Commercial Pilots in New Mexico
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$74,250
after federal, FICA and New Mexico tax
Tax takes
$23,670
24.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$82,147
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
$97,920
Kept after tax
$74,250
Worth in national money
$82,147
State rank
45
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- New Mexico is among the lower-paying states for commercial pilots. The middle earner takes $97,920, ranking 45 of 48 states — about 20.53% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Within New Mexico this is well-paid work. Of 485 occupations with published figures in the state, commercial pilots ranks 70 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- New Mexico is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $97,920 the take-home is $74,250; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $82,147 would nationally. The average comes to $114,690, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- New Mexico ranks 45 of 48 for commercial pilots, with a median of $97,920 — about 20.53% 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.
- Ranked against every occupation New Mexico publishes a median for, commercial pilots sits 70 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.
- Post-tax income for commercial pilots in New Mexico, on $97,920, is $74,250 — equivalent to $82,147 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $114,690 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Commercial Pilots
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $34,680 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $97,920 |
| Top tenth earn over | $219,010 |
| This salary | $97,920 |
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 | $74,250 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $77,717 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,171 |
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 | $92,992 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,999 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $97,920 as a midpoint for New Mexico, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $34,680 and the ninetieth is $219,010 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $74,250 take-home in New Mexico comes from $97,920. 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 70 of 485.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $82,147 uses one figure for the whole of New Mexico. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 485 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 70.
- The New Mexico median of $97,920 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $34,680 to $219,010. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $74,250, from $97,920, 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 70 of 485 locally, and the state ranks 45 of 48 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $82,147, worked from $97,920, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular New Mexico address, on work sitting at 70 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 $114,690, 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 $34,680 and the top tenth $219,010 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. New Mexico is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $82,147 in national terms.
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 $74,250 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 $114,690. 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 ($34,680) and the ninetieth ($219,010) 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 $82,147 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 $74,250 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.