Credit Counselors in New Mexico
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$41,466
after federal, FICA and New Mexico tax
Tax takes
$8,924
17.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$45,876
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
$50,390
Kept after tax
$41,466
Worth in national money
$45,876
State rank
30
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- New Mexico sits in the middle of the pack for credit counselors. The median is $50,390, ranking 30 of 46 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Against other work in New Mexico, this sits in the middle: 266 of 485 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Here is where New Mexico does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $50,390 you keep $41,466, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $45,876 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $56,120, because the best-paid pull it up.
- New Mexico occupies the middle band for credit counselors: a median of $50,390, ranking 30 of 46. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Credit counselors ranks 266 of 485 occupations in New Mexico by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- After federal, FICA and New Mexico income tax, retained pay for credit counselors on $50,390 is $41,466. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $45,876 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 $56,120 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Credit Counselors
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $41,850 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $50,390 |
| Top tenth earn over | $81,480 |
| This salary | $50,390 |
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 | $41,466 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $42,668 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,967 |
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 | $48,893 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,379 |
| 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 $50,390. The published range is $41,850 up to $81,480, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind New Mexico's $41,466, worked from $50,390. 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 266 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 $45,876, the adjusted value of that $50,390 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 266 of 485 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for credit counselors in New Mexico the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $41,850 to $81,480. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The New Mexico take-home of $41,466, on $50,390 for work ranking 266 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 266 of 485 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for New Mexico, so $45,876 — the adjusted value of that $50,390 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 266 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 $56,120, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $41,850, the highest tenth $81,480, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
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 $45,876 in national terms.
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 $41,466.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 46 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $56,120. 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 ($41,850) and the ninetieth ($81,480) 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 $45,876 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 $41,466 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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.