Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary in New Mexico
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$79,152
after federal, FICA and New Mexico tax
Tax takes
$26,258
24.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$87,571
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
$105,410
Kept after tax
$79,152
Worth in national money
$87,571
State rank
27
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- New Mexico sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $105,410, ranking 27 of 48 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Within New Mexico this is well-paid work. Of 485 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 53 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $105,410 you keep $79,152 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $87,571 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $108,260, since top earners drag the number up.
- New Mexico occupies the middle band for engineering teachers, postsecondary: a median of $105,410, ranking 27 of 48. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Ranked against every occupation New Mexico publishes a median for, engineering teachers, postsecondary sits 53 of 485 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Retained pay in New Mexico is $79,152 after the full tax stack, from $105,410. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $87,571 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $108,260 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $64,470 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $105,410 |
| Top tenth earn over | $138,010 |
| This salary | $105,410 |
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 | $79,152 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $82,986 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,172 |
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 | $99,960 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,001 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $105,410 as a midpoint for New Mexico, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $64,470 and the ninetieth is $138,010 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $79,152 take-home in New Mexico comes from $105,410. 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 53 of 485.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $87,571 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 53.
- The New Mexico median of $105,410 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $64,470 to $138,010. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $79,152, from $105,410, 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 53 of 485 locally, and the state ranks 27 of 48 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $87,571, worked from $105,410, 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 53 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $64,470 at the tenth percentile, $138,010 at the ninetieth.
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 $87,571 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, $79,152 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 48 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 ($64,470 to $138,010) 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 $87,571 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 $79,152 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 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.