Atmospheric and Space Scientists in New Mexico
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$82,202
after federal, FICA and New Mexico tax
Tax takes
$27,868
25.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$90,945
New Mexico costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in New Mexico — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$110,070
Kept after tax
$82,202
Worth in national money
$90,945
State rank
12
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. New Mexico pays atmospheric and space scientists a middle wage of $110,070, ranking 12 of 47 states and sitting about 11.1% above the national middle.
- Within New Mexico this is well-paid work. Of 485 occupations with published figures in the state, atmospheric and space scientists ranks 43 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Here is where New Mexico does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $110,070 you keep $82,202, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $90,945 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $112,920, because the best-paid pull it up.
- New Mexico's median for atmospheric and space scientists is $110,070, about 11.1% above the national figure and 12 of 47 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Ranked against every occupation New Mexico publishes a median for, atmospheric and space scientists sits 43 of 485 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- After federal, FICA and New Mexico income tax, retained pay for atmospheric and space scientists on $110,070 is $82,202. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $90,945 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $112,920 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Atmospheric and Space Scientists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $61,760 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $110,070 |
| Top tenth earn over | $161,890 |
| This salary | $110,070 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in New Mexico | $82,202 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $86,264 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,173 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $104,295 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,002 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of atmospheric and space scientists in New Mexico earn under $110,070 and half over. The published range runs $61,760 at the tenth percentile to $161,890 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $82,202 take-home in New Mexico comes from $110,070. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 43 of 485.
- One number stands for prices across all of New Mexico, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $90,945, the adjusted value of that $110,070 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 43 of 485 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for atmospheric and space scientists in New Mexico, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $61,760 to $161,890; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Retained pay of $82,202, from $110,070, assumes a single New Mexico filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 43 of 485 locally, and the state ranks 12 of 47 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for New Mexico, so $90,945 — the adjusted value of that $110,070 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 43 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $61,760 and the top tenth $161,890 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in New Mexico sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $90,945 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; New Mexico then takes its own share, leaving $82,202.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 47 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($61,760) and the ninetieth ($161,890) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
New Mexico's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $90,945 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $82,202 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and New Mexico income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.