Chefs and Head Cooks in New Mexico
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$50,438
after federal, FICA and New Mexico tax
Tax takes
$11,812
19.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$55,803
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
$62,250
Kept after tax
$50,438
Worth in national money
$55,803
State rank
25
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. New Mexico pays chefs and head cooks around $62,250 at the midpoint, 25 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 485 occupations New Mexico reports figures for, this is number 198.
- Here is where New Mexico does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $62,250 you keep $50,438, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $55,803 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $67,080, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For chefs and head cooks the New Mexico median is $62,250, ranking 25 of 51 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- In New Mexico's occupational distribution, chefs and head cooks sits at 198 of 485 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- After federal, FICA and New Mexico income tax, retained pay for chefs and head cooks on $62,250 is $50,438. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $55,803 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 $67,080 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Chefs and Head Cooks
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $43,370 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $62,250 |
| Top tenth earn over | $100,010 |
| This salary | $62,250 |
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 | $50,438 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $52,198 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,087 |
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 | $60,060 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,524 |
| 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 chefs and head cooks in New Mexico earn under $62,250 and half over. The published range runs $43,370 at the tenth percentile to $100,010 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind New Mexico's $50,438, worked from $62,250. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 198 of 485.
- Two cautions on $55,803, the adjusted value of that $62,250 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of New Mexico. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 198 of 485 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for chefs and head cooks in New Mexico, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $43,370 to $100,010; 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.
- The New Mexico take-home of $50,438, on $62,250 for work ranking 198 of 485 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 198 of 485 in the state.
- This $55,803 adjusted figure, worked from $62,250, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 198 of 485 in the state. The occupation ranks 198 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 $67,080, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $43,370 at the bottom tenth to $100,010 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $55,803 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 $50,438.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like 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 $67,080. 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 ($43,370) and the ninetieth ($100,010) 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 $55,803 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 $50,438 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.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.