Cooks, Short Order in New Mexico
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,400
after federal, FICA and New Mexico tax
Tax takes
$5,750
15.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$34,740
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
$37,150
Kept after tax
$31,400
Worth in national money
$34,740
State rank
20
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. New Mexico is 20 of 49 states for cooks, short order, with a middle wage of $37,150. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within New Mexico this is lower-paid work. Of 485 occupations the state publishes figures for, cooks, short order ranks 406. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $37,150 you keep $31,400 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $34,740 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $36,560.
- New Mexico ranks 20 of 49 for cooks, short order at $37,150. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation New Mexico reports, cooks, short order ranks 406 of 485, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Retained pay in New Mexico is $31,400 after the full tax stack, from $37,150. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $34,740 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $36,560 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Cooks, Short Order
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $29,240 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $37,150 |
| Top tenth earn over | $45,010 |
| This salary | $37,150 |
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 | $31,400 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,030 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,779 |
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 | $36,366 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,151 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $37,150 as a midpoint for New Mexico, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $29,240 and the ninetieth is $45,010 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind New Mexico's $31,400, worked from $37,150. 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 406 of 485.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $34,740 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 406.
- The New Mexico median of $37,150 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $29,240 to $45,010. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The New Mexico take-home of $31,400, on $37,150 for work ranking 406 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 406 of 485 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $34,740, worked from $37,150, 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 406 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $29,240 and the top tenth $45,010, so most people doing this work in New Mexico sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $34,740 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and New Mexico's own levy, $31,400 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 49 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($29,240 to $45,010) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to New Mexico rather than a national figure.
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 $34,740 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 $31,400 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.