint.asp)

var number = parseInt($(this).find('.number').text(), 10);
var current = 600;
if (current > number){
     // do something
}

Don't forget to specify the radix value of 10 which tells parseInt that it's in base 10.

Always use parseInt with a radix (base) as the second parameter, or you will get unexpected results:

var number = parseInt($(this).find('.number').text(), 10);

A popular variation however is to use + as a unitary operator. This will always convert with base 10 and never throw an error, just return zero NaN which can be tested with the function isNaN() if it's an invalid number:

var number = +($(this).find('.number').text());