Diagnostic Medical Sonographers in New Mexico
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$67,240
after federal, FICA and New Mexico tax
Tax takes
$19,970
22.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$74,392
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
$87,210
Kept after tax
$67,240
Worth in national money
$74,392
State rank
32
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. New Mexico is 32 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $87,210. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in New Mexico. It ranks 92 out of 485 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Here is where New Mexico does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $87,210 you keep $67,240, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $74,392 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $89,390, because the best-paid pull it up.
- New Mexico ranks 32 of 51 for diagnostic medical sonographers at $87,210. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Within New Mexico, diagnostic medical sonographers ranks 92 of 485 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- After federal, FICA and New Mexico income tax, retained pay for diagnostic medical sonographers on $87,210 is $67,240. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $74,392 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 $89,390 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Diagnostic Medical Sonographers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $65,250 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $87,210 |
| Top tenth earn over | $108,030 |
| This salary | $87,210 |
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 | $67,240 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $70,182 |
| 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 | $83,027 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,997 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $87,210 as a midpoint for New Mexico, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $65,250 and the ninetieth is $108,030 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $67,240 take-home in New Mexico comes from $87,210. 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 92 of 485.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $74,392 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 92.
- The New Mexico median of $87,210 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $65,250 to $108,030. 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 $67,240, from $87,210, 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 92 of 485 locally, and the state ranks 32 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $74,392, worked from $87,210, 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 92 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $65,250 at the bottom tenth to $108,030 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $74,392 in national terms.
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, $67,240 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($65,250 to $108,030) 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 $74,392 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 $67,240 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.