Cargo and Freight Agents in New Mexico
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$40,343
after federal, FICA and New Mexico tax
Tax takes
$8,567
17.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$44,635
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
$48,910
Kept after tax
$40,343
Worth in national money
$44,635
State rank
36
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- New Mexico is among the lower-paying states for cargo and freight agents. The middle earner takes $48,910, ranking 36 of 48 states — about 6.41% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Cargo and freight agents ranks 289 among 485 occupations New Mexico publishes pay for.
- Here is where New Mexico does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $48,910 you keep $40,343, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $44,635 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $54,980, because the best-paid pull it up.
- New Mexico ranks 36 of 48 for cargo and freight agents, with a median of $48,910 — about 6.41% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Position 289 of 485 in New Mexico places cargo and freight agents in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- After federal, FICA and New Mexico income tax, retained pay for cargo and freight agents on $48,910 is $40,343. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $44,635 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 $54,980 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Cargo and Freight Agents
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $38,190 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $48,910 |
| Top tenth earn over | $81,180 |
| This salary | $48,910 |
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 | $40,343 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $41,479 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,949 |
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 | $47,496 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,358 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in New Mexico earn less than $48,910. The published range is $38,190 up to $81,180, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In New Mexico the take-home figure of $40,343, from $48,910, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 289 of 485 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of New Mexico, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $44,635, the adjusted value of that $48,910 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 289 of 485 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for cargo and freight agents in New Mexico the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $38,190 to $81,180. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for New Mexico is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $40,343 from $48,910. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 289 of 485 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for New Mexico, so $44,635 — the adjusted value of that $48,910 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 289 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $54,980, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $38,190 and the top tenth $81,180 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $44,635.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and New Mexico adds its own income tax on top — which is why $40,343 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 48 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in New Mexico is $54,980. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($38,190) and the ninetieth ($81,180) 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 $44,635 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 $40,343 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 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.