Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic in New Mexico
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$33,134
after federal, FICA and New Mexico tax
Tax takes
$6,296
16.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$36,658
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
$39,430
Kept after tax
$33,134
Worth in national money
$36,658
State rank
49
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- New Mexico is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $39,430, ranking 49 of 49 states — about 14.89% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in New Mexico, this one sits low: 371 of 485 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- New Mexico is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $39,430 the take-home is $33,134; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $36,658 would nationally. The average comes to $40,630, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- New Mexico ranks 49 of 49 for cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic, with a median of $39,430 — about 14.89% 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.
- Cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic occupies position 371 of 485 in New Mexico's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Post-tax income for cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic in New Mexico, on $39,430, is $33,134 — equivalent to $36,658 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 $40,630 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $33,430 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $39,430 |
| Top tenth earn over | $46,720 |
| This salary | $39,430 |
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 | $33,134 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $33,862 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,812 |
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 | $38,524 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,191 |
| 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 cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic in New Mexico earn under $39,430 and half over. The published range runs $33,430 at the tenth percentile to $46,720 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In New Mexico the take-home figure of $33,134, from $39,430, 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 371 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 $36,658, the adjusted value of that $39,430 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 371 of 485 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic in New Mexico, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $33,430 to $46,720; 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.
- Take-home for New Mexico is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $33,134 from $39,430. 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 371 of 485 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for New Mexico, so $36,658 — the adjusted value of that $39,430 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 371 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $40,630, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $33,430 and the top tenth $46,720, so most people doing this work in New Mexico sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $36,658 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 $33,134.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 49 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
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 $40,630. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($33,430 to $46,720) 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 $36,658 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 $33,134 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.