English Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary in New Mexico
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$53,615
after federal, FICA and New Mexico tax
Tax takes
$12,835
19.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$59,318
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
$66,450
Kept after tax
$53,615
Worth in national money
$59,318
State rank
32
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. New Mexico is 32 of 49 states for this job, with a middle wage of $66,450. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 485 occupations New Mexico reports figures for, this is number 167.
- Here is where New Mexico does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $66,450 you keep $53,615, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $59,318 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $82,010, because the best-paid pull it up.
- New Mexico ranks 32 of 49 for english language and literature teachers, postsecondary at $66,450. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- In New Mexico's occupational distribution, english language and literature teachers, postsecondary sits at 167 of 485 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- After federal, FICA and New Mexico income tax, retained pay for english language and literature teachers, postsecondary on $66,450 is $53,615. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $59,318 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 $82,010 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: English Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $51,650 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $66,450 |
| Top tenth earn over | $126,760 |
| This salary | $66,450 |
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 | $53,615 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $55,573 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,130 |
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 | $64,014 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,935 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $66,450 as a midpoint for New Mexico, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $51,650 and the ninetieth is $126,760 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind New Mexico's $53,615, worked from $66,450. 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 167 of 485.
- Two cautions on $59,318, the adjusted value of that $66,450 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of New Mexico. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 167 of 485 locally.
- The New Mexico median of $66,450 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $51,650 to $126,760. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The New Mexico take-home of $53,615, on $66,450 for work ranking 167 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 167 of 485 in the state.
- This $59,318 adjusted figure, worked from $66,450, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 167 of 485 in the state. The occupation ranks 167 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $82,010 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $51,650 at the bottom tenth to $126,760 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 $59,318 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $53,615.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 49 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 $82,010. 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 ($51,650) and the ninetieth ($126,760) 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 $59,318 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 $53,615 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.