Detectives and Criminal Investigators in New Mexico
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$66,998
after federal, FICA and New Mexico tax
Tax takes
$19,842
22.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$74,124
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
$86,840
Kept after tax
$66,998
Worth in national money
$74,124
State rank
29
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. New Mexico is 29 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $86,840. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 485 occupations New Mexico reports, this job comes in at 93 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- New Mexico is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $86,840 the take-home is $66,998; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $74,124 would nationally. The average lands at $84,880, below the middle of the range.
- New Mexico ranks 29 of 51 for detectives and criminal investigators at $86,840. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Detectives and criminal investigators ranks 93 of 485 occupations by median in New Mexico, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- Post-tax income for detectives and criminal investigators in New Mexico, on $86,840, is $66,998 — equivalent to $74,124 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 $84,880 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Detectives and Criminal Investigators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $47,480 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $86,840 |
| Top tenth earn over | $111,970 |
| This salary | $86,840 |
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 | $66,998 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $69,922 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,169 |
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 | $82,683 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,996 |
| 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 detectives and criminal investigators in New Mexico earn under $86,840 and half over. The published range runs $47,480 at the tenth percentile to $111,970 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $66,998 take-home in New Mexico comes from $86,840. 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 93 of 485.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $74,124 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 93.
- Figures are distribution medians for detectives and criminal investigators in New Mexico, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $47,480 to $111,970; 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.
- Retained pay of $66,998, from $86,840, 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 93 of 485 locally, and the state ranks 29 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $74,124, worked from $86,840, 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 93 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $47,480 at the bottom tenth to $111,970 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 $74,124 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, $66,998 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($47,480) and the ninetieth ($111,970) 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 $74,124 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 $66,998 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.